Hi Everyone! I've been a long time reader of the forums. Even back when some of this stuff was AoC. Either way, I wanted to get some help on this situation I have now. I owe $250 on a student loan. I never knew about the loan, because my Father paid it. But I guess he has missed the last 4 payments in a row, I assume it was out of neglect. Now it has been reported to experian and my credit dropped 100 points. I am not sure what to do. - Should I pay it then dispute? - How can I get this off my credit? - They have a wrong address for me... Any info and thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! J.J.
Pay it and make it current. You don't want an R-9. Then, try to dispute it through the credit reporting agencies but, first, contact the creditor and let them have notice of the circumstances surrounding the lates. You may have some luck . . .
I was under the impression that as soon as I pay Fannie Mae, that I have lost my negotiating power, or is that only with CRA's? Anyway, here is the letter that I am going to send out. I was curious if you or anyone would not mind reading over it and let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions. That would be GREATLY appreciated! ----------------------------------------------------- Dear Credit Processing Department Representative, I have been an Sallie Mae customer since 2001 and during that time, I have enjoyed my experience with Sallie Mae greatly. I am writing to see if you would be willing to make a â??goodwillâ? adjustment to your reporting to the three credit agencies. I have a few late payments on the above referenced accounts that are very recent. I was curious if I could explain my situation in hopes of having the derogatory report removed, as a sign of goodwill. Here is a brief description of the issues surrounding the delinquencies. This account was being payed for, by my father. It was a relatively small line. My parents recently went through a divorce, and my father stopped paying mostly all bills due to the trauma of the event. That was when I became aware of the Sallie Mae Loan that I am writing about, I unfortunately had no knowledge of its existence prior to this event, which I shamefully regret. This loan was reported to the 3 credit bureaus that I was delinquent and have not paid since December of 2008. This is because of the divorce mentioned above. Now that I am aware of the account, I have EVERY intention of paying it off, in full as soon as I get confirmation of the receipt of this letter. The total owed is only $xxx.xx. I also wished I was notified of the payments that were never made. This account was unknown to me because my Father received all of the bills at his house, a place I never lived at, only visiting during summers etc. Thus so that I can be notified correctly in the future, please reference my personal address that I have lived at over 2 years, at the top right of this letter and make the necessary changes to my account. Because of the circumstances surrounding the late payments, my parents divorce, and incorrect address, I would like you to consider removing the negative payments from my credit report. Please understand this, that if I knew this account existed, I would have never allowed it to get to the current unpaid / past due / derogatory status. I hope that Sallie Mae is willing to work with me on erasing these marks from my credit reports. Sincerely yours,
I've had good luck with Sallie Mae. Since the amount is so tiny, you're in pretty good shape. Remember that they're not obligated to help your credit report in any way, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.
UPDATE: I got a reply back from Sallie Mae, saying essentially that according to the FCRA lenders are required to report accurate information and that they cannot retroactively reverse correct info. And according to their understanding, it is all correct. -- So what are the next steps? Keep sending letters? Any thoughts and insight would be great!
Well, goodwill letters are never guaranteed. The creditor is under exactly zero obligation to help you out. So what they told you is well within their rights. You may have to say "Well, I tried". If you really want to pursue it, I would get in touch with someone higher up in their organization. I'm not sure who you would ask for, but Google Sallie Mae's executive contacts. The reason I'm suggesting that is that most companies have "executive customer service teams" that handle all those nutjobs who send a 14-page letter to the CEO over a $.28 overcharge. Generally speaking these folks operate outside the constraints of the main call centers (where the goal is to dismiss your case as quickly as possible) and may be sympathetic. Credit reports get updated all the time. Heck, Sallie Mae may even have a "do not verify" flag in their billing system that blocks information on certain accounts going out. Most consumer-facing organizations have "shadow" accounts used for VIPs or consumers who, for one reason or another (usually celebrity or political status) require special treatment. Your state governor, for example, may have a cell phone in his own name through AT&T, but nobody at a retail store would be able to pull his account. You never know until you try. The only thing you have to lose is the time you're willing to put in.
