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Nissassa posted:My wife just got a phone call this morning saying she was going to get arrested for defaulting on a payday loan awhile back. I'm pretty sure this has to be a violation of the FDCPA? What should I do about it? This is a scam. Not a debt collection. To the best of my knowledge a bunch of folks from India purchased pre-paid phones and either hacked, or purchased personal information on a bunch of customers from another loan place. They will threaten you with totally illegal things and are generally rear end holes. My friend stopped getting calls from them after he said the person they were calling for wasn't there and he was on a plane to India, something about scum of the earth scammers and the movie 'Taken' and he hasn't heard a word from them since. For more info, google "office of law and investigation" and find lots of reports of this same thing that so far everyone seems incapable of fixing.
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Feb 18, 2011 19:00
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Winkle-Daddy posted:This is a scam. Not a debt collection. To the best of my knowledge a bunch of folks from India purchased pre-paid phones and either hacked, or purchased personal information on a bunch of customers from another loan place. They will threaten you with totally illegal things and are generally rear end holes. Yeah it seems that way, going to talk to my bank while this is in pending. On the phone with the police department, and come to find out the number she used to contact her was from Saudi Arabia. Wonderful that she used my account...
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Feb 18, 2011 19:16
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Two questions. 1) I had a debt collection agency hound me last year and I paid them off so I have a "settled in full" line on my credit report. I dispute it was an invalid debt but the creditor wouldn't agree with me and I caved rather than deal with it (big mistake). I read the OP and I'm wise now to paying for a delete. Now that it's after the fact am I screwed? 2) I just had my credit ran as I'm looking at buying a house and I have a collection from NCO financial open for "medical payment data". This smells like bullshit to me, should I call them up first or proceed directly to mailing them a DVL? I have no such knowledge of what this could be.
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Feb 18, 2011 22:59
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Anti-Hero posted:Two questions. 1) You settled and disputed afterwards with the bureaus? I thought I read in here that you can try a dispute with the credit bureau's on the paid-in-full, and since the CA has been paid they may let it go. 2) I don't think you'll get much accomplished over the phone, and it's best to have a paper trail with that kind of stuff.
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Feb 18, 2011 23:10
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Knightmare posted:1) You settled and disputed afterwards with the bureaus? I thought I read in here that you can try a dispute with the credit bureau's on the paid-in-full, and since the CA has been paid they may let it go. 1) Well I disputed over the phone with original creditor, not the debt collector. Long story: I moved from one state and needed to cancel my gym membership. Gyms have pretty stringent and lovely contracts, and the only way to get out of it was to fax their contracted financial company a copy of my new driver's license and a letter of intent to cancel, and to pay some fee. I did all that, and never heard back until about 6 months later when they had sent me to collections because something got lost in translation. I sent the creditor a DVL and it was verified, but I disputed with the gym that I followed their cancellation procedures, but I had no proof besides "yeah I faxed all that poo poo in" and their records were contrary to what I said. Also, the cancellation fee never was debited from that account like it was supposed to, and I closed that bank account a couple months after I moved. My mistake for not confirming that things were ok on my end. It stressed me out so much I just cut a check to collection agency to make it go away. Now I have this derogatory line on my credit that's dropped my score by quite a bit for the two agencies that it was reported to. Curiously both of these collections don't show up on my Equifax score which is thusly 750 while the other two are around 680. 2) I just went back into my paperwork for this whole collection mess, and I found a letter from NCO dated around the time as the above collection where they were collecting the same debt. Can a creditor sell one debt to two agencies? I now remember calling NCO and submitting them proof that the debt in 1) was paid, and never heard a peep back from them. Thanks for any insight.
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Feb 18, 2011 23:50
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Thanks for the thread. I'm getting ready to try and settle ~75K of credit card debt as well as letting an 85K house go. We attempted to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, were advised by our attorney that we would qualify, and now we are about to be dismissed. (It's a long story, will post details if there is interest. Bad attorney + a Supreme Court decision after filing and before discharge.) We have the option to convert to a chapter 13, but do not feel that 5 years in a payment plan of ~$1100 is the best way to go. We have no assets beyond our house which we have vacated. We live in NC which is a no garnishment state (beyond child support, taxes & student loans). I don't really have any questions at this point as we are just waiting for our bankruptcy to be dismissed before we can move forward, but wanted to introduce myself...
