Help with credit bureau problem

Hoping someone on here has some advice for our situation...

My wife had her identity stolen a couple of years ago (before we got married). It was caught, she closed the accounts, put freezes on her credit file, filed a police report, all the right stuff. Fast forward to now... some of the credit inquiries still haven't been removed from her credit report. When she contacts the bureaus about it, they say we need to contact the companies about it. When we contact the companies, they say it's the credit bureau's responsibility. But when she tries to dispute it, she's unable to access her file. Basically, they have some incorrect information about mortgages and auto loans when she tries to log in, and when she answers correctly "NONE OF THE ABOVE," it says it doesn't match their information on file and she can't log in. The same thing happens when she calls them.

This is happening with all three credit bureaus... she is basically locked out of accessing her credit report, even though she's a prior (documented) victim of ID theft. And because she had freezes on her credit file with all three bureaus, they didn't get updated when she changed her name & address with our credit card companies, so they have been sending mail to her old address (which has thankfully been forwarded by USPS so far, but we're worried about how long that will go on).

Any advice?

BBD has a wife?!

BeachBumDeac said:

Hoping someone on here has some advice for our situation...

My wife had her identity stolen a couple of years ago (before we got married). It was caught, she closed the accounts, put freezes on her credit file, filed a police report, all the right stuff. Fast forward to now... some of the credit inquiries still haven't been removed from her credit report. When she contacts the bureaus about it, they say we need to contact the companies about it. When we contact the companies, they say it's the credit bureau's responsibility. But when she tries to dispute it, she's unable to access her file. Basically, they have some incorrect information about mortgages and auto loans when she tries to log in, and when she answers correctly "NONE OF THE ABOVE," it says it doesn't match their information on file and she can't log in. The same thing happens when she calls them.

This is happening with all three credit bureaus... she is basically locked out of accessing her credit report, even though she's a prior (documented) victim of ID theft. And because she had freezes on her credit file with all three bureaus, they didn't get updated when she changed her name & address with our credit card companies, so they have been sending mail to her old address (which has thankfully been forwarded by USPS so far, but we're worried about how long that will go on).

Any advice?

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that will only go on for 1 year.

You might consider calling the state Attorney General office. I believe that under some recent legislation, you should have access to credit reports and it should be easier to dispute inaccuracies.

idk how to delete posts. even when i go advanced, make sure both delete boxes are ticked, and leave a reason, still no delete.

Users can not physically remove/delete posts iirc. It's not worth the load it would put on the db.

Just editing (usually with a simple "nm") is probably your best bet. If it's an especially important post to have removed you can request a mod do it for you.

The CRA's won't remove anything unless they're forced to. Call the companies back and ask them to remove the erroneous charges/entries. They probably won't. Send a formal dispute letter disputing the specific charges/entries to the credit reporting agencies. Remind them they're required to investigate your claims and correct any wrong entries under the FCRA. They have 30 days to respond. You'll probably get no where and have to file a lawsuit under the FCRA, but you need to start with the dispute letter. Sorry to say this may be a huge pain in the ass.

JerseyDeac said:

The CRA's won't remove anything unless they're forced to. Call the companies back and ask them to remove the erroneous charges/entries. They probably won't. Send a formal dispute letter disputing the specific charges/entries to the credit reporting agencies. Remind them they're required to investigate your claims and correct any wrong entries under the FCRA. They have 30 days to respond. You'll probably get no where and have to file a lawsuit under the FCRA, but you need to start with the dispute letter. Sorry to say this may be a huge pain in the ass.

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Send the letter certified return receipt as well. Also, if you can get an attorney friend to type it up on their letterhead and send it on your behalf, it might help.

Check with Dave Ramsey. I'm sure his website has plenty of advice on this.

I used to work for Equifax. They have no incentive to help you and see instances like this as a nuisance. Contact the consumer protection bureau in your state and the FTC who governs the bureaus. Talk to the orginator and insist that you talk to someone who can help you. The bureaus are correct about one thing. It is the orginator that has to take this off their data feed. The bureaus only take data and load it, they don't actually go into files and make changes.

Demonbeck said:

Check with Dave Ramsey. I'm sure his website has plenty of advice on this.

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or the Clark Howard website.

Liquid Karma said:

Send the letter certified return receipt as well. Also, if you can get an attorney friend to type it up on their letterhead and send it on your behalf, it might help.

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Both of these posts by LK and JerseyDeac are good. I would also speak directly with the consumer protection division of the Federal Trade Commission. They mean business.

Also, PM sent.

LOL BBD didn't know his wife was a deadbeat until after the wedding -- his marriage is a lie!!!

Letters from attorney's to credit card companies help a lot.

You've got to find an actual human being there who has a brain, which is very difficult. Let us know what happens