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credit history

Discussion in 'Questions and Answers' started by SICK, Mar 31, 2009.

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  1. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    gotta question.....i just pulled up my experian credit report.


    i got 5 things on there.......4 are def. payable within 6 months.


    i have ATT for 141 dollars......tmobile for like 400 dollars....something else for like 1100 dollars....and a bank of america credit card....it says 933 dollars written off......

    and then a student loan for 14k which iam paying now.


    my questions are......if BOA wrote off that 933.....can i still pay it? or is it done with, and i just gotta let it fall off my report?

    also, the smaller stuff owed, like the 141 dollars, the 420 dollars, and the 1100 dollars.......if i pay those, or call the collection companies that house them and i set up something and get them paid off within a few months....will they fall off my report completley? or just show that it was paid? and will that look better on my credit?

    my wife has a ton of maxed credit cards.....ive got these small dinky ones compared to hers, so we are trying to shore up my credit, sense it will be easier.....and i can try to get us a first time homeowner situation....and we can get a house :up:

    any info would be great....thanks
     
  2. DrAstroZoom

    DrAstroZoom Canary in a Coal Mine Luxury Box

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    You can still pay it off. Call BoA, and they will probably refer you to the collection agency that has purchased your debt. Once you pay it off, the late payments will still show up, but the debt will show as paid.

    They will show as paid until they are seven years old; then they will drop off. But a paid debt is always better than an outstanding debt.

    :up:
     
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  3. Crappy Tipper

    Crappy Tipper AKA Hero13

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    Also right now if you're still dealing directly with the credit card companies in many of those cases you can get them to adjust the interest rate down and set a fixed number of payments to pay off the account. You'll save a ****load in interest that way if they will go along with it.
     
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  4. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    so my credit score should go up significantly if i go from 4 unpaid late stuff.....to 4 paid things and a current student loan no?
     
  5. DrAstroZoom

    DrAstroZoom Canary in a Coal Mine Luxury Box

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    It'll definitely go up. Not sure how much.
     
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  6. Crappy Tipper

    Crappy Tipper AKA Hero13

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    No doubt, but ideally it's based on percentages. If you're trying to get geared up to buy a home they would like to see multiple open lines of credit and the credit that you are using should be 30% balance to available credit ratio.

    Easier said than done, I know, especially now. What worked for my wife and I was instead of trying to add money to all of the payments was to make the minimum payment on most of the cards then take any excess money that we had been distributing across all of the cards and piling it on the card with the highest interest rate & balance to knock it down faster until it got below the magic 30 (or paid off, your preference) then moving down to the next card.
     
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  7. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    i have 1 credit card.....and its the one that was charged off....so no chance of me re-opening it to use haha. the other one is phone bills and junk.

    so do you suggest, i pay these little things off....and maybe get a low balance credit card.....and keep it open and pay it off on time, and keep it current....would that help me more? rather than pay this off and just try to get approved for a 1st time homeowner program?

    side question.....anyone know the minimum requirements for the government 1st time homeowners program? i hate renting...i feel like iam setting my money on fire infront of my face....thanks so much fellas :up:
     
  8. Crappy Tipper

    Crappy Tipper AKA Hero13

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    pay off those that you can as fast as you can so you have as much time as possible to rebuild your credit profile.

    Yes, you hit the nail on the head start get an active card that you only charge enough on each month that you can pay off at the end of the month. The important thing is where ever you have an open credit account get it in good standing and don't close it you're going to need evidence of three to five credit lines (I believe).

    I don't know the requirements but I know there are some awesome incentives going on right now if you can get qualified.
     
  9. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    do they take into account i have had a bank account for about 6 years now, with no NSF charges or anything like that?

    i never needed a credit card, but i will get one.....buy lunch a few times a month and pay it off to show good standing....i wont get approved for a high limit....and it will probably garner a high annual fee and interest rate....
     
  10. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Actually Sick, paying off the past due stuff and it remaining on your report as over 90 days past due is counter productive, they'll have settled the debt and you will still have the 90 days past due.

    Before you pay that stuff off, negotiate with the debt holder to drop the past due flags on your report, they won't like doing that, but it can be done.

    And the first thing I'd do is request that Experian investigate the debts involved, they then will have 30 days to ascertain the debt amounts and terms and payment histories are accurate, if not it will drop off your Credit Report.

    That is known as a "Dispute" letter, Credit Histories are notoriously inaccurate.
     
  11. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    To find out about the government qualifications, I would say your best bet would be to go talk to a loan officer at a bank. They might even be able to help guide you as to a plan of action to meet your goals, but will certainly be able to give you a lot of insight into the process.
     
  12. Bumrush

    Bumrush Stable Genius Club Member

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    DO NOT PAY OFF ANYTHING. I REPEAT DO NOT PAY OFF ANYTHING. IT WILL HAVE NO IMPACT ON YOUR CREDIT SCORE.

    Please check out www.creditboards.com to develop a proper strategy. The credit forum has nearly 2 MILLION posts in it so you'll find all the information you need to get started.

