Consumer complaint received 2022-09-06
Company: BARCLAYS BANK DELAWARE
State: AZ
Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-product: Credit reporting
Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-issue: Account status incorrect

Complaint:
My problem all the way back to XXXX, when my bank, XXXX XXXX, made a {$10000.00} coding error on the check I had written to XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX to pay my monthly credit card balance : XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX received {$10000.00} less than what I had written the check for. For the next three years, I tried to resolve the issue through letters and phone calls, but without success. So I put the issue on the back burner, and just continued my practice of paying my credit card bill in full and on time every month, minus the {$10000.00} that was in dispute. 

The credit card was later taken over by Barclays, and a couple of years ago, I made one last attempt to resolve the issue by writing a letter to Barclays explaining the history. I followed up on the letter and spoke with several different people at Barclays. However, I was told that there was nothing they could do, because the dispute arose when the credit card was held by XXXX XXXX XXXX. They suggested I contact XXXX XXXX  XXXX, which I did ( by letter and phone calls ). I was told over the phone that the issue was a " dead end, '' because they only keep records for seven years, but the dispute arose in XXXX. There was never any response to my letter to XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, so I made the decision to cancel my credit card, which I had first obtained in XXXX. I made my final payment of what I owed to Barclays ( minus the {$10000.00} in dispute ) and included a letter explaining why I canceled the credit card. For about six months after that, Barclays continued to send me statements for the {$10000.00} and interest, but then they stopped -- and they have made no attempt to collect the money from me. 

I got a new credit card and went on with my life, assuming that was the end of it. I never thought about the impact this could have on my credit scores, because I have been debt free for more than 25 years, and had no intention of taking out any loans. However, I recently decided to explore getting a HECM, and that is when I discovered that this old, unresolved dispute had seriously damaged my credit scores. The mortgage broker told me that I may have to set up a Life Expectancy Set Aside ( LESA ), even though I have always paid my property taxes and homeowners insurance premiums on time. 

It is very unfair that my credit scores have been damaged by a very old dispute that I tried for years to resolve, and that I am now told is impossible to resolve because the banks only keep records for seven years. So I am caught in a financial Catch 22. I am attaching photos of three of the key letters I wrote over the years. Any help you could give me to help me fix my credit scores would be greatly appreciated. Also, it is clear that the formulas for credit scores make no sense, when you have someone like me ( very responsible, no debt, substantial assets ) getting below-average credit scores.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation