I recently applied for my local credit union's credit card and I was unfortunately declined so I pulled my credit report and these are the items showing. After being hounded by a collection agency for over a year I agreed to pay half of what I owed on one of my student loans, but did not arrange for them to remove it from my credit report. What should be my first steps? Should I apply for the Orchard Bank card? I don't need a credit card and would only get one to use to improve my credit. Account Name MEDICAL BILLING MANAGE Account Type Collection Department / Agency / Attorney Balance $245.00 Date Opened 12/1/2005 Account Status Closed Mo. Payment Close Account Details Past Due Payment Status Seriously past due date / assigned to attorney, collection agency, or credit grantor's internal collection department High Balance Limit Terms 1 Month Account Name NCC BUSINESS SVCS INC Account Type Collection Department / Agency / Attorney Balance $500.00 Date Opened 10/1/2006 Account Status Closed Mo. Payment Close Account Details Past Due $500.00 Payment Status Seriously past due date / assigned to attorney, collection agency, or credit grantor's internal collection department High Balance Limit Terms 1 Month Comments US DEPT OF EDUCATION Account Type Education Loan Balance Date Opened 11/1/2010 Account Status Closed Mo. Payment Close Account Details Past Due Payment Status Account transferred to another office High Balance Limit Terms 102 Months Account Name SALLIE MAE Account Type Education Loan Balance Date Opened 3/1/2006 Account Status Closed Mo. Payment Close Account Details Past Due Payment Status Legally paid in full for less than the full balance High Balance Limit Terms 145 Months Comments Election of remedy - reported by subscriber SALLIE MAE Account Type Education Loan Balance Date Opened 1/1/2006 Account Status Closed Mo. Payment Close Account Details Past Due Payment Status Current, was past due 180 days or more High Balance Limit Terms 120 Months Comments Transferred to another lender or claim purchased SALLIE MAE Account Type Education Loan Balance Date Opened 1/1/2006 Account Status Closed Mo. Payment Close Account Details Past Due Payment Status Current, was past due 180 days or more High Balance Limit Terms 120 Months Comments Transferred to another lender or claim purchased Account Name SALLIE MAE Account Type Education Loan Balance Date Opened 1/1/2006 Account Status Closed Mo. Payment Close Account Details Past Due Payment Status Paid satisfactorily High Balance Limit Terms 110 Months Account Name SALLIE MAE Account Type Education Loan Balance Date Opened 1/1/2006 Account Status Closed Mo. Payment Close Account Details Past Due Payment Status Paid satisfactorily High Balance Limit Terms 110 Months
When you pulled your credit report (how it would look varies depending on the credit report company), was the first account flagged as being a medical tradeline? If not, they may have a potential violation of HIPPA that you can use as leverage?
That report is from freecreditreport.com, and it does not say anything about being medical except in the business name. I pulled my report from TransUnion and this bill is not on there anywhere. Here is my TransUnion report. SALLIE MAE #92329033801000**** POB 9500 WILKES-BARRE, PA 18773-9500 Balance: $0 Date Updated: 10/31/2010 High Balance: $2,625 Last Payment: 11/04/2010 Pay Status: Current; Paid or Paying as Agreed Account Type: Installment Account Responsibility: Individual Account Terms: Monthly for 110 months Date Opened: 01/12/2006 Date Closed: 10/31/2010 Loan Type: STUDENT LOAN Remarks: CLOSED >Maximum Delinquency of 120 days occurred in 07/2007 for $161< SALLIE MAE #92329033801000**** POB 9500 WILKES-BARRE, PA 18773-9500 Balance: $0 Date Updated: 09/30/2007 High Balance: $7,882 Last Payment: 07/29/2011 Pay Status: >Account paid in Full; was a Charge-off< Account Type: Installment Account Responsibility: Individual Account Terms: Monthly for 145 months Date Opened: 03/23/2006 Date Closed: 09/30/2007 Loan Type: STUDENT LOAN Remarks: >SETTLED-LESS THAN FULL BLNC< Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 01/2014 NCC BUSINESS SERVICE #12308** 9428 BAYMEADOWS RD SUITE 200 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32256-2071 (904) 733-3033 Balance: $500 Date Updated: 03/21/2012 Original Amount: $500 Original Creditor: SAN LUCAS TRINITY SDA (Rental/Leasing) Past Due: >$500< Last Payment: 11/30/2006 Pay Status: >In Collection< Account Type: Open Account Responsibility: Joint Account Loan Type: COLLECTION AGENCY/ATTORNEY Date Placed for Collection: 10/30/2006 Remarks: >PLACED FOR COLLECTION< Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 08/2013 NCC BUSINESS SERVICE #12308** 9428 BAYMEADOWS RD SUITE 200 JACKSONVILLE, FL 32256-2071 (904) 733-3033 Balance: $3,944 Date Updated: 03/21/2012 Original Amount: $3,944 Original Creditor: SAN LUCAS TRINITY SDB (Rental/Leasing) Past Due: >$3,944< Pay Status: >In Collection< Account Type: Open Account Responsibility: Joint Account Loan Type: COLLECTION AGENCY/ATTORNEY Date Placed for Collection: 10/30/2006 Remarks: >PLACED FOR COLLECTION< Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 08/2013 Satisfactory Accounts The following accounts are reported with no adverse information. DIRECT LOAN SVC SYSTEM #70000203957**** PO BOX 5609 GREENVILLE, TX 75403-5609 (800) 848-0979 Balance: $3,461 Date Updated: 01/16/2012 High Balance: $4,550 Last Payment: 12/28/2011 Pay Status: Current; Paid or Paying as Agreed Account Type: Installment Account Responsibility: Individual Account Terms: $50 Monthly for 120 months Date Opened: 11/01/2010 Loan Type: STUDENT LOAN Late Payments (3 months) 0 months 30 days late0 months 60 days late0 months 90 days late 0 0 0 Last 3 months OK OK OK DIRECT LOAN SVC SYSTEM #535176**** PO BOX 5609 GREENVILLE, TX 75403-5609 (800) 848-0979 Balance: $0 Date Updated: 09/30/2011 High Balance: $4,550 Last Payment: 09/28/2011 Pay Status: Current; Paid or Paying as Agreed Account Type: Installment Account Responsibility: Individual Account Terms: $50 for 102 Date Opened: 11/01/2010 Date Closed: 09/30/2011 Loan Type: STUDENT LOAN Late Payments (9 months) 0 months 30 days late0 months 60 days late0 months 90 days late 0 0 0 Last 9 months OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK SALLIE MAE #92329033801001**** POB 9500 WILKES-BARRE, PA 18773-9500 Phone number not available Balance: $0 Date Updated: 10/31/2010 High Balance: $4,000 Last Payment: 11/04/2010 Pay Status: Current; Paid or Paying as Agreed Account Type: Installment Account Responsibility: Individual Account Terms: Monthly for 110 months Date Opened: 01/12/2006 Date Closed: 10/31/2010 Loan Type: STUDENT LOAN Remarks: CLOSED Late Payments (1 month) 0 months 30 days late0 months 60 days late0 months 90 days late 0 0 0
FreeCreditReport is part of Experian... Please note that I am probably more aggressive than some, but for that one tradeline, I would pull my actual CRA credit report, and if it's not showing as medical, I would send an ITS to both the medical provider, and the collection agency for violating HIPAA, for having my personal medical information publicly available in my credit report. HIPAA Violations and Enforcement While HIPAA doesn't provide private right of actions, the fear of administrative enforcement, and potential criminal charges for HIPAA violations can be a powerful motivator; and you may be able to find private rights of actions in your state laws, and from other federal laws.
I applied and was approved for the Orchard Bank gold visa, what are some other tips to use to improve my credit? Also, the loans above from Sallied Mae that are paid, should I write a letter to them asking hem to remove them from my report or is it to late?
What's your credit limit on the new Orchard Bank credit card? Make sure you keep your credit utilization ratio under 30% (ideally 10% or less) and always pay your balances in full and on time. Once you do that for 6-12 months you should hopefully be able to upgrade to a no annual fee credit card with a better rewards program, etc.
I will definatly keep my utilization ration to 10%. Would it be wise to also apply for a Capital One card? Or just wait a few months and apply for a card from my bank? Any helpful tips about the above collections on my credit report? There are some that I paid off, and two for an eviction that happened in 2006 and will be removed next year. Would it be worth my time to try and get this removed now, or just wait until it falls off?
Stick with the Orchard Card for now, keep your credit utilization low, always pay your bill on time, and build up your FICO scores. Once you get your credit scores into the "fair credit" range, then I would get a new no annual fee credit card and ditch the Orchard Card. Regarding the eviction collections, have you heard anything from the CAs about these debts? Also, are you trying to improve your scores right now for any particular reason? If not, it may be worth just waiting these out in hopes that they simply fall off next year.
I have not heard anything from the CAs about these debts, and I am in no rush to improve my scores. In the somewhat near future I would like to take out an auto loan and would like to get a decent interest rate, and a little further down the road would like to take out a home loan. I figured I would just start now and hopefully by the time I am ready I will be able to get a loan no problem. For the student loan that I paid off, should I write a letter to Sallie Mae asking them to remve it from my credit report? Has anyone had any luck with them removing negative items?
If you're in no rush and you've never heard from the CAs regarding these debts, you might want to just sit tight and wait for awhile longer in hopes that they will fall off your credit reports next year. Sometimes it's best to not stir things up if you don't have to. Also, have you tried disputing something that's inaccurate or incomplete about the student loans through the CRAs? Since they've already been paid off, Sallie Mae might not respond which would lead to a deletion. I doubt a goodwill letter to Sallie Mae is going to get you anywhere.
What are the most common things that are inaccurate or incomplete? Which form of sample letter should I take some pointers from when sending a dispute to a creditor that I already paid off?
Look closely at the account information to see if there's incorrect or outdated information. For example, check credit limits, the date you opened the account, when payment was last made, etc. Errors are often found in the details. Regarding the dispute letter, there are some examples you can check out in the Sample Credit Repair Letters Section. Keep it simple though and dispute something specific.
Balances Last Activity Terms Payment History Any of the individual pieces of a tradeline could be inaccurate or incomplete.