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Feb 19, 2011 03:22
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I checked my credit report and I have a collection item from my power company when I lived in NC during college. I'm almost certain that the power bill was in my ex-boyfriend's name, but it's showing up on my report from June 2008. I moved out in October 2007, so I sent a dispute stating that fact. They've never attempted to contact me about it. Should I just not be concerned until they do, and then dispute it if they do contact me? It's only for about $100 so I could take care of it and get a pay for delete if they ever do move that far. I'm only concerned about it because it's the only blemish on my credit and won't fall off until some time in 2013.
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Feb 19, 2011 15:17
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Does anyone here have any experience with Lexington Law's credit repair services? They seem to be rated as the top in their industry. My girlfriend has been preparing herself to deal with some major credit issues she's been having and I would like to know if this is a viable option. She's looking to pursue the whole DV / PFD process, would a company like Lexington Law be just as good if not better at doing so?
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Feb 20, 2011 19:48
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kstatix posted:Does anyone here have any experience with Lexington Law's credit repair services? They seem to be rated as the top in their industry. My girlfriend has been preparing herself to deal with some major credit issues she's been having and I would like to know if this is a viable option. She's looking to pursue the whole DV / PFD process, would a company like Lexington Law be just as good if not better at doing so? A co-worker of mine used LL to repair his credit. It took about a year, but his credit reports are sterling right now. Went from a sub 500 to a 740 in about 18 months or so. It did cost him about a grand in fees though, and all of his debts were older which makes credit repair easier. Things that are still fresh are much harder to repair.
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Feb 20, 2011 20:26
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DontBurnthePig posted:Thanks for the thread. I'm getting ready to try and settle ~75K of credit card debt as well as letting an 85K house go. We attempted to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, were advised by our attorney that we would qualify, and now we are about to be dismissed. (It's a long story, will post details if there is interest. Bad attorney + a Supreme Court decision after filing and before discharge.) We have the option to convert to a chapter 13, but do not feel that 5 years in a payment plan of ~$1100 is the best way to go. We have no assets beyond our house which we have vacated. We live in NC which is a no garnishment state (beyond child support, taxes & student loans). I don't really have any questions at this point as we are just waiting for our bankruptcy to be dismissed before we can move forward, but wanted to introduce myself... Why didn't the Chapter 7 go through? If your in a no garnishment state just walk from everything and say gently caress it.
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Feb 20, 2011 20:28
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2 months ago a real shady debt collector said they were going to sue me if I didn't pay them that day, demanded my checking account number and stuff. I told them I couldn't right now but I would in the future. They haven't sued me and I doubt the will, it's for a 700 dollar credit card. Although I'd like to pay it off, is there anything I can do considering that they threatened me without actually moving on the suit?
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Feb 20, 2011 20:46
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skipdogg posted:A co-worker of mine used LL to repair his credit. It took about a year, but his credit reports are sterling right now. Went from a sub 500 to a 740 in about 18 months or so. It did cost him about a grand in fees though, and all of his debts were older which makes credit repair easier. Things that are still fresh are much harder to repair. Do you have any idea what kinds of methods they used for him? Anything beyond what has been covered in this thread, in other words? I have some negative items on my report, but they are all "paid in full", and already between 8 months to 2 years in the past. Since I paid everything off in full before ever seeing a thread like this, I feel ike I don't have any leverage to get anything removed. When I put my data through a service like MyFico, it looks like it would take 2-3 years of paying poo poo on time to hit 740. Just curious how results like that could even be possible.
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Feb 20, 2011 21:57
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lapse posted:Do you have any idea what kinds of methods they used for him? Anything beyond what has been covered in this thread, in other words? It's nothing that hasn't been covered on CreditBoards, the old Art of Credit site, or whatever other sites are hopping right now. You're paying it to make it their job. You can do it yourself, but its very time consuming.
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Feb 20, 2011 22:45
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skipdogg posted:Why didn't the Chapter 7 go through? If your in a no garnishment state just walk from everything and say gently caress it. no garnishment states often let bank accounts get raided. Keep your paycheck, but have no ability to write checks, pay bills is a big downer.
