I keep a pretty close eye on my credit scores & noted yesterday that the US Dept of Education had hit me with a “serious delinquency” at Equifax & Transunion.
I immediately called the Dept. of Education & confirmed I was current on my consolidated loan(s) I have had with them since 1996. After some go-around with the rep, she said they might have “found” a student loan from 1987 and that I should call some other departments of the Dept. of Education.
Not only do I have no idea what this loan could be or ever hear from anyone on this (the “original lender” nor the Dept of Education), but ditched all my loan consolidation paperwork several years ago after holding onto it for 10 years.
Before I start working my way through the labyrinth of US government departments, thought I would solicit some advice from all of you.
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The trouble is when you dispute a debt, the presumption is that you are lying (maybe because the majority of people trying to dodge debts are lying). I had a nightmare where I got a bill from a hospital in California while I was living in Washington. The bill was dated about 3 months earlier, I hadn't even been in the state of California for 5 years. Easy enough, right? I call them up and they should erase it out of their system immediately. Wrong, it was a freakin' nightmare and took me several months. They kept asking for proof that I wasn't in California on the date of service. How exactly can you prove you were not somewhere on a specific day? Of course they are too lazy to do any sort of investigation, I had to call the doctor's office associated with the procedure and get the address of the person with the same name who actually incurred the bill.
Steel cut oatmeal is better for you. I like to add some blueberries and almonds for flavor.
I agree with the OP that it's stupidly difficult to get things removed from your credit report once they're put on there... almost like a "guilty until proven innocent" type of scenario. I agree with SIS's post though. Dispute it, and be prepared to sue them if needed.
hangonsloopy said: Not only do I have no idea what this loan could be or ever hear from anyone on this (the “original lender” nor the Dept of Education), but ditched all my loan consolidation paperwork several years ago after holding onto it for 10 years.
Don't worry about not having your paperwork just yet.
It is the DOE that needs to prove you owe the debt. Call each CRA and dispute, also send certified letters demanding validation.
Most likely it will just go away after this. But if they are able to provide validation, then you should try to find those loan consolidation papers to keep them handy for court.
dispute it and make them provide you the proof Correct.
Dispute it with all 3 CRAs as "not mine", send a DV letter to address on CRAs CMMRR. Halfway correct. I wouldn't do a "not mine" dispute or even do a dispute that fits into the CRA's neat little buckets. I would dispute as beyond the reporting date, state that the account is inaccurate and should be removed, CMRRR of course. "not mine" only requires verifying 2 out of 4 basic pieces of info, name, DOB, SSN, or address I think.
The bill was dated about 3 months earlier, I hadn't even been in the state of California for 5 years. Easy enough, right? I call them up and they should erase it out of their system immediately. Wrong, it was a freakin' nightmare and took me several months. They kept asking for proof that I wasn't in California on the date of service. How exactly can you prove you were not somewhere on a specific day? Of course they are too lazy to do any sort of investigation, I had to call the doctor's office associated with the procedure and get the address of the person with the same name who actually incurred the bill. That's because you didn't know your rights and were willing to be walked on. Dispute then sue and watch the info come off. You don't have to prove anything, they do.
I agree with the OP that it's stupidly difficult to get things removed from your credit report once they're put on there... almost like a "guilty until proven innocent" type of scenario. It is only hard for people that are too weak to sue. Sue them and it comes off. The CRA's know people are weak thus they jerk most people around.
Eek, in the red because someone does not like new forum users/members...
Anyway, thanks for the advice, including the credit boards thing - still plowing through posts on that site.
I'll obviously dispute, but should I threaten with a suit in the dispute? Or is that a seperate letter to the Dept. of Education? Oh, and I'm going to schedule a lunch with my attorney to go over the plan I end up with.
Again, thanks for the help!!! I've read the similar posts in this forum, but when it happens to you....well, you know the rest,
I'll obviously dispute, but should I threaten with a suit in the dispute? Or is that a seperate letter to the Dept. of Education? Oh, and I'm going to schedule a lunch with my attorney to go over the plan I end up with. No, I didn't say threaten them with a lawsuit, I said sue them. Don't get your lawyer to write a letter. Sue them. Don't write the FTC, AG, or BBB, SUE THEM! Just do it, you'll feel better about yourself when you do. You can talk to your atty, but more than likely, they are clueless on consumer stuff. Most are.
