Hi everyone, I have a few questions that I'd greatly appreciate answers to. I had some rough times over several years that I've come out of. Most of my debt is gone now, my credit cards are slowly seeing their limits increase, I keep $0 - $30 on each card. I have a car payment I've always paid on time, and recently started paying more than the minimum on. Now all that said, I checked my credit reports and my score is still lowish. The main reason is that there are some very old collection accounts on there. I'd like to know the best way to handle these. Here are examples of what I have. First is a collection for $528 - this was paid in full in April 2010. I seem to remember the creditor saying they'd remove the account, but they never did. I know if you dispute something, if they collection group doesn't respond, it will be automatically removed. For this one, I disputed with the reason being they said they'd remove it. Is there a better way to handle this? Next is a collection for a cable company for $218. I recently paid this off last month, and they said they would not remove it themselves, but they gave me a letter showing it was paid. I made a dispute on this one - but what should the reason be? On Transunion, I said it was because it's been paid in full. What will happen here? Next are some VERY old legacy accounts. On the Transunion report, two of them say the estimated date of removal is 9/2012. Should I dispute those now as being too old? Wait until September? Wait until October? Finally, there is one that says the estimated date for removal is 7/2012. Obviously that has passed, and that one, too, is VERY old. Since we're now in August, should I dispute this one saying it's too old and to remove it? Or wait a bit? I've paid off almost everything over the past few years, but these last blights are still hurting me. Very frustrating when mistakes you make when you're young are still hurting you at 30. But once these last negatives are removed, I'll be in a good spot. Oh, one last thing - there's something for $56 (UGH) showing on Experian.. that one isn't scheduled to removed for a few years. Should I just pay that one off? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!
Hello, There are many ways to fix your credit, but giving into the credit card companies is not one of them! You might want to call your creditors and ask them what they would settle for.
Welcome to Creditnet Blarg! First, it's great to hear that you're now on the right track with your credit cards, auto loan, etc. Continue to keep your credit utilization low, make all payments on time and in full, and you're credit scores will benefit greatly. Now, here are my thoughts on the old baddies. 1.) I wouldn't dispute using the reason that they said they would remove if from your credit reports. Just dispute something that's inaccurate regarding the account through the CRAs, and hopefully the CA won't respond now that they've been made whole. 2.) When a collection is paid in full, that doesn't mean it will be removed from your credit reports. It should update to a paid collection. 3.) You might as well wait a bit longer on these to see if they will drop off. You're getting very close if the true drop-off date is next month. 4.) Yes, I would dispute this one if you think its reporting time has truly expired. Lastly, the good news about a small collection under $100 is that the most recent FICO credit-scoring model should ignore it. However, not all lenders use the most recent model yet. If the $56 collection is really bugging you, I would try to see if I could negotiate complete removal in return for payment in full. Remember, a "paid" collection is basically going to hurt your credit scores as much as an "unpaid" collection.
Thanks Josh for the answer! Let me ask a few follow up questions - 1) So for this, for example on TransUnion dispute, there's an option to dispute based on general inaccuracies. Is that what I should choose? 2) They did tell me that if I submitted a request to have it removed, I could use the letter they gave me showing it was paid to do that. I'm confused as to what basis I'd use to dispute? Unless with this I'd just dispute inaccuracies and hope they wouldn't respond? 3) Sounds good - my only worry is that we're applying for a place to move into and I don't want to be denied. 4) For this one, what option would I choose to dispute? There's no option for "It's too old please remove". Please let me know. Thanks for the help, this stuff does boggle me lol. And good news about the new FICO model.. but bad news about some lenders not using it haha. If they won't remove it, what should I do? Thanks for all of the help!!
No problem blarg. Here are my additional thoughts in response to your follow-up questions: 1.) Yes, and if there's something that's inaccurate to dispute (date, amount, account #, etc.), go for it. The hope here is that the CA won't respond to the investigation because they've already got their money and moved on. 2.) I would dispute that it's been paid in full. Hopefully the CA either confirms or doesn't respond to the CRA investigation. 3.) How bad are your credit scores? Are you applying to rent from a private landlord or a commercial apartment complex? 4.) If there's no option, choose "other" and simply state that the debt is too old to appear on your credit reports. 5.) Push hard for a PFD on the $56 collection. It is a shame to have such a small debt tarnish your credit reports. If there's no way you can get it done, you might have to just pay it and attempt to get it off your credit reports in a similar method to what we've previously discussed. Good luck, and keep us updated on how things play out.
