To make matters sparkly and nice in my world, I just discovered this fun little issue with my bank:
AS IF my health problem and other assorted financial disasters weren’t enough to make me want to jump off of my building, my bank, full of the smart cookies they are, seem to know absolutely nothing about fixing my problem. Last year I made an arrangement with a credit agency to withdraw money from my account to pay off a debt that would soon be dropped off of my credit report, because I KNEW I spent the money so I might as well do the right thing and pay it off, no matter when it was supposed to drop off. Problem was, it was a direct debit from my checking account that did not stop once the amount agreed upon had been paid off in July. I tried to contact this ghost company, and could not locate them, no matter what. I called my bank, and every time it came out, they were like, well, we need it to fully post before we can do anything. Go fill out your affidavits of fraud and we can fix it. Lo and behold, you need to close your entire bank account before it can be really stopped. Did that. Spoke with several supervisors about the fact that this was being done, filled out all legal paperwork indicating the debt was not authorized. A supervisor even credited me the illegally obtained money until I filled out these affidavits. Did that but they decided to take it (the credited money) back anyways.
Citibank then tried to contact said debtor, based on information that they had, and could not locate them to get my authorization (of which there was none for any debts). They could not locate them, and then decided to push the entire debt into my lap, as it is Citibanks corporate policy to release funds to whomever has your bank account information without having to actually identify themselves. I, flabbergasted, got a supervisor to admit that Citibank has no vested interest in identifying debtors, provided them have the correct account information. There has to be no actual person behind the actual debt.
To add insult to injury, I never received any sort of contact or notice from this debtor that anything had been paid, or that they thought I owed them more.
How great of me to actually fulfill a financial obligation and pay a credit agency right? Not really, as Citibank has sold my information to a credit collection agency. I refuse to deal with any collection agencies ever again, as said man lied to me already about my account not being reported to ChexSystems as well as the fact that dealing with these idiots was how I got into trouble in the first place.
Phone call after phone call…go to the branch they are the ones to help you. Branch: the call center is the only organization that can help you. Call center comes back and says, go to branch. Then they give me a bad phone number on Friday to an unrelated department to pay off the debt over the phone since all I have for money is a visa gift card. I call this department and end up in the same fucking circle of bullshit, no one at the call center can help you, go to the branch.
How fANtastic!
So. Today is cold. I have not pastrami hands, but salami hands…
hahahaha.
April 11, 2006 at 9:05 pm
Ah, yes: given my vast law school loans and years-unpaid credit cards, I’ll never be able to buy a car, let alone a house.
April 11, 2006 at 9:28 pm
I read about that
frustration in your journal.
someone told me you can pay someone to buy out your bad credit. i guess you give them a certain amount (he did indicate this was some sort of lawyer type person though) and they wipe your roster after 3 to 6 months.
i don’t believe it but it’s an interesting concept.
April 11, 2006 at 10:02 pm
Re: I read about that
If you don’t pay anything and they don’t sue you within three years, they lose the right to sue in state courts here. So they can’t– I think –sue me. But it stays on your credit report for seven years. At least. I haven’t paid them anything since summer 2001.
The law school loans will be with me ’til…well, death.
April 11, 2006 at 10:17 pm
Re: I read about that
I wish that sue thing was correct here. It was just today some lady was yelling at me in a high-pitched voice to get a lawyer because they were going to sue me.
I was like, really? Go ahead. I don’t even have a checking account. I have no assets, no savings. You go, girl. Sue me. And see what part of measly disability is awarded to you.
7 years is the rule but you cannot instigate contact. It’s 7 years from the last date of contact. A payment arrangement defaulted on won’t count from 7 years of the debt, I’m pretty sure, but from the last point of contact.
Then again, aren’t you an authority on this legal jargon?
School loans are a party…never.
April 12, 2006 at 12:41 am
Pretty much every state has a prescriptive date (3 years, 5 years, whatever) where a creditor has to sue on an open account or lose the right. I still get letters offering to settle for some figure and “clear up” my credit, but I won’t voluntarily give them a dime.