I recently signed up with another 'major' online firm, but I was immediatly leery/concerned for several reasons; 1) My 'counselor' was new/inexperienced and could not even answer questions I know from 2 weeks of research 2) The dispute process doesn't seem any different then what I can do with online disputes at Transunion. I am hoping for advice/intervention I just seem to be getting a form. 3) I am going to need a second service I found that says they can negotiate removal in exchange for paying in full (well actually that the creditor won't dispute) I was looking at Apex Credit, they seem to offer a more personalized package and also they seem to do negotiate for removal as well. Below is a summary of my history, wondering if anyone with experience with either Apex or some other firm can tell me my best approach; Credit tanked in 2000-2003 where most items are from (the only current item as far as I know is a Gym Membership I am paying on time). Not really sure how to differentiate between Opened and Reported but the reported seem more accurate and in fact even later then when the debt(s) were incurred. Accounts range from $500 to $1,500 and are for Credit-Cards and Cell-Phones. All have been charged-off to colleciton agencies, some passed on to two or more, though the original creditors are still listed. Most are NYC (Statute of Limiations 7 years) one is from CA (4 years). Unfortuneatly, I have been making small ($50) payment to 3 or 4 of these (unfortunate becaue I didn't know the proper way to go about and now i just have more current bad debts) and one I even promised to try and pay in full. One (SPrint) I was making payments on last year, stopped, then called in August to pay balance in full, did, and then when I looked at my credit report it turns out it is a paid judgement, when I never even knew it was in court. Finally, I have a paid tax lien, open 3/2000, paid 4/2001, which is due to come off next April. I was in CA when this happened, and did not even know this, they must have taken off my account. The approach I understand should work best is; 1) Get validation for the accounts given they are old, might be out of SOL, and in any event to verify the amounts/interest/etc. are in fact valid (I have no way of verifying). Some might even be removed this way. 2) With the remaining ones, negotiate to settle and/or pay in full in exchange for not disputing so that they can be removed. I understand settling looks back on cc, so if necessary I can pay all in full (though a great deal of this is just interest, not principal by now) 3) With wahtever accounts verify and won't negotiate, stilll pay in full. Since Collections-Paid still looks bad, there are ways to dispute these so some will come off too. 4) For the judgement, not sure if htere is any way to get this off, however not sure how I can get one if i was not even in court and paid. 5) For the lien, since it is close to off, can this come off as well? Is this possible to do without getting IRS involved and incurring any possible wrath, since it is pair anyway? All in all, the online service i picked does not seem to be up to the task, and wondering if Apex might be.
Are you talking about us, Apex Credit Services, LLC, or Apex Credit, LTD? Two different companies. We have helped a few members here with good results but, I'll let them attest to that.
The decision to use a credit repair service is a serious one. There is a lot you can do on your own, but the full picture is that it requires a lot of time researching and educating yourself, and learning the "street smarts" along the way to be effective. Often it is more effective to hire a professional, especially if you do not have the time and/or energy required, or perhaps there is an urgency of time. There are many credit repair organizations out there, as I'm sure you've discovered. There are good ones, and bad ones, like any business. Based upon seeing Apex's contributions on this forum, I would recommend contacting his firm. Apex has shown he has the technical, legal and street smart knowledge, as well as the right approach. I have not used Apex's firm's services, but I can attest to Apex's knowledge and passion for getting results. Apex has an ethical approach, and a genuine concern for those with these issues. You really have nothing to lose with an exploratory phone call.
That is one thing I found out after researching some of the things I was told by online 'firms'. I am fortunate in the fact that I had a friend lend me money to pay off all the debts in full, however I found out two things that stopped me before doing so without help; 1) Some/many of the debts may be inaccurate especially since so old so I should verify all the info. 2) If I pay them all off, my credit-score will go *down* So my goal is to not pay more then I have to and increase my score, but the people I've spoken to at the bigger firms so far seem to not really be informed of how to manage this, and just want to push me on the mill (upload reports, enter disputes, sit back and wait). So far exploratory contact with Apex going well
Good, glad to hear it. You need to pat yourself on the back for the positive things you've done, as they are significant. I know a lot about problem solving, and in my experience the two largest obstacles to overcome are: 1) Admitting and accepting the problem, (then moving on in steps you can take) 2) Admitting and accepting when an issue is "over your head", and getting help from someone who knows. It looks like you've done both, so give yourself a pat on the back. Now it's just about execution.
What Bizwiz said. Admitting the problem is the biggest part of solving it. And you're taking positive steps to make sure you are successful.
