Cleaning up IIB accounts

[Trish]

Ok, I couldn't decide on whether or not to post this......but with several people asking about it I decided wth.
I do not have any personal experience with BK myself.......but if this post leaves you with more questions, I will do my best to find the answers.


This is for people that are having trouble with violations OCs and CAs commit post BK. There needs to be a thread regarding such issues, how to fix them, and possibly how to make some money in the process.

This is a not-so-in-depth guide to cleaning up IIB accounts and suing OCs and CAs who step out of line.

HOW TO CLEAN UP IIB ACCOUNTS:

The easiest way to get OCs off your reports is to try to entrap them into verifying false info with the CRAs and send ITS then if they want to play ball, file suit. This is accomplished via:

1. Dispute the IIB accounts as "not mine".

This should be the first thing done. You might get lucky and have them delete on the first go around. However, there seems to be a trend going with OCs wanting to remove the BK status and change it to a charge off when a TL is disputed as "not mine".

Technically, there is nothing illegal about this practice. Yes, it screws your credit, but nothing under the FCRA requires a furnisher to provide any information to a CRA, and they can remove information as they choose.

2. Dispute any accounts not marked as IIB (after going thru step 1.) or any changed accounts as "IIB".

Now then OCs, being the arrogant bastards they are, will probably verify that the TL is NOT included in BK, or else the CRA will probably not investigate. Easy violation if they verify. Skip to step 4.

3. If the OC does update the TL to IIB, it should not be too hard to find something else wrong with the TL.

OCs like to add stuff such as charge offs, late payment notations, and pull inquiries on IIB accounts. All of these are actionable, and the inquiries are an easy $1000 a pop.

4. Send ITS to OC.

Here is a sample letter to use for verifying an account IIB as not IIB. You can also add any other violations the OC has committed.

Dear OC,

I am writing in this letter in regards to account xxxxxxxxx which was discharged via chapter x BK on xx/xx/xxxx.

During xxxxx, I disputed the above referenced account as included in Bankruptcy with the consumer reporting agencies Equifax/Experian/Transunion.

In the case of disputed accuracy of information contained in a consumer report, a furnisher of information shall after receiving notice of a dispute from a consumer reporting agency shall conduct an investigation with respect to the disputed information, review all relevant information provided by the consumer reporting agency pursuant to section 611(a)(2) [1681i]; report the results of the investigation to the consumer reporting agency; and if the investigation finds that the information is incomplete or inaccurate, report those results to all other consumer reporting agencies to which the person furnished the information and that compile and maintain files on consumers on a nationwide basis.

Enclosed for your review are copies of the consumer reporting agency reinvestigation results indicating that your company failed to comply with 15 U.S.C 1681s-2 by furnishing the consumer reporting agencies with inaccurate information after receiving a dispute relating to the account in question on x separate occasions, 1 for each consumer reporting agency. Also I have enclosed copies of my Bankruptcy petition as evidence that the account was indeed discharged through Bankruptcy.

I consider OC names actions to be flagrant willful and malicious violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act due to the repetitious nature of their occurrences and as such I am preparing to instigate litigation against OC name to recover statutory, punitive, and actual damages as provided pursuant to 15 U.S.C 1681n.

In addition, I may seek additional relief as provided under my States Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices statutes and sanctions as provided by the Bankruptcy Court.

However, I would like to provide you an opportunity to settle this matter out of court, as I do not wish to have to go through the trouble associated with re-educating an attorney that thinks that he/she can bully and/or intimidate a Pro Se plaintiff such as myself into folding, or wasting a bunch of time going through the trial process with the necessary motions, interrogatories, depositions, and other related court filings.

That being said, I am willing to accept a sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) or deletion of the TL in lieu of a monetary settlement, and upon such receipt of such settlement I will consider the matter to be closed and no further action will be taken. This offer is only good for 14 days after the confirmed receipt of this letter, after which time such offer will become null and void and I will proceed with filing.

Be advised, if OC name wishes to reject my offer and take this matter to the courts, it can be realistically expected that OC names legal fees will easily exceed the amount I am demanding above, and even if OC name should win in court, it will cost your company a lot more in the long run to prove a point than it would have to just gone ahead and settled in the beginning.

I look forward to an amicable solution to this matter.

Best regards,


5. Sue the OC.

Since there is no financial incentive for the OC to fight you in court, if they don't want to accept your ITS offer, it is very likely that they will be singing a much different story once served.

*courtesy of dixiedrifter from CB

[improving]

What if I put my foot in my mouth so to speak and didn't know any better right after our b/k and I started marking everything (inc. in b/k ) on my own - I had thought that sounded better (at the time). I know better now, but do I still dispute as "not mine" Though most everything IIB I have just disputed and they verified already too. I often wonder how they verify or IF they even do, they act as if they don't have to provide us proof when it is our own personal information - I feel we have a right to know what is being reported and HOW they are actually verifying it (besides an OC name and phone number) ya know?

Thanks for info once again Trish - you're the best!

[towjam]

I just received my trans union report and only 1 out of 14 says included in bankruptcy. Should I send them the letter?

[chane]

Originally Posted by towjam

I just received my trans union report and only 1 out of 14 says included in bankruptcy. Should I send them the letter?

Try sending a dispute letter first. Send the letter in this thread if the dispute comes back verified.

[towjam]

I just finished all 3 dispute letters. There are different errors on each report. I put all the account on the same letter with each name and account number and what is wrong with each one. I have provided a copy of my social security card, and w2's. Should I include a copy of my discharge?

I am also preparing dispute letters to send to each collection agency that has updated info on my report. I am pretty sure they have violated the law so I'm debating on sending them the $1000.00 plus deletion letter.
I'm very confused at this point.

[chane]

No! NEVER send them a copy of your discharge! That would be the biggest mistake you could ever make.

Dispute letters are only sent to CRAs. Validation letters are sent to CAs. Make sure you read up and completely understand what you are doing before you send any letters to anyone. Irreversible damage can be caused if you don't know what you're doing.