Thread: How To Settle. Please Help!!

HI ANYONE,

I HAVE BEEN STUDYING POSTS HERE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, AND ALTHOUGH I AM GETTING SOME GOOD INFORMATION, IT GET' S CONFUSING WHEN SETTLEING IS CONCERNED.

HERE IS THE SITUATION:

MY HUSBAND HAS BAD CREDIT. HIS CREDIT SCORES DON'T SEEM TOO BAD COMPARED TO OTHERS ON HERE, BUT NO ONE WILL FINANCE HIM FOR ANYTHING.
EQUIFAX 699
EXPERIAN 522
TRANSUNION 487

WE REALLY NEED TO BUY A HOUSE BECAUSE OUR LEASE IS UP IN MAY, SO WE ARE BASICALLY LOOKING FOR THE FASTEST SOLUTION. A COUPLE YEARS AGO WE TRIED ICR SERVICES TO HELP WITH THE PROBLEM, BUT IT DID NOT GET VERY FAR.
AT THIS POINT WE ARE READY TO PAY.

A FEW OF THE ACCOUNTS WILL BE DROPPED BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT LONG TO WAIT.
I JUST NEED TO KNOW THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH THIS. HOW MUCH TO OFFER. SHOULD I CALL THEM TO NEGOTIATE THEN FAX A LETTER ( DOES ANYONE HAVE A TEMPLATE???)AND WHEN THEY SIGN PAY THEM BY PHONE? ALSO WHAT NUMBERS SHOULD I START WITH. THE SMALLER ONES I AM EVEN WILLING TO PAY IN FULL IF NEED BE. i ALSO OWE, BUT THEY ARE SO MIMIMUL THAT I WILL JUST PAY THEM ALL IN FULL AS LONG AS THEY ARE DELETED FROM MY CREDIT. HOW LONG CAN I GIVE A COMPANY TO HAVE THINGS REMOVED FROM CREDIT?
AND CAN IT REALLY BE DELETED OR JUST PAID AND CLOSED? I KNOW I HAVE A TON OF QUESTIONS, BUT I AM IN A CONFUSED STATE OF MIND. INFO. OVERLOAD! i AM ENDING WITH ALL OF MY HUSBANDS INFO. MINUS OUR CURRENT CAR PAYMENT WHICH THEY LET HIM COSIGN WITH ME. WE KNEW PEOPLE AT FORD. ANYWAY BOTH CARS ARE IN MY NAME WE NEVER PAY LATE.

ACCOUNT:CBUSASEARS
ACCOUNT BAL: 1838
OPEN" 8/1995
LAST REPORTED: 10/1997
AMOUNT PAST DUE: 1838
ALL 3 TUC: CHARGE OFF

aCCOUNT: AFNI_BLOOM (I CAN'T FIND INFO. ON, ADDRESS, PHONE)
BAL: 810
LAST REPORTED: 5/1997 P
PAST DUE: 0
EFX ONLY

ACCOUNT: CHARTER ONE AUTO FINANCE
HIGH LIMIT: 5869
BAL: 0
PAST DUE:0
OPEN: 6/1996
LAST REPORTED: 03/2003
THIS I HAVE THE MOST QUESTIONS ON !!
THERE IS NO BAL: SO WHAT DO I PAY THEM OR WHY ARE THEY THERE.
XPN, TUC XPN: CHARGE OFF TUC: COLLATERAL: 1990 FORD MUS

AFNI-BLOOM (AGAIN)
BAL: 508
PAST DUE: 0
LAST REPORTED 06/1997
EFX ONLY

ACCOUNT: BURDIN/FDSB
BAL: 481
PAST DUE: 481
OPEN: 12/1996
REPORTED: 10/1997
STATUS: CLOSED
TUC ONLY
CHARGE OFF

BANK OF AMERICAHIGH: 8,000
BAL: 0
PAST DUE: 0
OPEN 1/1995
REPORT: 11/2002
EQUIFAX ONLY

ACCOUNT: AND FIN NET
BAL: 508
PAST DUE: 0
TUC ONLY: DISPUTED BY CUSTOMER

ACCOUNT NCO FINANCIAL SVCS
BAL: 0
DUE: 0
XPN ONLY: COLLECTION DEPT./AGENCY/ATTORNEY

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.

YOUR A LIFE SAVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In most cases the credit reporting agency can provide contact information for the companies on their report.

