help with credit report

[phil83]

Hi everyone, I just came across this forum today -- tons of great information. Looking forward to being a part of the community.

I'm writing in hopes of getting some advice regarding my credit report. Like everyone else, my goal is to have the best credit score possible. I'm especially concerned since I'm going to grad school in the fall and will most likely need student loans.

Last year, I applied for a Chase freedom card in January 2011 (for the generous new account bonus), and was surprised to be given a credit limit of $500, considering my Amex limit is over 30k. It was the first new card I had applied for in years, and after further digging into my credit report, I found that I had 2 major negatives:

1) a tax lien: The year after I graduated college I had moved around a lot, but used my college apartment's address when I filed my taxes. That year, I had filed an extension for my state taxes, but I was irresponsible and must have just forgotten to pay them.

Fast forward 6 years to the present: A couple of weeks after seeing the tax lien on my credit report, my bank sent me a letter notifying me that the NYS Dept. of Taxation was going to take $1,500 out of my checking account and there was essentially nothing I could do about it. I think the original tax bill was around $300 (the new total included interest+penalties+fees). This was the first I heard about this tax issue. I assume they must have sent countless letters to my college address. Since it was already well past the judgement phase, I was told by NYS that I was out of options at that point. The tax lien is scheduled to stay on my credit report until 2016. It looks like the judgement was finalized in 2009, so that makes sense. Is there anything I can/should do about this?

2) a collection: This showed up on the credit report I looked at in Jan. 2011. It seems like someone had used my name to sign up for a DVD by mail subscription service (the type where they send you 10 dvds for $1, then charge you monthly for future DVDs). They used my college address, and the charges took place in 2007; I had stopped living there in 2005.

I had thought my credit record was spotless. I always paid bills on time, never carried a credit card balance, etc. Needless to say I was pretty upset with this situation and tried to seek professional advice about how to proceed and deal with the collection. However, all I found was a bunch of companies that were going to charge me to file disputes with the credit bureaus -- something I think I could have done myself. But it was difficult to find unbiased information and I eventually got frustrated with the whole process and sort of gave up.

Now, a little over a year later, I know I need to address this. So today I got my credit reports. Here's what I found:

TransUnion: 1 public record (the tax lien), no mention of the collections
Experian: 1 public record (the tax lien), no mention of the collections
Equifax: no negative accounts, no collections, no public records

I obtained the Equifax and Experian reports via annualcreditreport.com and got the TransUnion information through CreditKarma.com. I wanted to save 1 of my free reports for possible use later this year.

I know these are only estimates, but fwiw:
my CreditKarma Transrisk score is 700 ("Good").
my Credit Sesame score is 800 ("Excellent").

The big thing is that there's no mention anywhere about the collection, only the lien. Does this mean it was somehow resolved by itself? That seems too good to be true. What would you folks do in my situation? Is there anything I should be doing right now to improve my credit score?

Sorry for the long post, I wanted to provide as much info as possible. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[phil83]

Bumping this up in hopes of getting a response. Thanks.

[photo]

It seems like someone had used my name to sign up for a DVD by mail subscription service (the type where they send you 10 dvds for $1, then charge you monthly for future DVDs).

That is theft. You can and should dispute it immediately and can do so without paying anything to anyone. Report it to the credit bureaus ASAP.

The big thing is that there's no mention anywhere about the collection, only the lien. Does this mean it was somehow resolved by itself?

The definition of insanity can be extended from "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" to "doing nothing and expecting different results."

And, did you finally pay the money you owe on the lien?! If it's a legitimate lien, then it's your responsibility.

[kork13]

On your credit report, does it show the tax lien as having been settled/paid off? If not, has the Dept of Taxation already taken the $1500 to clear your tax lien? If so, you should first call them to ask them to update your record to reflect the settlement of the lien. If they can't/won't do that, you should call one of the credit bureaus to address that. However, as you stated, it'll be on your credit file for 7 years after the judgement, and since it's a valid record, there's really nothing you can do about it except wait for it to disappear and keep your credit squeaky clean otherwise.

As for the fraudulent collection, there are 2 possibilities... It's faintly possible that the collection was determined by somebody (police, credit bureau, collection company, etc.) to have been false, or mistakenly applied to your credit file, and they had it removed for you. It happens, though typically not without you acting to challenge it. Otherwise, it might still be lurking out there somewhere and for some reason not reflecting on your most recent credit report pull. My advice would be that you call one of the credit bureaus (preferably one of the ones who previously listed the collection) and ask about it. They may have something listed on your file that doesn't display on the report (such as, perhaps, a removed collection). You should also ask them to place a fraud alert on your file, because the false collection most certainly was fraud, and whether you see it there or not right now, you need to be careful. Someone may try using your identity again (or still is), so the fraud alert will at least highlight the possibility of false information being present, and you'll be alerted if something new shows up on your credit report.

