Unauthorized inquiries on credit report

[lennygaudy]

Hi everyone, my mom pulled her free annual credit report and found there have been several inquiries from a collection agency for an old debt on which the statute of limitations has definitely passed it was over 10 yrs ago and FL statute is 4). By the way these are "hard" inquiries not soft ones which means they affect her credit score. She was unable to dispute the inquiry online with Transunion so she called and they told her she had to obtain a letter from the collection agency stating that the inquiries were unauthorized and submit that to transunion along with a letter if her own attesting that she never authorized them to do the inquiries.

My question is has anyone ever gone through this process before and been successul in having the inquiries removed? I'm just very skeptical that a collection agency known for it's shady dealings would readily provide in writing a statement attesting to their engaging in illegal unauthorized activity. She's going to write to them and try to get it done but I'm just looking for any advice or suggestions anyone might have in anticipation of their inevitable lack of cooperation or responsiveness. By the way their are numerous reports online about this agency's unethical practices-they go by many names but most frequently Asset Care and NCO Financial.

[boosami]

Write a formal letter to TransUnion and the other credit bureaus officially disputing the item(s). You can't do it over the phone and in some areas it's not an option to do it online. If validity of the debt is contested in writing, the credit bureau is required to investigate it by law. The Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that validation of the debt is done by the credit bureau, not you. You do not have to obtain a letter from the creditor, it's TransUnion's job to contact them and validate the alleged debt.

Here's a letter template: Sample Dispute Letter to Credit Reporting Agencies

[simpletron]

How to Dispute Credit Report Errors by the FTC

if there is any push back you can always bring up the FTC, which oversee both of them. I'm sure neither will want them breathing down their back.

also certified mail is the best form of communication because the law requires action within so many days(30 or 60 in most cases).

[lennygaudy]

The Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that validation of the debt is done by the credit bureau, not you. You do not have to obtain a letter from the creditor, it's TransUnion's job to contact them and validate the alleged debt.

Wow! Are you serious?! I can't believe they tried to get her to do this! I thought it was strange that she would have to obtain herself. Such snakes...thanks so much for the info and the template, I already drafted the letter for her...wish us luck

[lennygaudy]

[URL="http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre21.shtm"]if there is any push back you can always bring up the FTC...also certified mail is the best form of communication because the law requires action within so many days(30 or 60 in most cases).

Thanks simpletron, I added mention of the FTC to the letter to make a strong impact so they knwo I'm serious about this, also Ill send it certified return receipt as suggested-that's a great point.

Thanks to all for your help-hopefully this will put an end to this!

[GrimJack]

I think this is another reason to freeze each of the credit reporting accounts. Sure it costs $10 or 20 to unfreeze them but it will keep you a little safer.