Originally posted by jaynet22
HI ANYONE,

I HAVE BEEN STUDYING POSTS HERE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, AND ALTHOUGH I AM GETTING SOME GOOD INFORMATION, IT GET' S CONFUSING WHEN SETTLEING IS CONCERNED.

Settling is the last step, since most of these are ancient, chances are they are about to fall off due to age, but you can help to throw them off the report a lot faster.

HERE IS THE SITUATION:

MY HUSBAND HAS BAD CREDIT. HIS CREDIT SCORES DON'T SEEM TOO BAD COMPARED TO OTHERS ON HERE, BUT NO ONE WILL FINANCE HIM FOR ANYTHING.
EQUIFAX 699
EXPERIAN 522
TRANSUNION 487

WE REALLY NEED TO BUY A HOUSE BECAUSE OUR LEASE IS UP IN MAY, SO WE ARE BASICALLY LOOKING FOR THE FASTEST SOLUTION. A COUPLE YEARS AGO WE TRIED ICR SERVICES TO HELP WITH THE PROBLEM, BUT IT DID NOT GET VERY FAR.
AT THIS POINT WE ARE READY TO PAY.

A FEW OF THE ACCOUNTS WILL BE DROPPED BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT LONG TO WAIT.
I JUST NEED TO KNOW THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH THIS. HOW MUCH TO OFFER. SHOULD I CALL THEM TO NEGOTIATE THEN FAX A LETTER ( DOES ANYONE HAVE A TEMPLATE???)AND WHEN THEY SIGN PAY THEM BY PHONE? ALSO WHAT NUMBERS SHOULD I START WITH. THE SMALLER ONES I AM EVEN WILLING TO PAY IN FULL IF NEED BE. i ALSO OWE, BUT THEY ARE SO MIMIMUL THAT I WILL JUST PAY THEM ALL IN FULL AS LONG AS THEY ARE DELETED FROM MY CREDIT. HOW LONG CAN I GIVE A COMPANY TO HAVE THINGS REMOVED FROM CREDIT?
AND CAN IT REALLY BE DELETED OR JUST PAID AND CLOSED? I KNOW I HAVE A TON OF QUESTIONS, BUT I AM IN A CONFUSED STATE OF MIND. INFO. OVERLOAD! i AM ENDING WITH ALL OF MY HUSBANDS INFO. MINUS OUR CURRENT CAR PAYMENT WHICH THEY LET HIM COSIGN WITH ME. WE KNEW PEOPLE AT FORD. ANYWAY BOTH CARS ARE IN MY NAME WE NEVER PAY LATE.

ACCOUNT:CBUSASEARS
ACCOUNT BAL: 1838
OPEN" 8/1995
LAST REPORTED: 10/1997
AMOUNT PAST DUE: 1838
ALL 3 TUC: CHARGE OFF

CitiBank acquired Sears portfolio of credit card accounts, since this hasn't been updated in a while chances are good that it may fall off if you dispute it. But since this is the OC you may not be able to get them to validate. But its worth a try.

http://www.searscard.com/

I copied the information for the general sears card, if it was a MasterCard the addresses will be different.

Billing Disputes

For your protection, all billing disputes must be handled in writing.

SEARS CARD
Sears
PO Box 818017
Cleveland, OH 44181-8017

All Other Written Inquiries

SEARS CARD
Sears
PO Box 818014
Cleveland, OH 44181

Payment Address

SEARS CARD
Payment Center
PO Box 182149
Columbus, OH 43218-2149

ACCOUNT: AFNI_BLOOM (I CAN'T FIND INFO. ON, ADDRESS, PHONE)
BAL: 810
LAST REPORTED: 5/1997 P
PAST DUE: 0
EFX ONLY

AFNI-BLOOM (AGAIN)
BAL: 508
PAST DUE: 0
LAST REPORTED 06/1997
EFX ONLY

ACCOUNT: AND FIN NET
BAL: 508
PAST DUE: 0
TUC ONLY: DISPUTED BY CUSTOMER

AFNI = Anderson Financial Network
Bloomington, Illinois
Corporate Headquarters
Afni, Inc.
404 Brock Drive
Bloomington, IL 61702
Phone: 309.828.5226 or 800.767.2364
Fax: 309.828.0931

I would send a validation letter to them certified mail with the account numbers as they are showing on your report.

Add "I have never received any correspondence from your company, however a review of my credit files shows a listing from your company." as the first paragraph.

