We have a customer dispusting a loan. We didn't sign up for e-oscar because it was not cost effective. We've stopped reporting the loan to the credit bureau. They will not accept anything in writing from us - insist that everything has to be done through e-oscar and since we don't participate, we can't communicate with them. Is not reporting the only thing we can do?

Can you send a updated transmission via your regular reporting channels? If the previously reported information is inaccurate, you have an obligation to correct it beyond just not reporting. I thought E-OSCAR was mandatory for dispute resolutions (for the reason you stated; the bureaus won't accept anything else). If the borrower were to dispute with the bureaus directly, how do you receive and respond to those?

This is the first dispuste we've ever had. The customer DOES in fact owe the debt. It's his loan. We've proven it. But, he chooses to dispute it. So, the information we've submitted to the credit bureau if accurate. We've just stopped reporting it and we want to make sure that's all we have to do. Our IT folks checked into e-oscar and said it was optional and it was too expensive for us to participate in !!!! Is this a "yikes?"

You might want to contact the Federal Trade Commission to see what can be done in cases like this. They are very helpful on questions concerning e-Oscar because they realize there are problems around e-Oscar.

I believe that if you give something in writing to your customer that shows the correct status of the loan, the customer can submit a written request with the credit bureau and the credit bureau must investigate the problem and make it right in the system. Doing it this way puts it in the credit bureau's lap.

Good thinking, Suwannee. Padric, if your loan was properly reported, then you shouldn't have to correct any prior reporting. Written response to the customer that there was no error should suffice. I personally thought it was rather "rude" (for lack of a better term) for the bureaus to insist upon using E-OSCAR. We felt compelled to sign up despite the cost. It is pricey.

Thank you all for your responses. Thanks to Suwannee, I went to the FTC website and found the consumer's rights under FACTA. It's the credit bureau's obligation to investigate consumer diputes and it's their obligation to not report unverifiable or inaccurate information. So, it appears that as long as the bank isn't reporting inaccurate information we'll be OK. I also found a website where e-oscar was discussed, and the general consensus is that things are worse now that e-oscar is in place. It was better (although cumbersome) when it was all paper based. But, I found no requirement that banks participate in e-oscar, so that was good. THANK YOU ALL.

No, it was here: (PS: I agree, FTC site not suder friendly.)

http://www.guardmycreditfile.org/index.php/content/view/168/