Michiganders who disagree with any part of an unpaid account that has gone to debt collections can and should file a dispute with the credit bureaus. Once reported, collection accounts can severely damage credit scores. So, if they are not accurate, they should be removed. Its important to dispute collection items that are not accurate. This may signal to a lender that you know about the collection item and have dealt with it as best as you can. However, if a consumer is looking to buy a house in Michigan, these disputes need to come off their credit reports.
Lenders generally will not grant a mortgage loan to applicants with collection items flagged as “Disputed.” Therefore, in order to get a mortgage, you’ll need to remove any disputes on your credit reports. This shouldn’t be a problem. However, a lot of Michigan consumers have reported having issues with this process. Sometimes the credit bureaus don’t follow through. This could leave you vulnerable to bad debt collectors who will seize any opportunity to force you into paying them. They don’t care whether it’s legal or not.
How Unscrupulous Debt Collectors may try to Force Michigan Home Buyers into Paying Disputed Debts.
Shady debt collectors may refuse to remove a disputed status from an item on a credit report until the consumer pays up. This tactic is illegal, but consumers who don’t know their rights may think that they have no choice. You see, under the law, a debt collector and anyone else reporting information to a credit report, must report accurate information. If a debt collector continues to report a debt as Disputed when the consumer no longer disputes the debt, then that info is not accurate.
Of course, the credit bureau (TransUnion, Experian, or Equifax) that is responsible for the credit report in question always has the power to remove the dispute. Hence, when the credit bureaus receive a consumer letter stating that the consumer no longer disputes the debt, the bureau, itself, should remove the dispute flag. But this rarely happens. Unfortunately though, the credit bureaus don’t always follow through when it comes to providing customer service. What many consumers don’t realize, though, is that this type of negligence puts the credit bureau in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
However, there are federal statutes in place to protect consumer rights. So, Michigan home buyers should NEVER feel that they are at the mercy of abusive debt collectors. If your mortgage is held up by a debt collection agency that refuses to report your account accurately, help is available. You can get a FREE credit repair lawyer to get the disputes removed from your credit report. Then you can move forward with the home buying process.
The Free and Legal way to Get Better Credit
Don’t let debt collectors or collection agencies get away with illegal actions. At Michigan Consumer Credit Lawyers, we’ve stopped debt collector abuse since 2008. We make the debt collector pay you. Our services cost you nothing. How do we do it? All of our fees come from the defendants in settled cases. This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do to stop debt collectors from harassing you. Call us today at (248)353-4840 or contact us via our website.