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Feb 21, 2011 03:48
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squidtarts posted:I checked my credit report and I have a collection item from my power company when I lived in NC.. kstatix posted:Does anyone here have any experience with Lexington Law's credit repair services? They seem to be rated as the top in their industry. My girlfriend has been preparing herself to deal with some major credit issues she's been having and I would like to know if this is a viable option. She's looking to pursue the whole DV / PFD process, would a company like Lexington Law be just as good if not better at doing so? If your girlfriend wants to pay someone hundreds of dollars to write some letters, that's her prerogative I guess. BusinessWallet posted:2 months ago a real shady debt collector said they were going to sue me if I didn't pay them that day, demanded my checking account number and stuff. I told them I couldn't right now but I would in the future. They haven't sued me and I doubt the will, it's for a 700 dollar credit card. Although I'd like to pay it off, is there anything I can do considering that they threatened me without actually moving on the suit? lapse posted:I have some negative items on my report, but they are all "paid in full", and already between 8 months to 2 years in the past. Since I paid everything off in full before ever seeing a thread like this, I feel ike I don't have any leverage to get anything removed. Otherwise, there's probably not much leverage for you (or someone writing on your behalf).
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Feb 21, 2011 04:14
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Roundboy posted:no garnishment states often let bank accounts get raided. Not really, it's really easy to survive without a bank account. If you can't pay the bill at a local grocery store or Wal-Mart you can easily purchase a money order and a stamp and mail it in. My sister has lived bank free by choice for over 13 years, she's never once had an issue from not having a bank account.
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Feb 21, 2011 07:45
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In some ways, the big debt relief companies can be even worse than doing it yourself (or having your lawyer/someone working personally with you do it) because once you're in their system they often just dump form letters at your negatives and often push their clients to settle when the possibility of a deletion is there if you keep going. Recently I helped a friend of my mother's take her credit from 478 to nearly 800 in about a year. LL quoted her something like $1500 plus settlement offers and a longer timeframe. I did it for her for about $250 and a big dinner at Topolobampo near the end of it. Either do it yourself or hire someone small to do it so you know you're getting personalized advice.
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Feb 21, 2011 10:20
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Thanks for all the advice in this thread! I majorly screwed up my credit when I was in college, and paid off most of it without knowing about the whole PFD process. I finally managed to look at my credit score again today, found my last 2 remaining charge off accounts, and sent off 2 PFD's. I had to speak on the phone to a lady at one of the recovery agencies I called in order to get my full account number for a medical debt that I owed 44 dollars on. When she kept trying to bully me to pay before giving me the information I needed, I asked her if her company (NCO) does PFD for accounts, she vehemently said NO, and said "paying it off in full is basically the same thing"., to which I laughed. I still wrote one and sent it anyway!
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Feb 21, 2011 19:24
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CubsWoo posted:In some ways, the big debt relief companies can be even worse than doing it yourself (or having your lawyer/someone working personally with you do it) because once you're in their system they often just dump form letters at your negatives and often push their clients to settle when the possibility of a deletion is there if you keep going. "We'll call everyone for you and instead of paying many bills, you'll make one payment to us that's slightly lower than that total. Most of the accounts will show that you settled, and we won't do anything to prevent that from happening. Also, we're keeping the first payment for ourselves as payment for our wonderful service." Years ago, a co-worker was telling me all about how wonderful Christian Credit Counselors were (I think that's the name), and how she was teetering on bankruptcy before she "found" them. And almost as importantly, they were good Christians. Several months later, she was nearly beside herself, because the company we worked for decided to update their background checks on us, and her credit was completely demolished. She had been given 60 days to get current with everyone, or she could resign (which was their way of tricking you in to not letting them fire you, so they could avoid paying severance and unemployment). I offered to help and found that just about every tradeline she had was reporting 90 / 120 days past due, and smaller ones as settled. I suggested she call up the credit counselors to see what was going on, and as I had suspected, they hadn't been paying her bills. They were holding on to the money until she had "a substantial amount", at which time they'd pick an account they thought would accept a one-time payment for 20% less than the balance owed (which was steadily increasing across the board, due to late fees and interest). She called them to drop out, but had to make another payment to them, because she signed a contract requiring 30 days' notice. In the meantime, I tried helping out with what I could, and we made some okay progress. But in the end, even if she was current with everyone, her payments were more than she brought home. So declaring bankruptcy was really the only practical solution for her, and any third grader should have been able to figure that out with just a cursory look at her budget. I've heard pretty similar stories from other debt relief companies / credit counselors, and noticed that the Better Business Bureau automatically downgrades any company who is one. (reference: http://www.credit.com/news/experts/2009-03-12/settlement-companies-protest-better-business-bureau-rating-system.html) sleepness posted:I asked her if her company (NCO) does PFD for accounts, she vehemently said NO, and said "paying it off in full is basically the same thing"., to which I laughed. I still wrote one and sent it anyway! And yes, NCO does PFD. TWiNKiE fucked around with this message at 19:28 on Feb 21, 2011 |
