Re: getting late payments off a credit report

Posted by Leeza (168.98.149.204) on August 22, 2002 at 08:01:15:

In Reply to: getting late payments off a credit report posted by highplainsdrifter on August 22, 2002 at 02:52:06:

First, do not take this as any form of legal advice.

I don't think small claims court is the venue to handle your dispute, knowingly, you'd be falsely accusing this CA of an act it has not committed. I think its a form of abuse to use the court as a way of handling your irresponsibleness of paying your debts on time. If the information reported on your credit report is accurate and correct, then as the reporting source, the CA has no obligation to remove the derogatory information from your credit report. If a CA were, they'd only be doing it as a courtesy to you. If you didn't get it in writing beforehand, then your verbal agreement may be unenforceable. Unless, in your state you can enforce a verbal agreement up to $500. Now, if you want to proceed with this then you have to assume that if all you will be awarded is $500, based on a verbal agreement, are you ready and prepared to exert the energy and time and money that it will take to climb out of the mountains of paperwork the CA representation may bury you in? You could assume they wouldn't want to battle, however, never underestimate CAs, they have rookie brand new attorneys that are just bored waiting for some busy work (your case) to come their way. Is it really worth $500?

Now, you say it'll be your word against theirs. While that may be true, the plaintiff, (you) has the burden of proving that the defendant (CA) has violated your rights and that you should be compensated for this wrongdoing. Now, of course you can't walk into court with just your word and explanation, unless you recorded the phone call. You'll need further proof to support your claim. Now, how do you know your settlement conversation wasn't recorded? Or, if you received written notification of the terms of the settlement why didn't it include the stipulation about the credit report being amended? This is especially going to come up, if in the past you've handled everything else in writing, but failed to get one of the most important pieces of this settlement in writing? Its a case I wouldn't pursue. You could end up losing big time, and owing the Defendant a fine and attorney costs for wrongfully filing a suit that has no merit.

My suggestion; write the CA that you settled with. Explain your situation. If that doesn't work, write the CRA and tell them that the information being noted is inaccruate. Don't tell them that you settled the account, doing so may jeopardize the account as it is being recorded. The CA could return with a "PAID COLLECTION", which is true, but nonetheless unfavorable to you. The CRAs can only remove information they can't verify. You can write to the CRA saying there was some clause in your settlement agreement that stated the derogatory information would be removed, but then you'd have to prove it in writing, or in some other form than just your word. It would be nonsensical for the CRA to take your word alone, if that were the case then everyone with a tarnished credit report would be able to get over. Now, they may remove it on the mere fact the CA didn't respond within the 30 day time limit. However, that doesn't mean that it will forever be gone. A CA can always re-enter the information if they can legitimately prove that the information reported is accurate and true.

Hope that helps.

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