Online Credit Disputes – Stay Away

Having good credit is an important part of life. Without good credit, it can be difficult to do a number of things that many take for granted, such as get a job, buy a car or house, and even sign a cellphone contract. Unfortunately, even if you pay bills on time and do everything you think is necessary to maintain a good credit score, mistakes can be made (through no fault of your own) that cause your credit score to go down. Before trying to repair credit by disputing mistakes on the part financial institutions and credit agencies, make sure to follow one of the most important credit tips in the industry: never dispute a mistake on your credit score online.

What makes online credit disputes so difficult

According to numerous experts, disputing your credit score online can lead to a myriad of problems that are easily avoided by simply mailing a dispute via Certified Mail. The most significant issue that arises from disputing credit issues online is the fact that the online dispute system, known as E-OSCAR, provides little to no actual proof that a dispute has been filed, which can substantially increase the amount of time you have to spend going back and forth with a credit agency.

The other major problem that arises from the use on E-OSCAR is the fact that credit agencies are not required to inform you if they choose to reopen a case. Normally, when credit disputes are filed using Certified Mail, credit bureaus are required to inform you that they are reopening a case, which in turn allows you to file a Method of Verification (MOV). A MOV ensures that a disputed record that is deleted, is deleted permanently.

Without a MOV, a credit agency can use what is known as a “soft delete”. A soft delete removes a record for 30 days while it is “under review”. After that time, it can be placed back on your account without any notification to you. By filing through traditional Certified Mail, you can avoid this altogether by verifying at the time of the initial dispute that the deletion is permanent.

Consumer Complaints from soft deletes

There are many cases of consumer complaints due to soft deletes. Unfortunately, soft deletes are completely legal under the current regulatory system. While you cannot prevent credit agencies from using a soft delete, you can make sure you know whether they are using a hard or soft delete during your dispute review. If they are in fact using a soft delete to further review your case, you know to follow up 30 days later to ensure that the incorrect record is removed permanently. The easiest way to avoid these problems is to simply file all disputes through Certified Mail.

For additional information on credit repair and how to dispute and permanently remove erroneous accounts on your credit report, feel free to Sign Up for $0 Today.

Online Credit Disputes – Top reasons to stay away.

Top Reasons To Write Your Disputes

Reason #1:- As most of you know, one factor you have on your side when disputing credit is time. The legal thirty-day limit is not a lot of time for a credit bureau, creditor, or collection agency to properly investigate a dispute. The Credit Bureaus online dispute system is set up in such a way that when you use it, it makes their job not only that much easier but cost efficient. The information you put into their limited dispute fields falls right into their electronic verification system. The online dispute system is making the process easier for the credit agencies therefore cutting down your chances of deleting the record drastically.

Reason #2: Zero Paper Trail: Any good attorney will tell you that “documentation beats confrontation”. By challenging something online you do not have a paper trail of the correspondence. This does not help you when the response you receive is not favorable and you need to challenge it again.

Reason #3: When the FCRA was amended a few years ago a few provisions were added in for our friends (me being ironic) at the credit agencies called “Expedited Dispute Resolution” Section 611a(8) the on-line dispute system. See below….

“…the agency shall not be required to comply with paragraphs 2, 6 and 7 with respect to that dispute if they delete the tradeline within 3 days.” You are probably wondering what this means so let me explain….

Paragraph 2 requires the CRA to forward your dispute and all related documentation you provide to the furnisher. This rarely happens and is a violation of the FCRA. This is additional ammunition that we can use to challenge something.

Paragraph 6 requires the CRA to provide you with written results of the investigation.

Paragraph 7 requires the CRA to provide you with the method of verification on request from the consumer.

Have you heard of something called a “Soft Delete”???

The Credit Reporting Agency (CRA) can delete a disputed trade line for 30 days, then, the trade line can reappear when the furnisher (creditor or collector) reports it again in the next cycle. That is because the CRA is not required to tell the furnisher you disputed it thanks to section 2 being omitted. This is sometimes called a “soft delete” and it is not permanent. This can be a major shock right before a mortgage refinance or purchase closing for many consumers when their credit is pulled right before a closing.

In addition, the consumer loses their right to request a “Method of Verification” (MOV) so you lose this powerful tool in the dispute process thanks to Paragraph 7 being omitted.

As always feel free to contact our office with any questions regarding the prospect of repairing your credit.

Nikitas Tsoukalis, President

Key Credit Repair