Help! My Cable Bill Dropped My Credit Score 215 Points

A clerical error on a woman’s cable account caused her credit score to plummet more than 200 points, damaging the woman’s chances of buying a home, reports CBS 6 in Richmond, Va. Michelle Penn said she wasn’t getting anywhere with the cable company’s customer service, so she reached out to the media for help.

The problem started in 2009 when she had a balance of $400 on her Comcast cable account. Penn said she paid the balance last year, but when she checked her credit report information, she noticed the balance continued to be reported as unpaid. She said she saw her credit score drop 215 points because of the collection account.

CBS 6 Problem Solvers contacted Comcast and the company reviewed Penn’s account.

Collection accounts can seriously damage your credit score, as Penn learned firsthand, and a representative for Comcast told Credit.com the company apologized for the error. The company said it worked with Penn to resolve the issue to her satisfaction and sent her a letter confirming the balance had been forgiven. Comcast also told Credit.com the company contacted the collection agency to say the balance had been forgiven, and the agency will update the information with the credit bureaus. Ideally, Penn would see her credit reports fixed within a few weeks and her credit score go up as a result, but she’ll probably want to continue checking her credit history to make sure everything is correct.

Regularly checking your credit report for accuracy, like Penn did, can help you identify errors that could cause you unnecessary financial problems. When you find a mistake or signs your identity has been stolen, you should immediately start working to resolve the issue, because unfortunately, it can take a while to get things fixed. You can get a free annual credit report from each of the major credit reporting agencies every year on AnnualCreditReport.com and you can also get your free credit report card every 30 days on Credit.com.