Credit report be fraudulently wiped clean?

Question

I had an applicant who seemed perfect. Middle aged, quiet, bookish, divorced woman with an old cat. She mentioned that she had owned a home in the past. She answered all my questions and her answers were perfect, so I got a deposit from her immediately to put her application first in line.

The credit report came back un-scorable, with no information other than a couple of previous addresses, birthday, and 2002 as the year the report had been started. I searched the public record and found she had 2 mortgages on the home she said she had owned. I also called her work but it's a large company and would not release any info. without her signing a special form. I emailed her asking about the credit report and asking for paystubs, to save her time. I wasn't too concerned about the credit report because they sometimes makes mistakes, but I asked for her maiden name and if she was sure she had input the correct SS#.

Her response was strange. Said I was unorganized, she never had any problems renting in the past, and that she was frustrated and concerned by the process and wanted her deposit back. I wrote back stating that her over-reaction indicates that something is amiss, and that I would refund what was left after mitigating for the loss of rent due to stopping my advertising efforts. I said that I hoped to refund the entire deposit.

Next I got an excessively apologetic email, admitting that she was rude, and telling me to keep the entire deposit due to the trouble she had caused so that we can move on in peace.

I'm not sure what to make of this. Either she is 1. Mentally ill, in which case I should refund the deposit to her after deducting for any actual loss of rent. or 2. Guilty of credit report fraud (I don't know how) and thought I was close to catching on and reporting her to somebody.

Either way, I dodged a bullet on this one.

What do you think I should do? Keep or refund the deposit?

Bettina F. · Answer

I thought some people where unscorable because they do not use credit. There are a few of us who pay cash (or use debit cards) for everything. Was your prospect a Dave Ramsey fan?

Mindy Jensen · Answer

@Amy A. , I would return the entire every dime she gave you, minus the cost of the background check. You are choosing not to rent to her, not the other way around. I don't see you being able to legally keep anything except to cover the background check. I'd hate to see you get into legal trouble - and someone as flip-floppy as this is someone to steer clear of.

Rick S. · Answer

@Amy A. she could have been using a different SSN or maybe she was using a name that doesn't match her prior credit file as I have seen that cause issues with some credit reports. I would contact the company you ran the report through and have them investigate to confirm if it was an issue with the name she entered or some other factor.

Ray Harrell · Answer

If you don't rent to her, you must return her deposit. As for the credit report, a lot of credit repair companies specialize in quick credit repair, meaning they dispute everything negative on the report using an obscure reason that will take the creditor more than 30 days to respond. At that point, the entry is removed (or "corrected"). However, when the creditor is able to reaffirm the information, the entry reappears on the credit report.

I do credit restoration, but I always tell clients that things removed that are factual or affirmed MAY reappear in the future. We can always hope that the creditor never responds, but don't be surprised if they do. There is no time limit on a creditor affirming a debt, so even after years something can reappear (provided it's within statute of limitations for reporting).

Bob Okenwa · Answer

I am neither a landlord nor attorney so I am unsure of how the law works in regards to returning security deposits upfront. I'd consult with an attorney to make sure you are aware of what you have to refund and what you can keep in terms of what was covered by the deposit and what was signed by the applicant acknowledging the need of and usage of the deposit.

Credit report be fraudulently wiped clean?

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