Card for
Bad Credit

PsychDoc · #41 (**permalink**) 11.25.2002, 09:40

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST

So what is a litigious mindset?

Adopting a litigious mindset means that you understand that what you are doing is rooted in law. Everything you do should imply that you are protecting your legal rights. Everything you do should imply that you are willing to fight to preserve your federally guaranteed civil rights. When most people consider the phrase "civil rights," they think of the laws that exist to ensure racial equality, but those aren't your only civil rights. In fact, any law that exists to protect you against other citizens are CIVIL rights. Within this context, several federal statutes exist to protect you against those other citizens (both individual and corporate citizens) regarding credit-related transactions. Such civil rights are detailed in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). Invoking ones CIVIL RIGHTS is a powerful concept. (As an aside, that's why I use specific "civil rights" language in the Nutcase letter for example.) Those who demand civil rights protections are seldom taken lightly.

Adopting a litigious mindset also prepares you very well for the unexpected obstacles that may suddenly appear along your path to cleaner credit reports. In this respect, "litigious mindset" means taking this task seriously -- seriously enough to keep detailed notes, receipts, etc. that could be helpful if in fact you ever needed to go to court in order to demand your rights. A few things to keep in mind along these lines:
-�- You'll probably never need to go to court in real life.
-�- Maybe you even have no real legal standing at the start despite your claims.
-�- On the other hand, your adversarial opponents (remember the context in which I'm using these terms) may well screw up as they scramble to figure out your beef. In other words, they may pull a credit report to "see" what you're talking about and in doing so may violate your civil rights (FCRA) regarding their "permissible purpose" related to such inquiries. Or, they may fail to answer your validation questions in a timely manner, which violates your civil rights (FDCPA) related to such matters, etc.
-�- In other words, you are developing what we credit repair mavens most often call a "paper trail" which may prove VERY useful later.
-�- You'll never chart that critical "paper trail" if you don't regard your credit repair journey as a VERY serious legal matter right from the start.
-�- That paper trail may prove to be quite helpful in the advanced stages of your credit repair. At that point you can wave the list of civil rights violations at your adversaries (search the board for the phrase "intent to sue"), and many of them will simply delete or revise the tradeline to be rid of you.
-�- If you actually do end up in court, then you'll have a credible case. Creditnet members can help you navigate those initially frightening but often consumer-friendly waters.

So, in a nutshell, a litigious mindset requires that you act professionally, seriously, deliberately, and assertively. Your actions are an attempt to protect your civil rights, which is no laughing matter. You are not interacting with friends or cousins, so don't fool yourself into believing that you'll achieve your goals by acting like you are. (Again, please note this IMPORTANT EXCEPTION: the Goodwill approach, in which case you WILL assume the role of the friendly, bubbly, needy, wonderful customer. Search the board for the term "goodwill" and try that approach where applicable, but don't BLEND that approach with others. And if the Goodwill techniques fail, shift to a different approach AND mindset.)

Here's what ISN'T part of a litigious mindset.

Some people think that embracing a litigious mindset requires acting like a sonofabitch. (Can we say that on this board, lol?) Nothing is farther from the truth. Whatever you do, DON'T act like a sonofabitch. Here's why. Sonofabitches aren't satisfied with the tradeline deletion. Sonofabitches REQUIRE the tradeline deletion AND a monetary award of $10,000 AND a formal apology AND admission of wrongdoing AND a brand new credit card AND self-mutilation, etc. You don't want your adversary to believe that you are a "crank" who could NEVER be satisfied. Instead, you want your demands to be VERY clear right from the start -- whatever those demands are. And you should state those demands politely. Potential consequences should be stated politely as well. Picture the stance most often drawn by lawyers in a courtroom. They are matter-of-fact to a deadly degree. They don't beg. They don't threaten. They don't scream at adversaries unless they want to be admonished by the judge. They simply state their case, as strongly and as seriously as possible, and then they sit down.