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Feb 21, 2011 19:24
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Before I put these in the mail (since it is a holiday and all), just wanted someone to glance at what I wrote (well, chose to use, basically copy/pasted from a template) and let me know if there are any terminal flaws, "Dear Sir or Madam: This letter is an offer to amicably settle the above account. It is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of my liability for this debt in any form. I will pay your company the amount of $XXXX as full settlement of this account. If you accept this agreement, I will send you a money order or certified cashiers check for the settlement amount of $XXXX in exchange for a full deletion of all references regarding this account from my credit profile and full satisfaction of the debt. This agreement is binding and will be void should you not hold up to your end of the agreement. Furthermore the debt will be deleted from my credit profile at all three credit bureaus, or the bureaus your company regularly reports to in the course of doing business. If you agree to the above, please acknowledge with your signature and return a copy to me. Upon receipt of this signed acknowledgment, I will promptly send you a money order or cashiers check in the amount stated above. Notice: This agreement is restricted. This is not a renewed promise to pay, but rather a restricted settlement offer only. By not signing below, you agree that the debt has not been renewed nor have any concrete written agreements been exchanged. As granted by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I have the right to dispute this alleged debt. If I do not receive your postmarked response within 15 days, I will withdraw the offer and request full verification of this debt. Thank you. I look forward to resolving this matter in the best interest for both of our parties. Creditor’s Authorized Signature: _____________________ Date:_________________ Name: ______________________ Title : _______________________
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Feb 21, 2011 19:43
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sleepness posted:As granted by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I have the right to dispute this alleged debt. If I do not receive your postmarked response within 15 days, I will withdraw the offer and request full verification of this debt. If you have, did they validate? Properly? You basically want your letter to cover these bases: *I dispute the debt (if you do). *Because I want to reach an amicable agreement, I'm willing to pay $X *In exchange for $X, I want you to remove the info from my reports. I'm not admitting it's mine. *I also want you to agree not to sell the account. Once you get payment, the account's dead. *If you agree, send me a letter signed by someone authorized to make an agreement. Here's a sample, assuming you're within your 30 days and haven't disputed yet: quote:Collection Agency
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Feb 21, 2011 20:45
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Thanks Twinkie. Unfortunately, I am very well past my 30 days. The NCO account has been with the collection agency for about 8 months, and the other for about a year. Does this hurt my chances of getting a PDF or change how I should go about it? I just figured since they don't have to validate my debt by any means, I would just skip that and offer a settlement.
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Feb 21, 2011 20:54
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They may not have to validate the debt, but in my experience requesting validation is a good way to get even past-30 creditors off your back. I think a lot of the time consumers who show spine and even a casual understanding of the FDCPA get shoved to the "Don't bother with/re-sell ASAP" file and once some new sucker company buys your debt you can take a second crack at validation. Friends of mine who I'm working with on debt repair have been seeing unprompted offers from some of the CAs starting at 45% or lower right now. The economy sucks and they're taking what they can get which means you're in the driver's seat in determining payment amounts and terms.
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Feb 21, 2011 21:01
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sleepness posted:Thanks Twinkie. Personally, if I was within the 30 days, I'd make them validate and do the dance to not pay anything. I see PFD's as a last resort. So, in this situation, you really don't have much to lose. Edit: Or like CubsWoo suggested, see if asking them to validate spooks them.
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Feb 21, 2011 21:03
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Thanks both cubswoo and twinkie! The letter went out using Twinkies template with a few modifications. Here's hoping, since my credit can definitely stand to go up!
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Feb 21, 2011 22:51
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Sleepless, do you mind posting your letter edited for sensitive information? I have an NCO collection issue I need to deal with in much the same way.
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Feb 21, 2011 23:21
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No problem. Toss me your e-mail and I'll send it when I get home from work.
