Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Maryland

Secured Credit Card Dispute

I had a secured credit card, that I asked the company to close. At the time I requested it to be closed my security deposit was $200.00 and the balance on my card was $173.17. I contacted them on at least 5 different occassions in the months after the original request. They did not close the account and each month for seven months added $54.00 in fees to the balance. When they finally closed the account 7 months after the original request they applied my security deposit of $200.00 to the account and charged off the balance of over $300.00 (all of their fees) as a bad debt, and reported that on my credit report. When I learned of this two years later, I tried to straighten this out with them, only for them to insist that I pay it. After I contacted them they started reporting this account to the credit bureau regularly and add $ .29 per day to the balance. Can they do this? They never got a judgement against me and I only have two years before it comes off of my credit report, however this is causing my credit score to be very low to the point I believe this is why I was just turned down for a small business loan. Can I sue them for damages or even to just get this removed from my credit reports.


Asked on 4/09/02, 7:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Worsham Michael C. Worsham, Esq.

Re: Secured Credit Card Dispute

If you kept paper records demonstrating your efforts to close the account, you have a case against them. Certainly keep records of everything from this point out. Try to determine just why you were turned down for a loan, which would be real damages suffered as a result of their negligence. Check to see if there is some hidden clause in your contract for them to hide behind about some detail your failed to observe in closing your account. You could also just ask them for their explanation. Get a copy of your credit reports (one per year from each bureau is free in Maryland) and dispute each item in writing with all 3 major credit reporting bureaus.

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Answered on 4/09/02, 9:20 pm


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