by Alyssa Andrews
What if a debt collection company incorrectly reports your debt to a credit reporting agency and then goes out of business for one reason or another?
A negative item on your credit report can damage you in a lot of ways. Employers, landlords, those you want to do business with and those you want to borrow money from all look at credit reports.
So you need to make sure the information on your report accurately reflects your financial life. A problem arose for many when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit charging Crown Funding with deceptive practices. Crown shut down.
And yet, the so-called debts that Crown and more than two dozen companies that worked under its umbrella reported remained on credit reports. Now the FTC suggests anyone who had dealings with Crown and the other companies should dispute the information with credit reporting agencies.
WHAT DO YOU DO? When consumers dispute information on a credit report, credit reporting agencies have to look into it. If the credit reporting agency can’t confirm the information, they must delete the debt from the consumer’s credit report within 30 days of receiving the dispute.
But you have to make the effort to let the credit reporting agency know you have a problem. Unfortunately, in the past the credit reporting agencies have been very slow to fix things.
But because of intense pressure from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Experian, Equifax and TransUnion have begun to change they way they do business.
HOW TO DISPUTE AN ERROR ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT
Start here with How to Improve Your Credit. ConsumerMojo.com lays everything out for you and provides a sample letter to write to the credit bureaus.
Not sure if a company you dealt with had a Crown Funding affiliation?
Take a look at this list: AFK Solutions, LLC; Alhambra Enterprises; American FP, LLC; American PG, LLC; Asset Portfolio Partners, LLC; Capital FC, LLC; Capital FP, LLC; Capital IG, LLC; First CG, LLC; First FF, LLC; First FG, LLC; First FS, LLC; First Franklin Holdings, Inc.; First Planners United, LLC; First Technology Services; Freeman United Holdings, LLC; Global AG, LLC; Global Holding Services, LLC; Global Pacific Financial Services; Grant Services Management, LLC; Han Dynasty, Inc.; Heinz Capital Financial, LLC; Heinz Capital Funding, LLC; International Capital Holdings; Ish Inc.; Las Vegas Funding & Financial; Leon Solutions Services, LLC; National FC, LLC; National IG, LLC; National Service Partners, LLC; New Capital Holdings, Inc.; Pacific Holding Partners, LLC; Portfolio MG, LLC; Premiere PG, LLC; Revere Recovery Group, LLC; United CC Holdings, LLC; United FP, LLC; United Holding Services, LLC; United Services Partnership, LLC.