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Feb 21, 2011 23:25
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I can't even tell you how many people file answers to lawsuits filed against them by credit card companies saying that they are working with a debt relief company. It doesn't make a difference.
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Feb 22, 2011 03:15
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Is it worth it disputing a debt that has already been paid in full but showing as a charge off in order to try to "get lucky" to see if they don't validate?
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Feb 22, 2011 04:01
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TWiNKiE posted:I'm kind of confused here... To be honest, I'm only assuming the debt was purchased because the CA now (NCO) trying to collect on this debt is different than the one trying to collect on the same debt several months earlier (Northgroup or something). NCO is not reporting to the CRA, only Capital One. My question is how will any negotiations with the NCO help me if they don't show up on my file? Sorry if I wasn't clear in my previous post, and thanks again for responding!
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Feb 22, 2011 15:48
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Has anyone ever dealt with Vanguard? I have an account from a medical bill back in 06. Now because I was living in another state at the time and my father never sent me the mail and just waited to give it to me when I got home, it was sent to a CA in 07. I had thought I had paid it off but they called me in 09 and told me I better pay up and I did because I just wanted it out of my life. I tried to find out if it was actually paid in 07, but the office I wouldve paid the bill at was closed and moved to another city. I was using another bank at the time and called the old bank and they told me I would have to pay for all of my statements at $7/statement and I had 3 accounts. So, that's not an option. As with any CA, I call and they are EXTREMELY RUDE and like to hang up on me. I asked if they could delete if I sent them money (this is after I paid) and they flat out said no. Let me know if anyone has dealt with them and how to get past their jerk attitudes.
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Feb 22, 2011 16:18
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bootleg robot posted:To be honest, I'm only assuming the debt was purchased because the CA now (NCO) trying to collect on this debt is different than the one trying to collect on the same debt several months earlier (Northgroup or something). NCO is not reporting to the CRA, only Capital One. Having the negative tick on your report doesn't really change too much about a settlement agreement. In fact, it really tends to make them harder, because the CA takes the stance that they have something you want (the ability to delete). The only tricky thing is that in a PFD, you're able to say "I'm not admitting anything, I just want that to go away." Crafting a letter that says "I'm not admitting anything, but here's some money to not say mean things about me" is a bit harder. PoliSciGirl posted:As with any CA, I call and they are EXTREMELY RUDE and like to hang up on me. I asked if they could delete if I sent them money (this is after I paid) and they flat out said no. quote:Dear CRA, If they come back with CA information, send something like this to the CA: quote:PoliSciGirl
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Feb 22, 2011 23:33
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Cubswoo/twinkie, great info in the thread. Was talking with a co-worker today - apparently he was denied credit for a car loan, I kinda pressed him on it. We helped the dude pull his credit score and it was abysmal (mid 500s) and want to help him out.. Figured I would ask for advice on his behalf. From what I know, he's 24 years old (if that helps), has 6 debts stemming from uni. If it helps, All of these occurred in the state of Maryland. 1 > 1 from 2007, $800 some bill from tmobile.. he has gotten a letter one or twice from someone named "Kay" and is a lawyer (google tells me this guy is Law offices of Kay in NY? basically a junk debt buyer who actually isnt even a lawyer i think. tons of poo poo reviews) 2 > 1 from 2007, ~ $ 1200, reported by FCO (Fair Collections & Outsourcing, google tells me it's in baltimore. no mentions on whether they're lovely or honest guys) - rent that he claims he paid but landlord was trying to stiff him out of the deposit. he did not receive any notice from them, but disputed this information in 2008 but only got vague letters of verification (not validation) 3 > 1 from 2007, ~$40, handled by Sunrise, about a cable bill dispute - he disputed these and the company sent him a letter saying they cant verify, and have took it off experian & equifax.. however, it still shows up on transunion 4 > 1 from 2008 (also from FCO), for about $12k also breaking a lease (rent was too drat high apparently). Different rental company from the one above, though. They also want a full years worth of rent payments even though he terminated it two months prior to the end of lease 5 > 1 credit card from BOA - revolving limit of 500, balance is always paid off in full every month but is not a secured card.. BOA just seems to refuse to