So many of us (myself included) harbor personal role models who contradict this time-tested advice. In my case, it was my Grandpa Victor. Grandpa Victor couldn't confront anyone without yelling: "YOU FORGOT MY NAPKIN!" Sure enough, he'd get his napkin, so he came to believe that this was necessary and helpful. Others in the family, again myself included, came to believe that this was the best way to act during a transactional crisis. "HELLO SEARS? THIS IS PSYCHDOC, AND MY CLOTHES WASHER IS BROKEN AGAIN YOU MESHUGGINAH!" It took a lot of living to UNLEARN such behaviors. Now, keep in mind that the other extreme doesn't work either: "Hi, Sears, this is PsychDoc, and I'm sorry to bother you, and I don't think it's anything we did, although my son did throw in his Matchbox car, but that shouldn't have anything to do with it I hope, so if it's not too much trouble would you be willing..." Instead, the calm but deadly truth will win every time: "Sears, this is PsychDoc. My clothes washer continues to leak despite your three previous service calls. Before I contact small claims court, I would like to hear how you resolve escalated problems like this one."

Conclusion:

1) Whatever you do, don't follow up a powerful letter with a chatty follow-up, whether by phone, email, fax, or letter.

2) Remember that you are engaging a legal process, and this takes time.

3) Keep in mind that you are not dealing with good friends. Let your Creditnet colleagues become your friends. Let your OCs and CAs remain OCs and CAs.

4) Retain careful notes right from the start, even if you don't think you have a good legal case at the beginning.

5) Adopt the assertive stance of someone who is seriously protecting their civil rights.

6) Don't act like a sonofabitch.

I hope this helps someone.

Doc

The Kid · #42 (**permalink**) 11.25.2002, 15:40

Great stuff, Doc, awesome...thank you.

jafsheart · #43 (**permalink**) 12.04.2002, 12:19

Hey Doc,

That was some of the most powerful, psych out sh*t that i've heard in a while, I'm runnin just short of goin outside and whippin someone's ass ( as if they were a representative of a CRA or OC! :)

Thanks for the pep talk, and I'll be sure to log back in and read your post whenever they may getting me down.............

Later ,

jafsheart

saqib · #44 (**permalink**) 01.02.2003, 23:14

People like Doc and others on this platform are like a vision for blind who suddenly find his vision clear to see what he wanted through his whole life. I dont have words to thank all of you but can say with my poor english expresion that people like me who had no hope for a better life in this country due to their credit can feel a sigh of relief and and a wave of life through them. Many thanks to all of you! You guys are great.

lilybaby · #45 (**permalink**) 01.04.2003, 14:50

Here I am, newly registered and my first post. I need to repair my credit and I am willing to do the work required to get it done. Hope I can do this! Thanks for your work and wisdom. I'm off to be a newbie now.

tonyastime · #46 (**permalink**) 01.05.2003, 00:42

sagib Ytou do not know how greatful I am fro this community. It has literally changed my life.
I thougth I had to be treated as a subconsumer because of my credit mistakes. I had scores of 589-610 but this was generous as I had many collection ssome paid some were not even mine! I now know what I can do got 100 % of my negative removed or chnged to positives. It was a blast! Now I had not been use to credit and had never had only two credit cards in my entire life. They came so quick after my clean credit and me being out of work that I now have my entire income tax going to pay off credit cards that's ok I have still learned even more.
Oh yeh did I mention I booought a house and a PT criuser at 1.9% me! payinf 1.9% before creit net I paid 24% and was kicked around to payinf large late fees. NO More! It truely has been instrumental in me movign forward. hats off to doc lizard king LKH union dica and a host of others .
I feeling all fuzzy and warm wish I could hug you all.
Did mention I am a single mother of five who was told I'd never have nay thing. I now working on my second purchase. sorry for the long post
THANK YOU GUYS/FRIENDS!

tonyastime · #47 (**permalink**) 01.05.2003, 00:46

Sorry about the mistakes I felt so excited while writing it! prayer and credit net WO!!!!!!!!!!!

zyzy1688 · #48 (**permalink**) 02.28.2003, 16:05

I just copied and pasted one of Doc's tools which makes things so much easier to read on this board... Hope you dont mind, Doc!!

********** FROM DOC'S CREDITNET BOOKMARKS ******

Here's the deal: When I joined Creditnet almost a year ago, the board had one-third the number of members. That meant that when I visited the bulletin board, I would see the most recent 25 threads, and that was plenty. Now, with 3000 members, you practically have to page-flip once or twice just to view the day's active threads, and I hate that because all of the Creditnet graphics and ads have to roll in every time.

