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I recently found out that I have a still-open derogatory item on my credit report from two of the three main reporting agencies. I found this out when my mortgage agent received our combined credit statement. After obtaining evidence that the debt has been satisfied for over 11 years, I contacted the credit agencies by phone. I spoke with a nice woman at Trans Union who was very helpful and who clearly explained the process.

Then I called Experian. It was the phone tree from hell, and there was absolutely no way of talking to a human. The website was even less help, with no other means of contact. Eventually, it turned out that Experian will not allow any dispute to their reporting if you, personally, have not purchased a report from them in the past 60 days. There's a special phone number on the personal report that allows you access to the dispute process.

*sound of hair being ripped out*

So, because of their bad data, not only is my pending loan and good name thrown into question, but I have to do the legwork to lay this to rest, AND I have to give them $10 and wait for a report to come in the mail in order to fix it. They have the nerve to call dispute resolution a "service". It's their DUTY, given the power they wield!

I get that it's my responsibility to pay my bills, and that the credit reporting companies are not going to keep calling my debtors to see whether I've paid them yet, but I don't understand the policy of requiring payment to fix an erroneous report. More than that, I become apoplectic when a company arranges matters so that you can never actually speak to a human, or even email a personally worded message. Worse, the list of options they offer doesn't include "Dispute a credit report", which, aside from "I'd like to purchase a credit report", HAS to be the most common reason that people call these companies!

*deep breath*

Fortunately, our mortgage agent now has the documents that I obtained from the York County Clerk of Courts (who were VERY helpful and kind), and he is well-positioned to take care of this for me. So a happy holiday season to Courtney at Trans Union, Debbie in York County, SC, and Michael at WaMu. A very sad and guilt-ridden holiday season to the people who set customer service policy at Experian.