increase his limit. he is current on this 6 > 1 older car debt which was just paid off I guess his issues are #s 1, 2 & 4. He is in a better financial straight to pay off his debts now, & # 1 seems easy enough to send a DV letter to - but if he has not received notice other than 'attempted settlement offers' for like half the amount. He threw these away in the past but has not actually sent any letters to verify any debts. He's cool with paying to make this go away, but just wants it off his report. Of course, he'd like to avoid paying if he can. edit: for #3, can he sue if they "forgot" to take it off TU? what's the steps there he needs to take? For #2/4, FCO - he did send them verification letters and they basically sent him a few checklists and an attempted settlement offer from a landlord (#4).. which doesnt have his signature/he never signed. In both cases, he says he has proof that he paid and that it was an error or something, and even in the worst case the security deposit should have covered whatever was left, so he's confused. I read up on the thread and it seems like the SOL in maryland is like, 3 years. given it occured in 2008, and it's 2011 - should he just lie low then dance next year? But the federal? SOL is 7 years, so I'm not sure which one they follow. However, FCO haven't even done anything or be aggressive, no mentions of a lawsuit, etc. He did send them a C&D letter along with the verification letters and they've complied thus far with it. Furthermore, he hasn't received notice from the OC, just the CA - i assume this is way past his 30 days, so to file a DV, PFD, etc? Basically all of this time he's stuck his head in the sand going LALALALALALALA and hoping it goes away. OTOH he kind of needs a car loan since his car just broke down - both his parents are foreigners, so he's basically SOL on co-signers. That pretty much leaves him with needing to boost his credit score at least 100 or 200 points. What do you suggest? Skandiaavity fucked around with this message at 01:32 on Feb 23, 2011 |
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Feb 23, 2011 01:29
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sleepness posted:No problem. Toss me your e-mail and I'll send it when I get home from work. Thanks bud. It's charlie dot muschany at gmail dot com.
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Feb 23, 2011 03:46
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Might as well see if I can get some situation specific advice too. My credit is also shot, however, most of it (well at least to me) seems unfixable. -3 credit cards from citi, all closed however I am still making payments on them. (still with original creditor) -1 utility bill that went to an attorney (paid in full already - 2.5 years ago) -1 credit card closed and settled as paid in full (2.5 years ago) -2 credit cards from WFP, both closed, settled and paid in full (2.5 years ago) -2 accounts I still owe on which I sent PFD's to. Now, I don't know if any of this is fixable or not, minus the PFD's that I've already sent. Do I just have to wait out the miserable credit for the remaining 5 years, or do I have room with Citi to try to negotiate PFD?
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Feb 23, 2011 05:18
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Skandiaavity posted:1 > 1 from 2007, $800 some bill from tmobile.. he has gotten a letter one or twice from someone named "Kay" and is a lawyer (google tells me this guy is Law offices of Kay in NY? basically a junk debt buyer who actually isnt even a lawyer i think. tons of poo poo reviews) If you're sure it's past the SOL, offer $50, or even $25. Let them know in the PFD letter that you know they're beyond the SOL. quote:2 > 1 from 2007, ~ $ 1200, reported by FCO (Fair Collections & Outsourcing, google tells me it's in baltimore. no mentions on whether they're lovely or honest guys) - rent that he claims he paid but landlord was trying to stiff him out of the deposit. he did not receive any notice from them, but disputed this information in 2008 but only got vague letters of verification (not validation) quote:3 > 1 from 2007, ~$40, handled by Sunrise, about a cable bill dispute - he disputed these and the company sent him a letter saying they cant verify, and have took it off experian & equifax.. however, it still shows up on transunion quote:4 > 1 from 2008 (also from FCO), for about $12k also breaking a lease (rent was too drat high apparently). Different rental company from the one above, though. They also want a full years worth of rent payments even though he terminated it two months prior to the end of lease My understanding though, is that Michigan's Landlord - Tenant Act is one of few that tends to favor the renter. Check with nearby universities and see if they have a housing assistance commission or something similar. quote:5 > 1 credit card from BOA - revolving limit of 500, balance is always paid off in full every month but is not a secured card.. BOA just seems to refuse to increase his limit. he is current on this quote:6 > 1 older car debt which was just paid off quote:I read up on the thread and it seems like the SOL in maryland is like, 3 years. given it occured in 2008, and it's 2011 - should he just lie low then dance next year? quote:But the federal? SOL is 7 years, so I'm not sure which one they follow. quote:However, FCO haven't even