I don’t know about Dave Ramsey, but his staff that takes questions and screens calls, are just that, “Screeners” and nothing more-for all you know, they might be a good fit as Screeners at the Hartsfield Airport in ATL.

I called Dave Ramsey’s number, hoping to catch him and ask him a question. Capital One, with who I had a $200 (Two Hundred) limit credit card jacked up interest rates, added penalty etc. to finally bill me for $2,000 – (I called Dave’s show since a caller with a Capital One Credit card of $800 limit was being pursued for $8000 by Capital One.)

My specific question related to the legality of the Creditor, Capital One, to re-age my account. In the Credit Report I received from Equifax in June 2008, the date of 1st delinquency reported by Capital One to Equifax was Jan 2002. When I checked my Equifax Credit Report in Jan 2009, I was horrified to notice that Capital One had, around Dec 2008, updated, by providing another date to Equifax, had caused the date of 1st delinquency in the Equifax Credit Report to change to July 2002.

To the best of my understanding, as per the FCRA, the Creditor is not allowed to re-age the account, ie., the clock starts ticking from the date of the first delinquency, and this date cannot be changed by the Creditor.

When I called Dave Ramsey, I was shocked to hear the lady on the line state that “since I had not paid the debt, Capital One was at liberty to change the date of 1st delinquency to anything they wanted, and that this would continue till I paid off the debt.” I explained to her that the debt was no longer owed since it was over the 6 year period and that the Statute of Limitations governed this debt. The lady would not even listen, and like a broken record, continued to repeat what she had already told me, and then hung up. I felt like I had just got off the phone with a Collection Agency, and not a team-member of a person who is acclaimed as a Champion of the masses…

I called again, and got a lady on the phone and explained the situation to her, and told her that the advice provided by the earlier person was not correct, and this lady (maybe it was the same lady-I couldn’t tell, since I was driving) repeated the exact same advice, quoting that per the FCRA, it is not illegal for the Creditor to re-age my account. When I tried reasoning with her, a guy (I am guessing he is the guy who heads Dave Ramsey’s call center) came on the line, interrupting my conversation and says:” Sir, you called earlier and we have been told to tell you what you just heard, and please do not call again”

So much for Dave Ramsey and his team. It’s a pity. With a self-important and pompous voice, Dave Ramsey goes about his business as usual, selling his FPU, touting his books and audio material and tooting his horn to the unsuspecting, uninformed public. He and his team are indeed, a rare commodity.

I emailed the link (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/05/ncogroup.shtm) that I found on the question under discussion as soon as I got home that day, to an email ID I found on Dave’s site – am yet to hear anything from him or his team.

I don’t know about Dave Ramsey, but his staff that takes questions and screens calls, are just that, “Screeners” and nothing more. I called Dave Ramsey’s number, hoping to catch him and ask him a question. Capital One, with who I had a $200 (Two Hundred) limit credit card jacked up interest rates, added penalty etc. to finally bill me for $2,000 – (I called Dave’s show since a caller with a Capital One Credit card of $800 limit was being pursued for $8000 by Capital One.)

My specific question related to the legality of the Creditor, Capital One, to re-age my account. In the Credit Report I received from Equifax in June 2008, the date of 1st delinquency reported by Capital One to Equifax was Jan 2002. When I checked my Equifax Credit Report in Jan 2009, I was horrified to notice that Capital One had, around Dec 2008, updated, by providing another date to Equifax, had caused the date of 1st delinquency in the Equifax Credit Report to change to July 2002.

To the best of my understanding, as per the FCRA, the Creditor is not allowed to re-age the account, ie., the clock starts ticking from the date of the first delinquency, and this date cannot be changed by the Creditor.

When I called Dave Ramsey, I was shocked to hear the lady on the line state that “since I had not paid the debt, Capital One was at liberty to change the date of 1st delinquency to anything they wanted, and that this would continue till I paid off the debt.” I explained to her that the debt was no longer owed since it was over the 6 year period and that the Statute of Limitations governed this debt. The lady would not even listen, and like a broken record, continued to repeat what she had already told me, and then hung up. I felt like I had just got off the phone with a Collection Agency, and not a team-member of a person who is acclaimed as a Champion of the masses…

I called again, and got a lady on the phone and explained the situation to her, and told her that the advice provided by the earlier person was not correct, and this lady (maybe it was the same lady-I couldn’t tell, since I was driving) repeated the exact same advice, quoting that per the FCRA, it is not illegal for the Creditor to re-age my account. When I tried reasoning with her, a guy (I am guessing he is the guy who heads Dave Ramsey’s call center) came on the line, interrupting my conversation and says:” Sir, you called earlier and we have been told to tell you what you just heard, and please do not call again”

So much for Dave Ramsey and his team. It’s a pity. With a self-important and pompous voice, Dave Ramsey goes about his business as usual, selling his FPU, touting his books and audio material and tooting his horn to the unsuspecting, uninformed public. He and his team are indeed, a rare commodity.

I emailed the link (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/05/ncogroup.shtm) that I found on the question under discussion as soon as I got home that day, to an email ID I found on Dave’s site – am yet to hear anything from him or his team.

It’s sad to see that somehow they manage to always get something so important wrong.

I believe it is impossible to overstate the importance of checking your credit report at least once a year – hey it’s free for crying out loud.

I’ve actually been a victim of erroneous credit report data. When I applied for my first mortgage I was told I had been given a (much) higher interest rate due to my bankruptcy. The problem was – I had never declared bankruptcy.

I actually laughed when the lender showed me the report because I was in 10th grade at the time I supposedly declared bankruptcy.