Even though Credit reporting agencies have a legal responsibility to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, most often they will violate the provisions of the FCRA due the fact that most disputes are processed through automated systems. The standard dispute process has been automated by the credit bureaus through various electronic methods, the most common being eOscar, which is a centralized dispute communication tool. Additionally, the credit bureaus are required to provide the method of verification that includes the name, address, and telephone number of the data furnisher if requested by a consumer, but as previously stated, this rarely ever happens. Credit reporting agency employees and automated systems have a limited number of generic, standard responses, and if your dispute does not fit in one of these categories, the credit reporting agency employee or automated system will respond with the closest possible category. This then creates a violation of the consumers rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. When you utilize the Method of Verification request, it can prove to be a very useful tool in your credit repair process. This request is designed to force the credit reporting agencies to detail their investigation. Seeing as how most investigations are automated, requesting a MOV will often alert the credit reporting agencies that they have a smart consumer to deal with. Go back over the Terms and Codes document and review all the terms and codes that the credit reporting agencies use for disputes from consumers, and then use these sample letters as a guide to writing your demand for information on the method of verification used. Remember, this method is only used after you have received dispute results from the credit bureaus in which they did not remove the derogatory information and used responses such as verified and/or new information below.
Date of Response] I received a letter stating that your investigation was complete. Please explain to me how you conducted your investigation! 1. Please explain to me what your representatives uncovered to lead them to believe that you are reporting this item as it legally should be reported. 2. What certified documents were reviewed to conclude your investigation? 3. Please provide me a complete copy of all of the information that was transmitted to the data furnisher as part of the investigation. 4. What did it cost your company to obtain the documents needed to complete your investigation? 5. Please provide proof of your timely procurement of certified documents. 6. Did you speak directly to any agent of the company that was reporting the information to confirm the accuracy of what you are reporting? 7. If you reply yes to the above then: Who did you speak with? What was the date? How long was the conversation? What was their position? What number did you call? What is the name of your employee that spoke directly to the above party? What is the position of your employee that spoke to the above party? How long has that individual been employed by your company? What type of training was provided to this employee in order to investigate items of this kind? Were there any e-mails or written communications between employees of your company and the above party? 8. If so, please provide copies of all correspondence and copies of any and all conclusive documentation to prove that you have in fact conducted a reasonable investigation of the account(s) in question. 9. Please provide the date of the commencement of delinquency. 10. Please provide the SPECIFIC date reporting of this item will cease. Enclosed with your response to the above questions, I respectfully request a notarized affidavit confirming the information that is provided is true and correct as per my civil rights granted under several federal laws. This information should not come as a form letter response. My initial dispute was detailed and directly related to the account(s) in question. A template response will not be an acceptable response. If you can not supply ALL of the above information in a timely manner as detailed in several laws, including but not limited to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I must immediately demand the permanent removal of this item from my credit report. This erroneous entry is detrimental to my overall credit rating and has caused me severe financial and emotional distress. If you choose not to provide the above requested deletion or requested/required documentation of your investigation, I will pursue the enforcements of my constitutional rights via federal court proceedings. As you are well aware this information will come out through my formal discovery process, and necessary depositions. I have recently
studied constitutional consumer protection laws along with civil/federal court procedures. I will represent myself pro se and will formally request a jury trial. [Govern yourself accordingly], Intelligent Consumer
Even after this letter is sent to the credit reporting agencies, they rarely ever meet the requirements of a reasonable investigation. The methods that they employ simply transmit incomplete information to the company that is improperly reporting the account/data in the first place. Send out the next letter as a follow-up to the generic/standard letter response or nonresponse the credit reporting agencies have sent you regarding your first MOV request.
For the record, the following information is being erroneously included on my credit report. [List all company name(s) and account number(s)] You claimed to have verified the erroneous information, yet you refuse to tell me HOW you were able to do so. If you do not immediately remove this inaccurate and/or incomplete information, I will file a formal complaint with the FTC. As I stated, I am carefully documenting these events, including the lack of response REQUIRED under federal law from you. Any further delay is inexcusable. Patiently Awaiting Your Response, Name SSN
After you have sent out both of these letters and you are still not receiving a favorable response from the credit reporting companies, then an intent-to-sue should be sent out. Along with that intent-to-sue, you should file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Reserve Board, and the Better Business Bureau. Here is a example of a letter you can send out to the credit reporting agencies after you have submitted your intent-to-sue:
to me. I have sent follow-up letters to each of them and there is still no proof. I have attempted phone contact, but I simply get transferred around and nothing ever gets accomplished. I have fully investigated my rights in this matter. Under the doctrine of estoppel by silence, Engelhardt vs. Gravens (MO) 281 SW 715, 719, I may presume that no proof of the alleged debt, nor therefore any such debt, in fact exists. I have copies of the certified letters and dates prepared to bring to court on [Inset Date]. Also, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, these disputed items may not appear on my credit report if they can not be supported by any evidence. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if they can not verify the debt within 30 days, then it must be removed. Your letters to me claim to have verified the debt, but this is in fact not true under law. Simply contacting the alleged creditor and asking them to match up numbers in their database is no sufficient verification for identity theft. Of course the information matches up; someone clearly used my information without my authorization. Now I am suing [Insert Credit Bureau] for being such a pain in the posterior to me. I have provided more than sufficient evidence to get these false accounts removed. You may contact me before [Insert Pretrial Conference Date] at [Insert a Phone Number] or at my address listed at the top of this letter. This matter can be settled simply by your agreement to remove the false information from my credit report. I require a response, on point, in writing, hand signed, and in a timely manner. If I get another pointless letter from you saying that it has already been verified then there will be no more opportunity for negotiation. This will proceed in court until I have successfully proven to a judge that this false information must be removed from my credit report. I will also be aggressively pursuing the full judgment that I can get against [Insert Credit Bureau] for violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and defamation. I have already won a similar lawsuit against [Insert Credit Bureau]. Enclosed is a copy of that settlement. I will agree to a similar settlement with [Insert Credit Bureau] if you contact me before [Insert Pretrial Conference Date]. If you accept the same terms as [Insert Credit Bureau] did, then I will dismiss my lawsuit against [Insert Credit Bureau] and you will not need to appear in [Insert County and State]. The items that need to be removed from my credit report are listed as follows: [List account(s) and account(s) number(s)] I look forward to your response. Sincerely, [Your Name]
This process is very detailed and lengthy, but it definitely will produce some results. It does require extensive actions on your part, as far as filing a lawsuit against a major corporation with your local judicial system, but the results are what make it worth doing. Going through this process always you your financial freedom and even peace of mind, so do not hesitate to take this road if necessary.