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 Credit Reporting
Posted Wed December 21, 2011 1:08 pm, by Timothy M. written to Household Bank
Write a Letter to this Company
I'm writing in regards to two Household Bank credit cards that were charged off as bad debt.
Brief backgorund: I'm a U.S. Army Reservist. In early 2010 I was activated and deployed overseas until the summer of 2011. I took all the proper steps prior to my deployment and appointed a financial power of attorney. For reasons unknown, my POA did not pay my bills. 4 of my credit accounts became delinquent and were subsequently closed and charged off. I had no idea this had happened until I returned home. I promptly paid the accounts in full, without question. When I paid the accounts, the amounts included extra interest, late fees, overlimit penalities, yet I still paid the full amount without question. It was my account and I was responsible for it and wanted to satisfy my obligations. I wrote to my creditors explaining what had happened and how the accounts became delinquent. Two creditors were extremely understanding and graciously updated how the accoutns were being reported to the credit bureaus and removed the negative information.
Household has the two remaining accounts. I wrote to Household via mail and e-mail asking that a goodwill adjustment be made to remove the negative information or to just delete the accounts. I spoke to someone in the Resolutions Department who said they would research the accounts and get back to me. She thanked me for my service and empathized with the situation but informed me that there was nothing that could be done. I know for a fact something COULD be done but she(Household) were choosing to do nothing.
I am not using my deployment status as a way to get out of paying the debt or as an excuse for what happened to the account. I accepted full responsibility and paid the balances in FULL as soon as I got home and discovered what had happened. Cases should be evaluated on a case by case basis and factors should be considered. I didn't just decide to stop paying my bill one day. I was completely unaware of what had happened. I had little to no phone or internet service and couldn't have done anything. The circumstances were out of my control. I asked Household to take these factors into consideration, I offered to send in my deployment orders to evidence the fact I was indeed deployed when the accounts went delinqent. I was very disappointed in Household's treatment of my request. I understand that Household is selling off portions of it's business to Capital One, I however, will not choose to conduct business with Household. They will never have my Banking or any credit (auto, credit card, or loan of any type) in the future. There are other creditors who will forever have my business becasue they listened and saw the circumstances for what they were and helped find a resolution. I will be forever grateful to those creditors. I will recommend them to friends and family. Customer loyalty is NOT a factor for Household bank.
I had asked for Household to remove the negative information from the credit reporting of these accounts. I wholeheartedly understand that this request is uncommon. However, I've seen it done. In the alternative, I had asked that the accounts just be deleted from the credit reports. I understand about a creditor being required to report accurate information. However, while the information that a creditor reports is required to be accurate, a creditor is NOT required to report information at all. Creditors choose to report and what to report. Only requirement is that the information reported must be accurate. If Household is unwilling to remove the negative information, then Household could choose to not report the accounts all together. I had simply asked for the circumstances to be considered. I was told by the representative that it wouldn't be fair to everyone else who asks for an adjsutment. The world is not a cookie cutter world. Facts need to be taken into consideration and then evaluated on a case by case basis.
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by Lisa H. Posted Wed December 21, 2011 @ 3:21 PM
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Normally I am totally against so-called goodwill adjustments, but in
your case I think it's called for. It sounds like you did everything
you could to take care of your obligations.
Good luck.
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by Timothy M. Posted Wed December 21, 2011 @ 3:13 PM
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First thank you for the comments. Second, based on some of the
comments I want to clarify something. I am in no way attemtping to
get out of this debt (I paid it), I am in no way saying it's reporting
wrong (it's not), I am in no way saying it's not my fault (I accepted
responsibility).
Planetfeedback is a place for consumers to let companies, and other
consumers, know about their experiences. Good bad, or indifferent.
Some companies go the extra mile for the customers to retain their
customers and hopefully receive positive endorsements. Other
companies shrug their shoulders and so "to bad, so sad".
It's good to know that some companies still go to bat for the
customers. This is one company that did not.
One comment said credit reporting is supposed to be an exact
representation of how you handled your finances. I don't disagree
with that statement. In this particular instance, the data doesn't
coincide with how I handled my finances. Prior to deployment, perfect
payment history. Post-deployment paid immediately and current on all
other accounts. This particular time period is when someone other
than myself was handling the finances. I had creditors who understood
the situation and did in fact make a goodwill adjustment on the
accounts (see they DO exist). Goodwill adjustments may not exist from
a credit reporting agency point of view, but they do exist within
certain companies. Companies can waive a late fee, or reduce an
interest rate, or waive a deposit. Do they have to? Of course not.
But they do in order to provide customer satisfaction, which in turn
leads to CUSTOMER LOYALTY. Barclay/Juniper Bank went above and beyond
for me and they have my loyalty. Whereas now, Household does not.
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by Lima Posted Wed December 21, 2011 @ 2:41 PM
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I hope the bank follows suit with the other creditors. While I
understand the function of credit reporting, I agree that it's not a
cookie cutter world. Good luck to you.
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I know this isn't the issue, but your POA was a poophead. THat's
really awful that they did that to you.
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by PepperElf Posted Wed December 21, 2011 @ 5:15 PM
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Yes you can establish automatic payouts from your paycheck directly.
I'm having a brain fart however and I forgot the exact terminology for
it.
I had one set up to pay off my student loan.
However... in the OP's case it sounds like he made a serious effort to
put everything in order before he left. Sometimes you do get burned
by your POA.
as for not noticing the balance.... it isn't easy to do that from
overseas if your command doesn't give you access to internet and
phones.
Now I was Navy... being cut off from the rest of the world is
something we're use to... which is why ships have made serious efforts
to give sailors means to contact home.
in less than 5 years we went from being cut off save for official
business only to having internet access and web browsing.
mail's still about the same though - on deployment everything is a
month late if not longer.
so, yeah i can understand why he didn't have access. the army's
still a bit backwards on hooking up their troops. The officers might
have email and web browsing but... i dont think the regular troops get
it.
being cut off is still a day-to-day thing for them.
and most importantly... this is what matters to me the most...
He asked NICELY. I can let a lot of things slide when someone takes
the effort to ask for something NICELY.
Not only that but he himself said "it's my responsibility" so he's not
like the other people who whine about their bank statements. He paid
the debt even if he disagreed with it... and then he asked nicely to
have them consider removing the remarks.
So personally, because he asked nicely, i hope he gets it.
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