I'm new here, but I've been reading around the boards for years and have finally registered to start asking for advice in my credit repair endeavour. How would you recommend that I go about trying to get charged off AND sold to a CA accounts removed? Both the OC and the new CA are both reporting the debt, and I have yet to pay off anything or attempt to settle anything until I've received some guideance. Should I first dispute with the CRAs? Should I dispute what the CA is reporting? What should I dispute, if anything? Should I contact the OC first? I know all of these questions don't sound like they're coming from someone who has been reading, but I simply can't gather with whom I need to dispute or which I need to contact first. Thank you!
I've been disputing with the CRAs, then the CA, then the OC. It's worked a few times thus far, but you have to be relentless and document every single thing you do. One thing I found that seems to work is to call the OC and request the records for the account. Normally they don't have them anymore because they were given to the CA when the account was sold. Without anything to back up the debt, they can't really legally report it to the CRAs. As for the CA, request debt validation. Usually they don't have adequate records to back up their debt either because they buy hundreds of accounts in bulk and don't take the time to keep and organize the supporting documentation. If all else fails, sometimes contacting the BBB, the State Attorney General's office, and the FTC about it and filing a complaint will get the CA or OC to remove the debt.
Thank you for your reply. Firstly, in reading and searching for a DV letter here on the forums, I find that a DV letter is of no use if it is not sent within 30 days of a CA's initial communication? Well, although the CAs which I've spoken of have recently reported the accounts on my credit reports, I don't believe I've received any communication from any of them in years. I have moved several times over the last few years, so they may have sent letters to old addresses... so is it correct that a DV letter won't help me at this point? Secondly, if a DV is of no use to me, I see I should start out disputing with the CRAs--should I dispute as "not mine?" Because I don't want any of my disputes flagged as "frivolous." Further advice GREATLY appreciated!
While the DV letter isn't really valid unless within 30 days of the initial contact from the CA, for some reason they still respond with the information. I think it's probably because they have such poor records that they really have no idea when they've contacted you. They're playing the "better safe than sorry" card. To this day, I still haven't been in a scenario where a CA didn't respond to the DV letter. As far as disputing the account as "not mine," I've never run into a problem because of it, but there's a general consensus in some circles that starting off with that is a bad idea because once you say "it's not mine" and they determine it is actually your account, disputing the balance, the late dates, etc. looks kind of silly because it looks like this: You: "It's not mine!" CRA: "Yes it is." You: "Ok, you got me, it's mine...but the balance is wrong!" If you want to play it safe, dispute it like this (from creditinfocenter.com): 1. I didn't pay late that month 2. Wrong amount 3. Wrong account number 3. Wrong original creditor 4. Wrong Charge-off Date 5. Wrong Date of Last Activity 6. Wrong Balance 7. Wrong Credit limit 8. Wrong Status (there are about 20) 9. Wrong High Credit (the highest amount you used) Also, as long as you don't dispute for the same reason twice in a row or submit two or more disputes for the same account within the same 30 day period, they usually won't mark your subsequent disputes as frivolous.
Thanks wolverene, and thanks especially for sharing the creditinfocenter website; this site in combo with the info you've shareed really helps me understand the process as it should be exicuted step by step.
