I need help!

[CorySoccer]

Sorry for the dramatic title, but here's the situation...

I have one large charge-off (a Discover credit card that went into collections that was eventually charged off in the amount of $3,900).  Needless to say this has been a HUGE weight hanging over me.

All of my CRAs report that the last payment I made on that Discover credit card was on April 11th, 2014 (except for one which I'll explain later).

The "drop off" date according to annualcreditreport.com says July 2021.  

A few months ago I found this website which has been a HUGE help.  I heard about the whole Early Exclusion request (up to 3 months) which I did with Equifax and my Discover charge off was removed from Equifax within 2 days and my credit score jumped 87 points! Awesome!

I thought I had spoken to TU today (which apparently I forgot to speak with last month when I spoke to Equifax) so I called them today and they looked at my profile and said sure, we'll get that removed, and it was literally removed 20 minutes later. My credit score immediately jumped 98 points! Awesome!

Last call I made was to Experian. Here is where things went south.  Experian is showing that I made a payment in April 2014, April, May, June, July, August, September, and that my first "late" payment was in October (30 days), November (60 days) and December (90 days). So the supervisor I spoke with said the First Date of Delinquency is October 2014 and they won't be able to remove the Discover account until June 15.  I was NOT happy since Experian is showing I made payments from May all the way through September which is impossible. I know for a FACT I did not make any of those payments, yet it's showing that on my Credit Report with Experian.  The supervisor from Experian absolutely REFUSED to do an EE and even when I told him every other CRA report was showing my First Date of Delinquency was August 1st he said there was nothing I could do about it.

Here's the tricky part....I was sued by a law firm for the Discover account about 2 years ago by a Zimmerman and Associates.  I never responded to their lawsuit and have not heard anything since.

I called Discover to get my payment record (which they acknowledged that I had not made a payment since April 2014) but because it is now in the hands of a law firm they can't send me my payment history which I could have sent Experian to prove that I never made those May-September payments.

I didn't want to force the issue becuase it's in the hands of a law firm and I don't want to poke the bear.  Yet I want it off my record and they have incorrect information.  

I don't want to dispute anything or cause the law firm to be like "oh yeah, we forgot about this account. Let's go after him)...

So do I just sit and wait for it to fall off in June/July or do I have any other options?

It's frustrating that my TU and EQ credit scores reaise almost 100 points (750 for both respectfully), yet Experian won't remove it and it's sitting low at 641.  Do I just bite the bullet and say to myself "I've waited 7 years, just let it ride and let it fall of naturally) or do I have any other options?

I know this post is confusing, but I've done my best to try to explain it fully.  

If you have any advice It would be grately appreciated!!!

[Anonymous]

What state are you in? I wonder if you've passed the SOL and can no longer be sued, hence no action from the law firm. I'd tread very carefully since a misstep that constitutes an acknowledgement of the debt can restart the SOL and allow them to sue you if you're currently beyond the time limit. This goes double because you're looking at a falloff in two months - you're almost at the end. Don't mess it up now.

[CorySoccer]

@Anonymous Sorry for the late response!  The original creditor (credit card) was opened in Missouri.  The last payment I made was April 2014 when I was in missouri. And never used it after that date while still living in Missouri.

In September of 2014 I moved to Texas.

I spoke with Experian again yesterday (a different supervisor hoping to get a different result) and they said they could and would not do anything until June 16th when it would fall off.  

I have a TransUnion and Equifax credit report that shows my last payment as being April 2014 and the DoFD as August 1st, yet my Experian CR shows that I made a payment in April 2014, then in May, June, July, August, September and then October it was reported as being 30 days late.  That is absolutely 1000000000000% impossible lol.  I had lost my job that month and the card was maxed out and no way I made a payment during those months (again, it doesn't show that I made any payments on my other reports, which is why they graciously and quickly removed the Discover account off my CR). However, Experian is saying that because they are showing my DoFD as October that they can't do anything until Late June. 

My TU and Equifax scores shot up almost 100 pts immediately when this charge-off was removed. But yet I can't really do anything until all 3 CRAs are showing the same (or similar things-at least with this huge charge off with Discover) until the End of June.  Just very frustrating.

I know there are a lot of other people in worse positions so I don't want it to seem like I'm cominplaining lol, but I've been waiting 7 years for this mess to be put behind me.

I'm not going to push it and I'll just wait for it to fall off in June.

I appreciate your advice and your wise words not to do something at the end to screw it up.

[CorySoccer]

I took a screenshot of a credit report that I'm posting below. HOWEVER, I don't know where this screenshot came from?? Which CRA/App? (I'm thinking it was a CRA).  It has the information I need on it, but the CRA won't accept the "screenshot" without the entire Credit Report.  Does this format look familiar to anyone???

Thanks!!

[AllZero]

Looks like Experian?

[Slabenstein]

That looks like it's from an Experian ACR report.

[Ficoproblems247]

+1, definitely EX. 

[RobertEG]

It is stated that the CRA is requiring a copy of a credit report, apparently as a requirement to initiating a dispute filed by the consumer.

The CRAs have agreed to discontinue any such requirement, and it is not proper for them to do so.

More specifically, the big-3 CRAs agreed back in 2015, as part of a comprehensive settlement agreement resulting from litigation initiated by the offices of the AG of 32 states, to discontinue any practice or policy of requiring a copy of a credit report as condition for initiating a dispute.

A copy of the relevant section of that settlement agreement is reproduced below:

______________________

"  IN THE MATTER OF:
Equifax Information Services LLC,
Experian Information Solutions, Inc., and
TransUnion LLC

ASSURANCE OF VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE/ ASSURANCE OF VOLUNTARY DISCONTINUANCE (May 2015)
**********************

Section IV F
Initiating a Dispute
a. Regardless of whether a dispute is initiated online, by phone, or by mail, the CRAs shall not refuse to accept the disputes solely because the consumer (i) has not recently received a credit report or file disclosure from the CRA, or (ii) does not have or has not supplied an identification number associated with a credit report or file disclosure from the CRA.
b. The CRAs shall eliminate any policies or practices that require a consumer to obtain, or that create the impression that a consumer must obtain, a current report or identification number before disputing the completeness or accuracy of information in his or her file. "

[gatorlover]

This is definitely Experian. Looking at mine right now. TBH, I love their web/desktop UI, it's so clean and readable. Definitely my favorite of the free services.

[CorySoccer]

@gatorlover, @RobertEG, @Ficoproblems247, @Slabenstein, @AllZero Thank you all for the quick response. Experian it is.