Hi, I've just recently discovered this board and I think it's great. I have a question about getting rid of late payments. Some time ago I had some financial difficulties and had to stop paying the bills on a loan for two months. I had a very good history with the lender and I called them, told them I'd hit a gap in my income and that I couldn't pay for two months but that I'd do so immediately when I got the money. I talked to the manager and they said that'd be fine and they wouldn't report it. Well you can imagine what happened. I kept to my word, and I actually made two payments to balance out the account. However, the company still reported me as being 30+ days overdue twice. This happened in 09/02 and 10/02. I called the company but they said they couldn't do anything and that I needed to contact the CRA. I'm really bummed about this b/c my score used to be in the 675 range now dropped to 607. What can I do?
I agree with jlynn's suggestion of a CRA dispute as a first shot. If the creditor verifies, then you need to deal with them again. What is your relationship with them now? Do you still own the loan, and have you been making regular payments since? Are they a national corporation? If so, then I think your chances of getting help are excellent. But I would dispute with the CRAs first, as it will be faster.
Washington Mutual, excellent relationship, paid on time now. I'll start the dispute process today. Should I call the WAMU and the CRA concurrently? Actually, now that I've looked at my credit report in more detail it appears that this isn't as big of a deal as I thought. I think the bigger impact are the two settlements I have on my name -- they're both derogatory. Two companies filed claims against me in court to collect payment on merchandise they delivered improperly. I fought with them in court and the judge agreed that I had to pay reduced amounts on both counts. One case was filed in 1997, the other in 1999. They both come up as "judgment satisfied." Do you guys think there's anything that can be done about these?
for WAMU dispute like jlynn says, then try like to hell to find out who you spoke to when you called them originally..if you cant do that, then try a goodwill letter explaining your situation.
