Thank you for the suggestion; I greatly appreciate it!
I have also read that it may be helpful to request a 'goodwill request to remove a negative listing'. What do you think about that? I thought that may be helpful because the debt was so small ($199) and because I am so young so this one negative listing will have a long lasting negative effect. This is the sample letter I was happy to come across. Who would I send this to? Could I just go to any Well Fargo with letter in hand? Who would I talk to?
SAMPLE LETTER:
Your Name
Your Address
Your Phone#
Creditor's Name
Department
Creditor's Address
Date
Dear Creditor,
Re: Account Number__________
I am writing this letter in order to request your help and understanding. Back in [year when the negative item was listed], I lost my job and made a couple of late payments, even though I hated paying late. I do feel bad about it even now. However, I did get current on the account (listed above) as soon as my financial standing improved. I have in fact made timely payments since then. I've been working hard to make financially responsible decisions and get better control of my money.
I am now buying a home but having difficulty in receiving an affordable mortgage rate due to the negative listing on my credit report. Thereby, I would request you to kindly remove this negative item as a gesture of goodwill. Your kind gesture would be sincerely appreciated.
Yours truly,
Your Signature
Your Name
Also, I was wondering if I do end up disputing directly with chex, would the following sample letter be adequate?
SAMPLE LETTER:
Your Name
Your Address
Your SSN
Credit Bureau's Name
Credit Bureau's Address
Date
Dear Sir/Madam,
My bank has informed me that there is negative information reported by [bank name] included in the file [Credit Bureau's name] maintains under my Social Security Number (SSN). Upon ordering a copy of the report, I find that there is an entry from this bank listing a [name listing] (such as "debit card revoked") in [month, year]. However, I do not recall having a listing [name listing] (such as debit card) from this bank in [year mentioned].
Please validate this information with [bank name] and provide me with copies of any documents related to this listing bearing my signature. In absence of such documents bearing my signature, I request for this information to be deleted from the file you maintain under my Social Security Number.
Yours sincerely,
Your Signature
Your Name