done anything or be aggressive, no mentions of a lawsuit, etc. He did send them a C&D letter along with the verification letters and they've complied thus far with it. Furthermore, he hasn't received notice from the OC, just the CA - i assume this is way past his 30 days, so to file a DV, PFD, etc? Basically all of this time he's stuck his head in the sand going LALALALALALALA and hoping it goes away. quote:OTOH he kind of needs a car loan since his car just broke down - both his parents are foreigners, so he's basically SOL on co-signers. That pretty much leaves him with needing to boost his credit score at least 100 or 200 points. What do you suggest? Try Roadloans. As a last resort, HSBC would probably finance him too. Get cheap car ($5,000 - $7,500) that's taken most of its depreciation hit, spend the next year fixing credit, refinance or sell the car once his credit's better. sleepness posted:-3 credit cards from citi, all closed however I am still making payments on them. (still with original creditor) If so, this is actually really good. Once you get close to paying them off, send a goodwill letter to Citi, asking them to remove the tradelines. quote:-1 utility bill that went to an attorney (paid in full already - 2.5 years ago) quote:-1 credit card closed and settled as paid in full (2.5 years ago) quote:-2 credit cards from WFP, both closed, settled and paid in full (2.5 years ago) quote:-2 accounts I still owe on which I sent PFD's to. quote:Now, I don't know if any of this is fixable or not, minus the PFD's that I've already sent. Do I just have to wait out the miserable credit for the remaining 5 years, or do I have room with Citi to try to negotiate PFD? Don't PFD Citi unless you're totally under water and want to settle. Here's something rarely tried that worked with my Citi problem: buy a share of stock. Right now, they trade for about $5. Wait a few weeks, then contact Shareholder Relations with a polite letter expressing your concern as a shareholder, and ask them to help you out.
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Feb 23, 2011 07:21
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Those ideas are ...ingenious. Twinkie, you have my eternal gratitude. Will get to work on those at work. I am also totally going for the shareholder one.
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Feb 23, 2011 14:02
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TWiNKiE posted:
If it's outside the SOL, the company is violating by reporting it to the CRAs so it should be easy to have it removed with a simple challenge. The CRAs do not like to report SOL issues as it opens them up to liability.
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Feb 23, 2011 15:38
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Twinkie, Thanks. I will pass that along to him. Hopefully he'll manage to get a beater or something. LorneReams posted:If it's outside the SOL, the company is violating by reporting it to the CRAs so it should be easy to have it removed with a simple challenge. The CRAs do not like to report SOL issues as it opens them up to liability. I don't get this, so by it being past the SOL, it's easier to remove? But I thought they had 7 years until they should remove it?
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Feb 23, 2011 19:49
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LorneReams posted:If it's outside the SOL, the company is violating by reporting it to the CRAs so it should be easy to have it removed with a simple challenge. The CRAs do not like to report SOL issues as it opens them up to liability. What's relevant there: quote:The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors' from using any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. (15 U.S.C. § 1692e). Among the conduct that violates this provision is the "communication or threat to communicate to any person credit information which is known or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed." 15 U.S.C. 5 1692e(8). The term "communication" is given a very broad definition in the act. It means 'the conveying of information regarding a debt directly or indirectly to any person through any medium." 15 U.S.C. § 1692 a ( 2 ) Reporting a six year old debt that you're not disputing as "not mine" is not necessarily false, deceptive, or misleading. See also Section 605 of the FCRA (incidentally, one of only two sections of the FCRA that the FTC does not have an opinion on: quote:
Every state can set up its own SOL. Some have short ones (e.g. Delaware @ 3 years) and some have long ones (e.g. Massachusetts @ up to 20). So, let's say you move from Ohio (6 years) to Delaware (3 years) when you've got ten collection accounts from 2007. Using the "updating my report is a violation" logic, you should be able to blow those all away. Now let's say you move back in December. Well, you're back on the hook as far as SOL goes, but the CA's wouldn't be able to do anything to your reports, because that would fall under reinsertion. If that was how it worked, there'd be a cottage industry in Delaware for getting people "moved" temporarily to fix their credit. If you're aware of case law to the contrary, please let me know, so that I can incorporate my new moving service in Delaware. 
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Feb 23, 2011 19:51
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