So what's the solution? Enter my bookmarks. Just click on them, and bookmark them for easy access. Then, after you finish reading a thread, you can just invoke the bookmark again (rather than clicking the up arrow which will just give you the most recent 25 again). I put the 50-thread bookmark on my Internet Explorer toolbar for a quick one-click access.

50 Creditnet Threads at a time (Double)
75 Creditnet Threads at a time (Triple)
100 Creditnet Threads at a time (for DSL/cable only)

Not quite as good as deleting inquiries, I realize (cough, cough), but this has helped me.

Doc

lbrown59 · #49 (**permalink**) 02.28.2003, 17:15

You can also change the number of post viewed per page for each thread.
I have mine set at 90 post per thread.

Quote:

Originally posted by zyzy1688
So what's the solution? Enter my bookmarks. Just click on them, and bookmark them for easy access. Then, after you finish reading a thread, you can just invoke the bookmark again (rather than clicking the up arrow which will just give you the most recent 25 again). I put the 50-thread bookmark on my Internet Explorer toolbar for a quick one-click access.

50 Creditnet Threads at a time (Double)
75 Creditnet Threads at a time (Triple)
100 Creditnet Threads at a time (for DSL/cable only)

Not quite as good as deleting inquiries, I realize (cough, cough), but this has helped me.

Doc

GEORGE · #50 (**permalink**) 02.28.2003, 18:57

I just did the 100+90

THANKS

jafsheart · #51 (**permalink**) 12.16.2003, 16:40

Its that kind of humbility that keeps you above all of the gurus.

1 year ago I read your primer. I didn't know much but I kept reading and searching.

Because of people like you and the other gurus I am now a proud member of the 700 club.

Thanks for sharing and Happy Holidays!

cartagena1 · #52 (**permalink**) 08.07.2004, 11:31

HEY WHATS UP IAM A NEW MEMBER AND I HAVE ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE 589-610 AROUND THAT AREA I HAD SOME LATE PAYMENTS IN MY PAST ON STUDENT LOANS I AM A HOME OWNER HOW CAN I GET THESE NEGATIVES ON MY CREDIT REPORT ERASED TO MAKE ME A HUMAN AGAIN BECUASE FROM MY RESEARCH YOU MUST HAVE A LEAST A 680 OR BE IN THE 700 CLUB TO ENJOY GOOD RATES & GOOD CREDIT LINES

THANKS MY E-MAIL IS UPERTUZ@AOL.COM

THE STUDENT LOAN COMPANY WAS FSDS CURRCNTLY IAM UP TO DATE WITH THEM

lbrown59 · #53 (**permalink**) 08.08.2004, 20:10

Welcome to CN cartagena1

***************
GET THE BASICS HERE.
http://consumers.creditnet.com/strai...243#post410243
*****************
>

ndgdcredit · #54 (**permalink**) 03.21.2005, 20:32

Iam glad I found this site. Iwas feeling down going through a divorce and bad credit my ex wife left me with. Now I feel uplifted. Doc you're a blessing and others too here. Iam a newbie. Thanks

stevea · #55 (**permalink**) 06.01.2005, 10:11

I was hoping you could help give me some direction. I have a score of 660 and I'm trying to get to 700. One of the reasons my score is lower is because I have too much balance on my credit cards. I have a card that was in default status several years ago. Although I still have the card, I never use it. That said, I'm paying a 29.9% rate on the card and they will not lower it even though I have a perfect payment history for the past 18 months. My balance is $15K if that helps. I could pay it off in a year if I could get the rate lowered. Thoughts?

dfwgt · #56 (**permalink**) 08.05.2005, 13:44

Hey doc - long time no talk to, just wanted to give you and the gang here a belated thanks for your help on the nutcase and it's nice to see the nutcase help many others out as well.

Today I went and pulled the credit report from Equifax...hit 701 finally! Not sure what the others are but I'm sure they're around this score...

...and all of this with Sears refusing to do anything for me (bums!), oh well - next August they won't have a choice but to clear all missed payments.

Thanks again, and to everyone else - listen to Doc, guy knows what he's doing :)

GT