Question about Student Loan entry on Equifax

For the below entry, of which I have about 5 more similar on my Equifax report, it lists it as a paid collection, yet the status is listed as 120+ DAYS PAST DUE. Huh? Also, the date opened is blank. Is this normal, or should I try to get Equifax to change it?




590XXXX
INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNT
Date Opened: <this is blank on the report>
Date of Last Acitivity: 12/1999
Type of Account: Installment
Status: 120+ DAYS PAST DUE
High Credit: $2361
Terms: 1M
Balance: $0
Date Reported: 09/2002

Prior Paying History

PAID COLLECTION
STUDENT LOAN

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's incorrect reporting by Equifax, and they do this to EVERYBODY with a paid chargeoff. I've never seen that get fixed. It's obviously incorrect.

The Date of last activity is most important. Make sure that's the date when the loan first became delinquent (plus 6 months at the most).


NH Higher Ed (NHHEAF) re-aging ALL defaulted PAID student loans as a matter of policy (http://forum.creditcourt.com/discus/messages/364/364.html)

I had similar problems with some old Student Loans. Your servicer wouldn't happen to be Sallie Mae would it? Anyway, here is my post and a follow-up on this same subject from another board:

<quote>Thought I'd post a conversation I just had with a rep from Sallie Mae's Legal Dept. If you've got trade-lines from Sallie Mae being reported on TU (maybe on the others as well) this may be of use/interst to you.

Background: I've been battling SM over some TLs that are not being reported correctly. After an intent to sue, they sent me the UDFs fixing most of the problems. A month later, I pull TU and many of the same problems have popped up again. What is happening is this: Sallie Mae's TLs on my report show late statuses (e.g., status as of 11/99, 120 days past due), even though they were paid off or transferred. Obviously this is incorrect (they can list the late pay, but the status has changed and needs to reflect that). Some of these were being reported as *currently* 120 days late even though they were paid off 6 years ago!

So, a person in the legal dept called me regarding this. He said that he went over this with SM's reporting "experts" and called TU to find out whats going on. Apparently, there is a "problem" with the codes they (Sallie Mae) use on the "tape" which is doing this. They are going to fix it manually and then try to figure out what's wrong with their "codes".

So, take a look at the Status of your Sallie Mae trade-lines on TU and make sure they are correct. ***sorry this is so long, just thought I remembered other people with a similar probs with SM***</quote>

Here's a follow-up with some contact info:
<quote> I wouldn't expect much from disputes (just my opinion) with SLs. The problem with contacting them is, the "regular" customer reps are soooo clueless.

Here's a number for Sallie Mae's Corporate Borrower Services: 1.888.545.4199. Here is a fax: 570.821.4556.

The first time I spoke with someone there (CBS) they didn't quite understand the problem until I faxed them the exact trade-line along with another trade-line (non-Sallie Mae) to demonstrate to them what they were doing wrong! Once they saw that, they knew they were screwing up big-time!

**edited to add: The rep said he'd never seen this problem before, however, I informed him that there were plenty of others out there with the same problem.**</quote>

As a side note, let me add that I also sent disputes to the CRAs right after I got off the phone (they also faxed me a letter outlining the corrections they were going to make).

I did this mainly out of curiosity, I want to see if Sallie Mae will verify trade-lines that they know for a fact are incorrect. We'll see what happens...

I don't have this problem with TU, but it is grossly inaccurate with Equifax. I have around 10 student loans with the Florida Dept. of Education whose description is 'PAID COLLECTION', but the status is nevertheless listed as '120+ DAYS PAST DUE'

With the duplicate Sallie Mae entries that I've never been able to get off, the description is 'TRANSFERRED OR SOLD TO ANOTHER LENDER' yet the status is listed as 'Bad Debt/Collection'

Scout, much appreciate the info! Please update with your dispute results.

And Equifax definitely has a problem with their codes. I think it has to do with their "consumer friendly" translation of their codes.

Cinder,

Your problem with the Fl dept of Ed is very similar to what I had with Sallie Mae (except they were'nt paid collections). They are reporting the status incorrectly. You'll need to demonstrate to them why this is incorrect (they won't understand unless you show them). The best way to do this, is by showing them a different trade-line from EQ and one of theirs. That way, they will be able to see what they are doing wrong. Try to get past the CSRs, they probably won't be able to help.

I'd also do this with Sallie Mae. The status of your SM loans should be "transferred/sold". They can list that they were collections, but that is not what the status is. Call the number I provided above. They'll know what you are talking about.

(**Obviously, this won't get these trade-lines deleted. But at least they won't be reporting as currently late, etc. This will help your score, but not as much as getting them deleted would. Have you disputed any of these with the CRAs?**)