jmranchman

It is being reported by Bank of America, which is a bank of course, but she has never had an account with them other than a checking account several years ago. That is what is strange. I have never seen an instance where an actual bank such as B of A has just added an account out of thin air. Usually debt collector's do that but not banks. That is why I had her write them. jmr

I have a question. My sister was recently sent a letter from Bank of America saying she still owed a balance of $20,000 on a mortgage. The first problem is that she has only had one mortgage in her life and it was completely paid off after selling the home. Second, she has never had a mortgage with BofA. So, similar to what some run into when a debt collector gets involved, she now has an account that she has never had with a bank she has never done business with. It is like a phantom debt. I had her write B 0f A a letter (Return Receipt Requested w/ Card) asking them to send her verification of the debt. They sent her a letter stating they would look into it. That has been over a month ago now. What would be the best course of action now? I have told her to write them back now telling them that the matter is closed and to write the credit bureau's but I want to make sure we are going about this correctly. Thanks for any help you can give. jmranchman

Hi Pandora, Yes, I have gotten a few replies on another board. Found out that their "validation letter" can be considered validation most likely. There was a recent circuit court of appeals decision regarding this apparently. Anyway, I am not going to get all up in arms about it because it is out of the statute anyway. I keep a very close eye on my credit reports too. Thanks for the response though. jmr

Hello all and thanks for all the wonderful advice I have found here. I have a question. I have been working on my credit for a little over a year and have gotten my reports completely clean, except for my BK that was in Nov 2003. It is still showing on EQ and TU, but I managed to get it dropped from EX. My scores are all in the low 700's now. My BK was dismissed because I sold my home and that is the only reason I filed so that I would not be foreclosed on. I even paid the bank off in full and they never reported me being late on payments (just lucky I guess). BK was dismissed in April of 2004. I received a letter a couple weeks back from Ocwen about a Sears account that was charged off before my BK in 2004, asking to settle the account. This account is not on my CR's anymore because it was removed after I disputed it and it was not verified. I sent Ocwen a "go pound sand" letter, basically saying that I disputed the debt and that according to my state attorney general (Alabama) the statute of limitations on this debt has run. I received a letter back now from Resurgent saying that "thank you for your recent inquiry regarding this account. We have taken actions to ensure that no communication will be made with you from Resurgent Capital". Then it goes on to say that "enclosed is an original validation of debt that verifies this debt". All the so called "validation" letter says is my name, the original creditor (Sears), and account number, an amount, and the fact that LVNV acquired this from Sears. It is just a typed letter. If I am not mistaken, this is NOT a validation of the debt. Anyone could have typed this up and sent it out. There is no other info on it other than this. Just three or four sentences. My question is, what should be my next move? This debt is not on my credit reports at all and is way out of the statute of limitations (6 years old at least). I have copies of my credit reports showing it being on them and then being removed as well. Like I said, I already sent them the FOAD letter. Any help would be greatly appreciated! jmr

I know there has always been some degree of argument on this one but the SOL for open accounts is 3 years in AL not 6. I imagine they would do like so many of these salamanders do and argue that a cc account is a written agreement and in AL written agreements are 6 years. Im not sure what to believe about this argument other than most everywhere I have read says that CCs are OPEN accounts and not written.

For some reason, my father's Amex card that he opened in 1966 is showing on MY credit. I wasnt born until 70. He closed the account years ago but it is still showing on my report as "closed at consumers request". I havent had it erased because I figured it was helping more than hurting. even though it isnt mine. Am I right about this?