[phil83]

photo and kork13, thanks for the responses.

Regarding the fraudulent collection: I'm going to try to figure out which bureau had listed the collection and will give them a call. (And I'll make sure to place a fraud alert on my file.) I'll report back after speaking with them.

Regarding the lien: Yes, it was legitimate and it has been paid. (Dept. of taxation took it already.) However, it's unclear whether this is reflected on my credit report.

Since the lien would stay on my credit report from 7 years after it was settled, this note indicates that it has been settled: "Status Details: This item is scheduled to continue on record until Sep 2016." However, under that it says, "Date Resolved: NA" and "Status: Civil claim judgment." So I'm not sure what to make of this. I'll ask about it when I contact the credit bureaus.

In either case, I've contacted the county clerk's office and will be getting a lien satisfaction notice, which I will send to the credit bureaus. Is there a reason not to do this? Should I not notify Equifax since the lien wasn't mentioned on that report?

[LizfromtheBronx]

I have a resolved tax lien from NYS on my reports too, and it very clearly updated as resolved. It did take some time, so depending on how long ago they took the $$ out of your account, that may be it.

[kork13]

photo and kork13, thanks for the responses.

Regarding the fraudulent collection: I'm going to try to figure out which bureau had listed the collection and will give them a call. (And I'll make sure to place a fraud alert on my file.) I'll report back after speaking with them.

Regarding the lien: Yes, it was legitimate and it has been paid. (Dept. of taxation took it already.) However, it's unclear whether this is reflected on my credit report.

Since the lien would stay on my credit report from 7 years after it was settled, this note indicates that it has been settled: "Status Details: This item is scheduled to continue on record until Sep 2016." However, under that it says, "Date Resolved: NA" and "Status: Civil claim judgment." So I'm not sure what to make of this. I'll ask about it when I contact the credit bureaus.

In either case, I've contacted the county clerk's office and will be getting a lien satisfaction notice, which I will send to the credit bureaus. Is there a reason not to do this? Should I not notify Equifax since the lien wasn't mentioned on that report?

Fraud: Do you still have copies of the credit reports from Jan'11? I'd start with those. You might have to call all three agencies to confirm they don't show anything about it on their records... but for the fraud alert, once you notify one of the bureaus, they're required to pass the word on to the other two. So just one call required for the fraud alert.

Lien: Yes, your credit report should state specifically when it was settled... "Date Resolved: Feb 2012" or something like that. Sending the lien satisfaction notice to one of the credit bureaus should accomplish that for you. Make sure you keep the original document for your records -- only send copies. If Equifax doesn't show it for some reason, don't worry about it. They normally talk to eachother, so if one doesn't show it right now, it probably will eventually. Alternately, maybe they just won't ever include it... Who knows... Bottom line, it's not your job to tell them they're missing a ding on your credit...only to notify them when there's a fraudulent or mistaken account.

[conniepei]

reply

If you are and have been in good financial shape-that is, you don't owe anything, you always pay on time, and you have never declared bankruptcy-you probably don't have anything to worry about.

[phil83]

Fraud: Do you still have copies of the credit reports from Jan'11? I'd start with those. You might have to call all three agencies to confirm they don't show anything about it on their records... but for the fraud alert, once you notify one of the bureaus, they're required to pass the word on to the other two. So just one call required for the fraud alert.

Okay, thanks. I'll do that. I should be able to find the credit report from Jan '11 so I'll start with that one.

Lien: Yes, your credit report should state specifically when it was settled... "Date Resolved: Feb 2012" or something like that. Sending the lien satisfaction notice to one of the credit bureaus should accomplish that for you. Make sure you keep the original document for your records -- only send copies. If Equifax doesn't show it for some reason, don't worry about it. They normally talk to eachother, so if one doesn't show it right now, it probably will eventually. Alternately, maybe they just won't ever include it... Who knows... Bottom line, it's not your job to tell them they're missing a ding on your credit...only to notify them when there's a fraudulent or mistaken account.

Got it. I will send the lien satisfaction notice to Expieran since they have it listed on my report.

I have a resolved tax lien from NYS on my reports too, and it very clearly updated as resolved. It did take some time, so depending on how long ago they took the $$ out of your account, that may be it.

Thanks, glad I'm not the only one.