Then at the same time (after you get the green card back or the post office web site confirms delivery), dispute with all three CRAs. If they can't provide the validation, and after more than six and a half years of NON-REPORTING, chances are they won't be able to; it'll fall off or they'll send an update to delete. If they update before validating, pass go collect $1,000.00

If they last reported in 6/1997; the chances are that this account could be disputed off of all three as "OBSOLETE/NOT MINE" in other words, not only did I never hear of this company, or this account, but it is beyond (or close enough to it) the FCRA reporting time-clock.

ACCOUNT: CHARTER ONE AUTO FINANCE
HIGH LIMIT: 5869
BAL: 0
PAST DUE:0
OPEN: 6/1996
LAST REPORTED: 03/2003
THIS I HAVE THE MOST QUESTIONS ON !!
THERE IS NO BAL: SO WHAT DO I PAY THEM OR WHY ARE THEY THERE.
XPN, TUC XPN: CHARGE OFF TUC: COLLATERAL: 1990 FORD MUS

Information can still be reported even if there isn't a balance, however if you dispute it they may delete since they don't have anything to gain by continuing to report it. Do you remember when the date of last activity would be.

Again, they appear to be the OC, but depending on how old the account is, you may be able to get rid of them by disputing it.

ACCOUNT: BURDIN/FDSB
BAL: 481
PAST DUE: 481
OPEN: 12/1996
REPORTED: 10/1997
STATUS: CLOSED
TUC ONLY
CHARGE OFF

BANK OF AMERICAHIGH: 8,000
BAL: 0
PAST DUE: 0
OPEN 1/1995
REPORT: 11/2002
EQUIFAX ONLY

ACCOUNT NCO FINANCIAL SVCS
BAL: 0
DUE: 0
XPN ONLY: COLLECTION DEPT./AGENCY/ATTORNEY

NCO I would request validation of the account, and dispute it as well. What is the "this item is to remain until: xx/xx" date for this tradeline, that will tell you how old this account probably is.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.

YOUR A LIFE SAVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW: You probably want to focus more on TU and EX; the EQ score as is is probably good enough and may get better when you dispute the accounts that overlap the EQ report, but I wouldn't focus on accounts that are only reporting on EQ. At least for now... :)

Also if one of the paid ones won't delete, don't worry as much about it, chances are if you find a mort co that would approve, they will be more concerned with the unpaid, than paid notations.

will it still drop when the time comes if i pay, or will it recycle? For the Charter One, do you think I can call them to ask them to drop it. or is mail always the best solution?

what does oc mean? Do i dispute with the company themselves or the credit bureau? Wouldn't settleing be faster? Are there any sample dispute letters? Can the letter be the same for all of them

okay, so i printed out some validation letters and dispute letters. let me know if i have this right, I send the validation letter to the credit bureaus and i send the dispute letter to the actual creditors??
and which ones would you suggest i pay?

Originally posted by jaynet22
okay, so i printed out some validation letters and dispute letters. let me know if i have this right, I send the validation letter to the credit bureaus and i send the dispute letter to the actual creditors??
and which ones would you suggest i pay?

NO! You send the validation letters by Certified Mail Return Receipt to the Collection Agencies (CA's) .
When you get the green card back from the Post Office you dispute the Tradeline with the Credit Reporting Agency (CRA)

Good catch PD. :)


A lot depends upon the circumstances of a particular situation.

I would hold off on doing anything until you learn more about what you're doing.

Don't wanna make any mistakes.

:)

.

THANKS, BUTCH! DO YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY ADVICE ON WHAT MIGHT BE MY BEST APPROACH??

mini-alphabet-soup...

OC=Original Creditor
CA=Collection Agency
CRA=Credit Reporting Agency

The first steps are to read all the intro posts at the top of the forum list, then to read all of the threads that are in Butch's signature.

You'll also want to read all these threads from start to finish, yes, in some of them the discussion veers of track momentarily, but even when it does, good discussions can come out of them.

Once you have an idea, then you should be able to grasp how to proceed.

Settling is probably not going to be any faster, because even if they sign an agreement to delete, they could either forget to delete; or drag their heels deleting.

If you request validation, from the CAs, and dispute with the CRAs as soon as you know that the CAs have received the disputes, you may be able to get some of the older collection accounts deleted in a little over a month.

Any that can validate -- and then verify the accounts with the CRAs, then you can offer to settle after they've provided the validation.

By forcing them to prove before settling, you can make sure that they aren't trying to add anything that isn't allowed into the amounts that they are attempting to collect.