Sallie Mae's 100+ Point FICO Drop Error Getting Fixed
Sallie Mae has publicly apologized for a coding error, potentially affecting around 1 million customers, that caused some consumers credit scores to drop over 100 points, and some consumers report that their dinged scores are already back up. If your score is not back to normal and you are in the middle of a transaction where your good credit is at stake, Sallie Mae said it will provide a credit reference letter. You can also call Sallie Mae customer service at 1-888-2-sallie. Sallie has pledged that the fix is in, but consumers can still take matters into their own hands by pulling their free credit report from annualcreditreport.com and disputing the incorrect information with Experian. Note, it's against Federal law for creditors to report false information to credit bureaus, and consumers can sue violators up to $1,000.
PREVIOUSLY: FICO Scores Drop Over 100 Points After Sallie Mae Recode, Potentially Millions Affected
(Photo: Getty)
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@tedyc03: Indeed. And even with the credit reference letter, I can already see some creditors salivating at the chance to disregard the letter and maintain the jacked up APR no matter what.
Next time... if it ain't broke, don't even think about fixing it!
I read the whole thread linked last night.
"If your score is not back to normal and you are in the middle of a transaction where your good credit is at stake, Sallie Mae said it will provide a credit reference letter."
One person who posted tried that and got "at this time we are not providing anything in writing" and REFUSED to provide this promised letter for the person's mortgage closing. They cost that person thousands, and this statement isn't ringing true.
Yeah try explaining this credit reference to mortgage lenders. They won't take it, because any deviation from standard operating procedure is not allowed.
This happened to me and SM was AWFUL about it. They treated me like hell and acted like I was an idiot. I finally asked for a US operator instead - they at least had half an idea about what was going on. Score was fixed as of this morning. But I think it screwed up my HELOC! GRRR!!!
This happened to my husband and his score has since returned to normal. However, we get our credit score information from myfico.com and it still shows a reduced credit score for that time period. Does anyone know from either Equifax or Sallie Mae whether this error is going to be fixed so that our credit reports/scores do not reflect these non-existent delinquent payments? We have been unsuccessful getting an answer. Any ideas on how to force the issue with Sallie Mae and/or Equifax?
"Credit score dropped a hundred points? Credit card company jacked up your interest rate? Oopsie!"
Yeah, I don't know how much consolation this will be to some who just had their financial lives ruined.