I have been denied credit twice now. No, it's not as bad as what the others have been through, but I have a sinking feeling that it will affect me more and more in later years.
I first became aware of the problem with American Agencies in 2002 when I applied for a credit card and was (to my horror) denied. The deciding factor was a bad debt by American Agencies. They are apparently the collection agency for "PB PacBell"... A company I have never done business with and there is an account with my name on it from May.
Let me just give you a little history: in January of I was still living at home. Everything was in my mother's name (even the phone bill).in June of that year, I moved out with my fiance (now my husband) and everything was put in his name. A year later, we got married and a long time after that, I finally got around to changing my name. It wasn't until 2004 that I actually put a utility in my name! Could this PacBell account really be mine?!
Well, my husband did some research on the company, didn't find any "official" information, but he was overwhelmed with all the complaints against it. Naturally, his next step was to dispute it with the only company that was reporting it: Trans Union. We were able to have it removed, however, 2 years later I was denied credit (AGAIN) and found out it is now being reported with Expirian. Again, we disputed, but this time we weren't so lucky. American Agencies "verified" the account.
As I've said before, I didn't have it as bad as the others, but from what I've read, it has the power to get worse. I'm trying to get this taken care of before my husband and I decide to buy a house or start a family. So far, I have disputed the claim a total of 3 times, I have filed a complaint with the BBB and the FTC against American Agencies, and I have called American Agencies requesting documentation (with no reply).
The more I hear about this and the more it affects me, my life and the life of my family, the bigger stink I'll make!
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