Method of Verification by Experian. Don't Believe It?

I received the results of a dispute for an account (mortgage loan which has been paid off for 3 years) showing 2 60 day late. The lates remained and showed verified. When I called EX for mov they gave me the loan company's toll free number. That's when I suspected maybe Ex didn't verify it after all.

I called the company for records of those late payments but they could not even pull up my records since that loan is so old. The lady said there are ways that it could be pulled but it would have to probably be in writing and that there is no way Ex could have verified that info over the toll free number. I got the lady's name but she is just one of the hundreds of the service reps answering the phones, so that won't help.

What should be my next move. Should I call Ex or write them demanding more specific info on who they contacted? Can they get away with just giving you a generic company toll free number?

You need to understand how the whole "investigation" process works.....and once I explain it to you I think you will find it easier to just drop the issue (if these late payments are accurate).

The credit bureau does not investigate anything. By law, all they are required to do is "verify" the information is accurate. That involves contacting the mortgage company and asking them if the report is accurate. If the mortgage company replies back that it's accurate, the item stays on your report. The item has now been "verified" and they have fulfilled their FCRA obligations.

Next, you can request that the credit bureau supply you with the "means of verification", which is a request that they tell you who exactly verified this information. Again, you are going to be given some "generic" department and may be even a name (don't count on it). It will be vague, and it still will not contain any proof of the late payments.

In other words, you are not going to get anywhere by fighting with the credit bureau. You must take your battle directly to the creditor..ie the mortgage company.

And I'm going to bet they will not spend a lot of man hours searching for old payment records. But trust me...if it gets that far they do have the ability to find them.

The question is how far you want to push them? If you are absolutely certain you did not have late payments, your next step is to follow the dispute procedure and demand validation from the mortgage company. Failing that, you would have to file a lawsuit against them for willful non-compliance of the FCRA.

But be warned...if you did make late payments and they can prove it....you will be paying a lot of money in court costs for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

But if they can not provide that proof, you will win $1000 for your troubles (plus your court costs).

You can write experian and ask for method and proof of verification. They usually do it by a computer so if you ask for specifics they will probably not be able to verify and have to remove the items. Did you specifically dispute the lates. i.e. I wasnt late sixty days on 6/2005 please remove. You have to be as specific as posible to get the best results.
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what matt said

I think you should call the mortgage company again and obtain the mailing information to request the older records in writing. When you receive the papers and review them, I recommend writing a letter detailing what you want Experian to do and what they need to look at on the records. Then, mail that certified to Experian and follow up, constantly. And, I don't know if it applies for Experian, but large organizations like them have their employees be identified with badge or employee numbers. When you call next time, ask if the employee has one. And maybe even ask if there is a way for them to record what you talked about in your file on their end so that whoever you speak to next time can easily pick up the issue where it was left off at.

Good luck.