You should dispute directly with the CRA's and followup with a dispute to the company that is reporting the information. Get a phone recorder too, invaluable if you are going to talk on the phone.
Someone is going to have to come up with some information on this debt. What does the tradeline say on your credit report? When was the date of first delinquency? when is it scheduled to fall off your report?
tripleB said:chuzzlewit said: How exactly can you prove you were not somewhere on a specific day?
I buy one bagel from a local shop every morning and keep the receipt.Credit card company statement shows all the charges, store location etc so you dont need to keep the receipt, unless you are trying to show TIME of day.
You recieved all the advice you need on this specific issue above, but I will reiterate that tossing papers per "scheduled" frequencies only works in a perfect world.
I scan and save everything indefinitely. Sure I may go through and purge someday, but with storage prices continuously dropping (1 TB for ~$100 now), I don't see that happening.
When a nefarious debt collector reages a paid debt claiming it's unpaid, it's easier to sue when you have your own copy of all the original paperwork instead of requesting it from others.
The need for those documents is rare, but I store them electronically and they take such little time and effort to retain. It has paid off for me several times to retain electronic copies indefinitely and I assume it will pay off again in the future.
When a nefarious debt collector reages a paid debt claiming it's unpaid, it's easier to sue when you have your own copy of all the original paperwork instead of requesting it from others. While I am personally a pack rat and have 2 filing cabinets full of paper, AND 2 portable hard drives, I have to say that the general concept is flawed. The collectors need to prove you owe money, which means they need to produce the paperwork. No paperwork = no debt = game over. Even if you have the paperwork, I wouldn't show it, unless I need to contradict or impeach something they provided.
On the issue of saving every bit of paper, forever, don't think I'm onboard. Feels like "guilty until you prove yourself innocent." But I might be learning a lesson on this one.
Codename47, although a bit unorthodox, I've seen the sue now, ask questions later strategy work well for people when I used to work at an insurance company. At least SOMETHING was going to happen. Are you suggesting I file a dispute (with a copy to the creditor) AND sue the creditor at the same time?
After seeing the credit hit, I immediately called the Dept of Education. They had no problem finding ME in their system since I've been paying them on a consolidated loan since 1996. After being passed around a bit, a guy told me (literally) a student loan of mine from 1987 had surfaced. He suggested I call the U. of Maryland - the original lender. I told him I would pass since they are not the ones who put the mark on my credit report.
OK, a bit of history. I graduated from undergrad in 1991, paid my (seperate) student loans through 1996, when I consolidated them with the Dept OD Ed. I have been paying THAT consolidated loan since then. At no point in this timeline did I: a) hear anything from the original "lender" on this questionable loan, b) know it was transferred to the Dept of Ed, or 3) hear from the Dept of Ed (and, obviously, they know how to reach me.) Lietrally, this thing just popped on to my credit record oout of the blue. And I really don't recall the loan, but that could be because of bad memory + 22 years.
Some info from the Experian credit hit: Date opened: 05/1998 Date of first delinquency: 08/2007 Date Reported: 02/2009 Balance: $0.00 Amount Past Due: $0.00 Activity Description: transfer/sold/paid
Even if this was a valid debt, wasn't the Date of first delinquency sometime in 1987, or at least more than 7 years ago? So it should be off your reports by now anyway. I don't see how they can report it as being current through 08/2007.
codename47 said:When a nefarious debt collector reages a paid debt claiming it's unpaid, it's easier to sue when you have your own copy of all the original paperwork instead of requesting it from others. While I am personally a pack rat and have 2 filing cabinets full of paper, AND 2 portable hard drives, I have to say that the general concept is flawed. The collectors need to prove you owe money, which means they need to produce the paperwork. No paperwork = no debt = game over. Even if you have the paperwork, I wouldn't show it, unless I need to contradict or impeach something they provided.
I fully agree with no showing your documents until necessary, but I like knowing that when I make a statement, that it's 100% accurate and not just based on my memory. We all know that judges can be biased and EVERY lie you catch the collector in just makes your case that much easier.
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