Credit company mistake now shows on my credit what to do??

Question

Okay here is the deal.... we had a credit card that we only charged our monthly cell phone payment to (it was charged auto) we would pay the $55 balance on the card each month in full.

Well a few months ago we get a note from the cell company stating the card keeps getting denied, after calling the Visa card co. they say we declared bankrupcty. NO WE DIDNOT!!! We have perfect credit and all accounts are paid in full. After playing the hold on game they come back with 'ohhh we will take care of this' they didn't say their mistake BUT having never declared bankruptcy we know it's their mistake. Now after pulling our credit report it states this "Ch 7 bankruptcy discharged"
it looks like we declraed bankruptcy. What does this mean how does this affect my credit now? What can I do to prove they did us wrong and made a mistake? I did cancel the card immediatly after because they are idiots.
Please answer only if you have experience w/these things. THANKS

Answer 1

silverystar7's answer is on the right track.....but let me tell you something. I don't like the "you'll attract more bees with honey" advice...especially when you have a very nice big club you can go after them with.

It is against the law for a creditor to post inaccurate information to your credit report. They can be charged $1000 for doing it. But you need to follow a certain procedure, as per the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If you follow these steps you will get this taken care of...guaranteed! If they don't remove it, you can then sue them in small claims court very easily, plus collect for any damages this may have done to your credit.

Get copies of your credit report immediately and check to see that they didn't place this information on those accounts.

Now start sending out letters. Make sure they are certified/return receipt. You will need this proof in the event you have to file a lawsuit.

First send a dispute letter to each of the credit agencies, and inform them that the listing is incorrect.

Then send a letter to the creditor/collection agent who posted this to your account. Inform them that the listing is wrong, and that they have 30 days to correct this or you will sue them. Be sure to follow the advice of having it listed as "closed by customer" or it could have an adverse effect on your credit.

If this is not taken care of in 30 days, trot down to the courthouse and file a small claims suit. It's not difficult, and you don't need a lawyer. If you need info on how to do it, start with the link below. Then contact me if you need more help. This is an easy slam-dunk case.

Answer 2

First thing you want to do is pull up your credit report for each of the 3 major credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) to see if the "Ch 7 bankruptcy discharged" appears on all three credit reports. Some companies offer "3-in-one" credit reports that includes the information reported by all three agencies.

Next step is to lodge a credit dispute with any of the companies that report this erroneous information. Each company has their own methods for filing disputes, see the following links for the instructions for each company.

http://www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/creditDisputes.page?
https://www.econsumer.equifax.com/consumer/forward.ehtml?forward=investigation
http://www.experian.com/disputes/

Whenever someone declares bankruptcy, the bankruptcy appears on the credit report as a separate line item under the "public record" category. In addition, each credit line that was discharged would be reported as "Ch 7 bankruptcy discharged." Since you did not ever file for bankruptcy, this public record line item will not be on your credit record...which will help your case in trying to get the erroneous comment removed. When you lodge your dispute with the credit reporting agencies, point out this fact. Also point out that you closed out the account and ask that the comment be replaced with "account closed by customer."

Also, you should write a letter to your Visa company explaining the situation and how they lost you as a customer because of these problems. Ask them to remove the erroneous comment from the credit report and to add the comment "account closed by customer." Be polite, professional, but firm in your correspondence...you'll attract more bees with honey. :) Threats may put them on the defensive and can make them less likely to be cooperative.

There stands a chance that one line of credit may show up derogatory until the issue is resolved. However, it should not effect your credit rating nearly as much as if you had a bankruptcy public record on your credit report.

Be sure to make copies of all correspondence and keep a running file of the dispute process. And don't take "no" for an answer! Even though it looks like an open and shut case, there's always the possibility of the dispute being denied. If your dispute is denied the first time, be persistent and dispute it again and again until it gets changed. It could be a long, tedious process...but well worth it!

Answer 3

There are organizations which will, for a cost, aid you get the credit score bureaus to repair fake listings for your credit score historical past. You can normally do that your self with a few endurance. Removing "unhealthy" entries which might be authentic isn't feasible, except the organization that you just pay is resorting to unlawful way. Getting stuck for anything like it will set you up a long way worse than a bad credit report ranking. The handiest technique to fix a real bad credit report list is to care for your collectors, and of direction time.

Answer 4

You have to challenge this. the credit agencies (experian and such) have ways to look into credit reports, and they will check things out with visa. if visa can not prove the issue, it will be removed from your report. it will take work on your part, you will have to harass people and be prepared for it to take months, but if you really do have a mistake, FIX IT! anyway possible! i had people watch me so skeptically when I tried to explain a mistake on my credit report, and guess what I didn't get a loan I needed. And the mistake really was a mistake. I eventually got it taken off but the damage was done.

Answer 5

yeah i had the same sort of problem but i dont live in the states im in the uk.
and i use a website to read my credit report every 6 months or so.. and it said the same sort of thing, i got on the credit card company to get this removed since it could effect me later in life.
they refused.
so the best idea is to goto financial ombudsman and take your case to them, they damn well made sure they got that removed from my records and fined the company for making the mistake.

Answer 6

My husband has a very common name and things have showed up on his records from bad credit ratings to arrest warrants. You need to call again and speak with someone. once you have done this you need to tell them to send you a letter stating exactly what the problem was and how they have resolved it in their records. You also need to request that they send this information to the 3 credit bureaus. When you recieve this letter you will also send copies to the credit bureaus (just in case). and call the credit bureaus in 1 week to make sure they get the letter and make the appropriate corrections on your records. Tedious but it works.