    I had credit issues in the past and paying off charge-offs ensures that they stay on your report for 7 years as you have lost all leverage. The best method towards fixing credit is disputing and having negative information removed. This can be accomplished by negotiating removal of the negative items or finding inaccurate information that can not be verified within the alloted time they have to respond. Everything must be done in writing. Good luck.
     
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  13. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    how do i find inaccurate information?

    i mean, i got a credit card at 18.....never paid it....i was stupid....and now i owe. how will i get outta that jam?

    if i can, hell ill do it.....but i guess ill check out that site you posted first...to check all my angles
     
  14. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    If you flip over and read the back of your credit report, there normally is a statement to the effect "if you feel this report contains inaccurate information..."

    Simply look at the items on your report, right an individual letter for each item you disagree with something to the effect "Bank of America written off is inaccurate" and Experian will have to contact BOA (or whomever) and by law they have to verify what they have reported is accurate if they do not do so within 30 days (and they will try and fudge that limit) then it will come off your credit report.

    With BOA and various other financial instutions laying people off, they may not have the time to reply at all, and the item will be removed from your report.

    The only caution is...be vague, and do not use a form letter style of dispute letter as they can reject the request as "frivilous" and ignore it.
     
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  15. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    so what just type up something in "word" and send it?
     
  16. Bumrush

    Bumrush Stable Genius Club Member

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    The system is setup in a way that benfits people that take advantage of the consumer protections.

    I was an idiot when it came to paying bills when I was younger and suffered with poor credit until I decided to use the system to my advantage.
    This can be done by
    A) disputing the information. - If the CC company fails to respond to the dispute (could be bad address, wrong dates on report, bad total) within the allotted time the negative information will be dropped off the report)
    B) Check all three agencies: Experian, Transunion and Equifax. Use MyFico for an accurate credit report.
    C) Negotiate with creditors in writing. Before anything is paid off make sure that they send you a letter that confirms that all negative information will be removed in return for payment. This can be tricky as the collection agency may also have negative information. If that is the case you are pretty much screwed as the original creditor has sold the account to the agency and has no reason to work with you.

    Use the creditboards, especially the newbie forums.

    7 years ago my credit was below 600. Today I have near perfect credit, over 800. The key is to learn from your mistakes and to become financially responsible. All this work is a waste of time if you continue to pay things late or be lazy about bills.
     
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  17. SICK

    SICK Lounge Moderator

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    so i went to experian website and disputed all my stuff. if they answer back ill have to pay them like i was going to do anyways. heres to hoping my **** gets lost in the mail somewhere or something :up:
     
  18. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Pretty much, it can be as simple as:

    Full name
    Social Security Number
    Address

    Experian
    Address

    Date March 31, 2009

    To whom it may concern:

    I recently received a copy of my Experian Credit Report and believe (entry number for BoA information) is inaccurate and incomplete and would like it investigated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

    Thank you for your prompt investigation into this matter.

    Signed

    SickFF


    Send a request for an investigation (by mail) for each negative entry and see what happens.
     
  19. Crappy Tipper

    Crappy Tipper AKA Hero13

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    Interesting. I was told just the opposite and it worked out quite well. Probably as many opinions are there are problems.

    I tried the dispute method as well but they were able to answer the bell every time and I didn't successfully get a single thing removed.
     
  20. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    The problem with paying off the debts is as soon as the first nickel hits the creditor, the debt stays on your credit report for 7 more years.

    I've had mixed results, maybe 75% of the negative items were dropped off.

    BTW, if one is going to launch a dispute, ALWAYS use the mail, that can not be stressed more, the snail mail route is much more time consuming to handle and this is case were one wants the clock to run out.
     
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  21. Crappy Tipper

    Crappy Tipper AKA Hero13

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    I disputed five items twice and was able to get nothing dropped off so that the method I took was out of necessity, but my score went through the roof so what works for one may not have the same formula for another.
     
  22. McLovin

    McLovin Resident Pats fan.

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    its not going to affect if you pay if off or not. the damage is done and the only thing that will help your score is time. regardless if a collection account on your credit has 1,000,000 dollars on it or 0 dollars on it, all that matters is the collection account. What you should do is call the agency and tell them that you are willing to pay it off if they remove the negative information from your credit, if they agree to that, tell them to send you a letter stating that they will do it, do not pay it over the phone. They will tell you anything to get you to pay that money and then you will never get what you want. Some of them won't do this, so if they don't, save your money and don't pay them, it will drop off 7 years after the last report date. Trust me, all they care about is their money, not your credit rating.
     
  23. padre31

    padre31 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    And credit collections agencies are notorious for not following through with their end of the bargain, in fact, one can count on haggling for weeks to have the R5's removed from ones report...if they even will at all.
     
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  24. orangefinfan

    orangefinfan New Member

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    My advice is to look into Credit Deletation Letters, it worked for me. Just makes sure to get everything in writing. What you are doing is telling them that you will pay it off if they agree to completing removing from the Bureaus, like they never happened. It will improve your score dramtically. Be prepared to send them often and stay on top of it. It will work, I know personally I am currently purchasing my new house.
     

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