Update on Apex Thanks for the positive words. In terms of execution, I think I will be moving forward with Apex after talking with them. I found them highly knowledgeable, far beyond anything I found at 'the mills' (Ovation and Lexington). They only take on a few clients at a time apparently, but they took the time to really listen, review my situation, give me excellent options, feedback, estimates of results, and pros/cons. It felt the exact opposite of 'cookie-cutter' and I am confident of a decent/good/great outcome for the first time since deciding to take care of the mess I made. As an aside, I really think Finances/Credit should be part of our grade/high-school/college curriculum, I for one never learned anything about preparing for credit, budgeting, etc. For instance, I did not know that many/most parents put their kids on their credit cards in their teens in order to build a 750+ credit-rating when they turn 18. I just entered 'the world' at 21 not knowing a thing about it, and grabbing at the $20k in credit-cars I was offered. Sure, my fault/ignorance, but I think the Credit-Card companies bear some responsibility for offering large-lines and easy-credit to people starting out many of whom will not know anything about credit, the importance of it, their rights, how to build/maintain, etc. I know one thing; I'll never mess up a payment again, always pay on the 'post date' when I can, keep my credit-lines at 30% or less whatever it takes, and teach my kids when they are old enough to talk about borrowing/lending/credit and the importance in your life. I wasted a few years down the tube and made launching a potentially very lucrative business much much much harder then it needed to be because I didn't do/know any of this. Better late then never I guess. Thanks for the input all and thanks Apex!
My soph is actually scheduled to take some sort of Consumer Finance course her 2nd semester. Ought to be fun...most of the staff already hate me for expecting great things.
I was reading recently that the most important lesson a parent can teach their kids is that hard work is worth more than intelligence. The article was based on a study done about why some very intelligent kids fail while some not too intelligent kids will go on to make huge strides in science and math over time. Very neat study that really makes one think.What about you? What type of great things are you expecting?
Hard work vs intelligence... Interesting, I recall reading in New Yorker (?) sometime this year that children who are told by their parents how intelligent they are all the time do worse then other children (who presumeably work harder, not assuming their mind will do all the work). There is some 'poem', I forget how it goes, but basically the point is that the defining quality of all great/successful people is not intelligence or education but persistence (hard work).
nycccred, glad to hear things are working out for you. Keep at it and I,m sure you'll reach your goal soon.
Same for me also, sounds like you feel better and have a positive direction. I agree personal finance should be taught in schools, or at least colleger level. Funny thing, in college I learned how to create algorithms to predict national economic patterns, but never how to handle a credit card or read a credit report.
There are several good books to read too, such as: The Wealthy Barber and the The Richest Man in Babylon.
I also like Ric Edelman. He's written several books, his newest is called The Lies About Money. He is rated the #2 independent advisor in the country by Barron's. You can check out his Web site here.
I expect her school to provide her the best opportunities available. You would have to understand me watching this school district try to dumb kids down: 1. Telling me because that one test on one book read indicated my kid needed to be reading 2 years below grade level, but could not explain why she was making straight A's in all grade level courses with grade level textbooks. I made them release her to read what interested her. I was informed she might not get an "A" in the class. In return, I informed them I wasn't worried about the teachers looking good, but rather wanted to make sure my child was challenged...btw she continued making A's after she was allowed to read what she enjoyed. 2. Telling me my other one could not take Algebra I 8th grade because he did not pass a CBE with a 90, and that it was state law that he had to do so. Its not state law and I had to sic the TEA on them over that. He's making straight A's in Algebra, and just placed 1st in math in a multi-district competition. 3. Not enrolling soph in Spanish I, because now they were letting Fresh enroll in it and the classes were full. (Sux for your last name to start with a letter near the end of the alphabet). This would have meant she would have run out of school years to take Spanish III, and could not possibly graduate with Distinguished Status. As it is, she will have to take the course via correspondence, as it is not offered at the school. Dean of Students informed me that that's how the computers made the schedule, I asked her, why did they need her, if they allowed a computer to do all the thinking? She is in Spanish I as a soph, and so are quite a few more kids that their parents waited for me to be the bad guy and make the school do what was right. I won't go into the Title IX war I had last year. When I say I expect great things, I mean I expect the district to do their jobs and not short change my kid or any kid for that matter simply because its easier or they are just too lazy to come up with a solution. In return, I expect my kids to try their hardest, and for those things that do not come easy, I expect them to try even harder, to utilize all tools available (including me), to do the very best they can every day. As far as my reference to Consumer Finance, I expect this class to be taught well, with correct information, as we all know what kind of incorrect information is out there.
Really excellent post from a really excellent parent This obsession with 'standardized' testing doesn't take into account that intelligence is not standard, and I totally agree with you that the point of education is teaching kids to meet challenges and solve problems. Most people who know me would not guess I failed math until 8th grade. My home room teacher, Mr. Weiss's solution; he put me in *Advanced* Math, which at that time was Algebra. I couldn't believe it. But he totally got where my mind was at, and once I got Algebra, which is really IMHO one of the most important courses in school because it is the core of learning; identify what you know, identify what you need to know (ABCXYZ), and use the former to figure out the latter. Once I got Algebra, I totally got all the arithmetic I didn't get before, because now I knew the *concept* behind them and there was very little I could not do/figure out. By all accounts, I should have been left back (in math at least) and would have struggled with remedial arithmetic and been frustrated to say the least. I am the person all my friends / family turn to now for problem solving especially when it comes to numbers/finances. And I owe it all to Mr. Weiss. It seems like your kids have a 'Mr. Weiss' in you, keep up the great work.
