I'm a noob, and was not planning on posting until I had absorbed a great deal more of the information here, however, todays mail brought a surprise. I filed a BK7 in 6/99 and have just recently started on my credit repair project. I had submitted a few online disputes with the big 3, before finding this site about 3 days ago and realizing I needed to learn some more about credit and how to repair it, before I did more damage than good. Last week, before I found this site, I disputed a collections account, online, as 'not mine' with EQ and TU that I did not recognize. The account was listed as opening in 10/2000, so it was post BK. Today I received a letter from that collector (my first) stating that they 'received the inquiry from EQ.... evidently I'm trying to establish credit.... owe xxx for a medical bill and xx of that is interest.... send payment.' Apparently, interest has been accumulating at a rate of 12% per year and now accounts for 31% of the total bill. The letter lists only a 'rephysician's name)' as the source of debt, and I do recognize it, however, I was unaware I owed any $s. My goal is to have the TLs removed from my credit reports. Payment is an option, but I'm having some issues with the interest considering I would have paid this debt had I known about it in the first place. Any suggestions, comments and ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Since you've said that you just want the tradelines removed and you are considering paying *something*, I'll assume the debt is yours and I'll address removal efforts only. Determine whether the SOL has run for this debt. This will depend on your state's laws and the type of debt. If the debt is no longer within SOL, you have a solid defense if they choose to sue you. But, a debt with an expired SOL is also a great bargaining tool. If I were you, I would write them a letter along the lines of, "Thanks for your letter. Unfortunately for you, the debt is beyond SOL so there's not much you can do here. You have no hope of getting any money unless I choose to give it to you. I'll give you $50 (or some other fraction of the amount) if you will agree to delete the tradeline and go away forever. Let me know what you think. And, remember, this is your last chance." They may come back and say that they can't accept your offer, counteroffer or accept it with the modification that the TL will be updated as PAID. Many people say that if the debt is beyond SOL that you should hold out for a deletion. Then again a lot of people say that you should hold out for a deletion even if it's not beyond SOL. I know that in my case, PAID collections raised my score *significantly*. But your specific situation may be different, so you'll have to tread carefully here. Depending on how much or how little the TL is hurting you, you may be able to play hardball for awhile to get it deleted. Is that something you want to do?
Sabercat Read this:What is Validation http://consumers.creditnet.com/stra....php?s=&threadid=42188&highlight= validation *** Victims of Credit Reporting *** http://members.aol.com/victcrdrpt/Score.html http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/index.php?s=WhyChats statute of limitations http://community-2.webtv.net/Y-chat/WhyChatsCredit/ http://community-2.webtv.net/Y-chat/WhyChatsCredit/ statute of limitations http://www.edebtnetwork.com/content/collection_laws.asp""""```--~~~~~~~~~--```'""''' THE END ** *** ** LB 59""""```--~~~~~~~~~--```'""''' ..
This is routinely called "Waking The Dog" They assume that the only time that anyone disputes is when they are trying to obtain credit. Now, first and foremost, *SHOULD* the medical expense have been covered by insurance, etc. There are a lot of times when for some reason, the hospital fills the papers out wrong, writes down the wrong xxx.xx procedure or diagnosis code, etc; and the insurance either doesn't pay, or pays late; after the account has already been turned over for collections. Yes, they should notify their CA that they were paid by the ins co, but of course, what should happen, rarely does... My sister had to put up with 5 calls a day from ONE CA, for an account that she had obtained a canceled check from her (at the time of the service) ins co. The CA "We don't have to call the client." The OC "We don't have to call the CA." My Sister, after I told her what to say, "IF by the time we get back to the CA's office, they have not been told that you submitted it in ERROR, we will get back in the car, and drive down to Washington, D.C. and turn you in to the Federal Gov't (who her ins was through) for INSURANCE FRAUD." Surprisingly before we left their office, they figured out how to use the telephone. This is where validation comes in, you find out what the exact expense was, and then you can find out from your ins co (if applicable) whether or not it was, or should have been covered by the ins co. And if it was paid, you can get proof that it was paid, you have what you need to get the OC to recall the account as submitted in error.
