Hey all, I am completely new to the whole credit score / credit report / etc thing, so I'm really seeking advice. In October I had overdrawn my Wells Fargo checkings account and wasn't able to pay it off. This went on for some time, and a few days ago, I guess they sold off that debt to a CA and I've been getting calls ever since. I repaid the amount to the bank, but now I'm unsure as to what to do. I have never had a credit card, and so I don't really have credit, but I do have medical school next year and will need to pull out loans to pay it off. I'm really afraid I won't be able to pull out the loans I'll need because of the collection item on my record. From what I've gathered so far on the forums, I shouldn't deal with the CAs at all, which I've done. As far as they're concerned they still think I owe them something when everything has been paid to the bank. Are there any steps I can take to remove the item, especially since it's such a recent occurrence or am I just out of luck and I'm just going to have to live with this? And if I do, how will this affect any future attempts at pulling out loans? I'm sorry for the newbie question. It's all new to me, and I need guidance as to the next step to take. Thanks.
The very first thing you should do is visit www.annualcreditreport.com and pull your 3 free credit reports for the year. It's important you know exactly what's on your reports before you move forward. If you don't want to pay for your credit score, you can also check sites like CreditKarma.com to just get a feel for what your credit score is at the moment. Are you sure your debt was sold to the CA, or was the CA just collecting on behalf of your bank? Since you called the bank and worked out payment in full, I would suggest following up with them again to explain your situation and see what they can do for you. If they didn't actually sell the debt, they may still be able to pull the account from collections and remove any negative information from your credit reports. Also, you should know that your information was likely submitted to ChexSystems, which will make it difficult for you to open another checking account with a new bank. Do you have any other existing checking accounts you can use for the time being?
Just so you know, ChexSystems is a Credit Reporting agency just like the others are. They have to follow the same rules as the regular CRAs do so you can get a free credit report from them every year too. If you can't get one that way then go try to open an account somewhere else and if you get turned down the bank has to send you a rejection letter within 14 days and you can use that to get your free report. If the bank don't send you a rejection notice then you can sue them. If you want to go to the time and trouble, you can also go after a merchant who refuses your check and don't send you a rejection letter within 14 days after you try to write a check and get refused. Now then, I realize that may sound outrageous to most but stop and think about it. A check is nothing more than an extension of credit until it clears the bank. You are issuing an I.O.U. in lieu of cash so yes, writing a check is a request for an extension of credit. We just never think of it that way. Federal law says that if you are refused credit the credit grantor must send you a notice of rejection telling you the reason for the rejection within 14 days. You can use that letter of rejection to get a free credit report. No letter, no free credit report. Although I've never heard of anyone filing a federal case against a merchant for failure to send a notice of rejection within the 14 day time limit allowed, I think the outcome of such a lawsuit would set a new precedent either way it goes. Ought to be fun trying it whether it works or not. I'll probably never get a chance to try it myself because I never write checks. I don't even have checks for my personal accounts. I never use them so I don't order them. One of my banks gives personalized checks away for free and and I didn't even ask for them even though they are free. All they would do is sit in a filing cabinet and draw dust. On the other hand I do have the big checks for my corporations and have to use one on rare occasions. If I buy something from a private person I very well might try to give a corporate check if what I am buying is for corporate use. I'll be buying a vehicle for corporate use sometime after the first of the year. I'll probably buy it from a private party and will pay for it with a corporate check. I'll borrow the money from a bank and would do so even if I did have the funds to pay for it in cash. If the bank refuses to loan for any reason I'd put the money in a savings account then borrow against the savings account and pay it off in a year or less in order to get a new credit referral. At the end of the time I'd get all my money back from the savings account on top of that so I'd come out with the vehicle all paid for and that much cash back in my pocket. I'd also have a nice deduction off my taxes because I could depreciate it in the first year if I wanted to and on top of it all, the title, the tags, the notary fees (I get those for free too) and the insurance are all tax deductible. Even the gasoline and all the maintenance costs are tax deductible. Try that as a private party and see where you get. (LOL).
ChexSystems ChexSystems is independent from the 3 Credit Bureaus. It will not limit you from getting a loan. The only way that it can hurt your credit is if that collection agency has posted the debt on your credit reports. If that is the case, then you need to make sure that shows the account is paid... and even better deleted. ChexSystems is a consumer reporting agency, if you want to begin the battle of getting that matter removed from your record you first need to order a ChexSystems report. With that you can pursue working towards getting released. AMG Consulting Group Inc.
The way it is written I would have to think several times over before I hired them to do any consulting.
