So I hit a really rough patch of life and now I am back on my feet again so I am wanting to take care of these pesky debts on my credit. I have a US Bank C.C. that is still under US Bank it had a limit of $300 that is now $2,353 due to late fees and etc. I then have a phone bill that is $1935 that is with AFNI collection agency. I have read through the forums and just can't find exactly what I am looking for. I am thinking of writing in an offering to pay 50% of the C.C. bill that would be $1,176, to me reasonable seeing my limit was only $300. The phone bill I am expecting to have to pay in full. When writing in what do I need to try and get the agencies to mark these as on my credit score? Paid off, Settled, etc...? I am drawing blanks when it comes to that in the negotiating part. Thanks for all help and input.
Well, I'm certainly not recommending this, but I disputed an AFNI collection from DH's report and it just came off. It wasn't paid. From what I understand AFNI has had some trouble sending collection notices to the wrong people and they've gotten lots of complaints, making disputes a bit easier to get off. It certainly doesn't make the debt go away but it might fall off your report. Just FYI.
If you wish to pay the credit card, a simple phone call would be better to negotiate settlement. US Bank will not accept a PFD however, a settled account will benefit you in the long-run as it won't report each and every month with a delinquent balance. As for Anderson Financial, simply dispute the tradeline. It may be deleted.
I may very well be dead wrong on this but it strikes me that US Bank went out of business years ago. If my memory isn't playing tricks on me, US Bank sold out to Boatman's Bank who then sold out to another bank. I think they sold out to Bank Of America. If I am correct about it having been US Bank they sold out to Boatman's back about 1994 or so. Maybe it was even back in the 1980's somewhere. Bank of America has a branch here in OKC that definitely was a Boatman's Bank before it was a BOA. It was a bank before Boatman's got it and I do it was US Bank that had it before Boatman's did. If I am right that debt would have to be very, very old indeed.
I do remember Boatmans being bought out by Bank Of America in my hometown. I later used a US Bank in a town I went to college in for a brief time. The C.C. was acquired before that though around 03. I found out that the AFNI company has sent a letter saying they will settle for under 1k, the relative that got the letter is mailing it to me tomorrow, so hopefully by next week I can pay that off. Maybe by the end of of October all will be paid off and then I can start the journey of rebuilding my credit. I am only 22 so I guess it is good I used credit stupid at a young age and now know what to do for my future. Thanks for the info.
Why would you pay a debt purchaser without even attempting to get it off your reports? Another thing to consider is the age of this account. If it is over two years old, I wouldn't even consider paying those scumbags. In addition, paying that AFNI account is likely to harm you more than help you insofar as they will up the date of status to the date you paid it (at least on Experian).
So its better to just not pay it at all? I don't really understand that concept. The debt is mine, the only thing to really dispute is how much is actually mine. The C.C. only had a limit of $300 so paying more then that I see as stupid, but what am I to do? The AFNI thing it was originally $900, so if they will take that then ok. If I understand correctly the best thing to do is pay them and also negotiate to have them report it as paid off as opposed to settled. To be honest I have read the newbies section and various other amounts of information but I guess I am still just lost.
Yes, you are still just lost. First and foremost, you are not paying the entity which you owed the debt to. AFNI purchased this for literal cents on the dollar. If you wish to unjustly enrich them, that is your perogative. Secondly, there is more to dispute than the balance. Actually, that may be the only accurate thing in the tradeline if the assignment agreement allowed them to accrue interest after default. Things you would dispute include date of status, account type, account history, date of major first delinquency, and some more data fields depending on the credit reporting agencies. Simply because something was once yours does not mean that it is reporting accurately or legally. Moreover, paying old delinquent debts does not necessarily help your situtation. In fact, it can often times make it worse. In terms of credit scoring, yes, you probably would be better to not pay it if you cannot remove it. A paid derogatory is still a derogatory and as such, there is no incentive to make it look more recent than what it actually is.
I'll certainly second everything that Apex has said here. He knows what he is talking about. Trust me on that. But what hasn't been pointed out is that depending on what state you live in, if the debt is more than 4 years old it is probably beyond the statute of limitations for your state. Tell us what state you live in and we can look it up for you very quickly. So what does that mean? It means that in the event they sue you for the debt and it is beyond the statute of limitations for bringing suit you would be able to put an end to the matter for free. You would not need an attorney to represent you either. You can defend yourself as a pro se litigant very easily. I realize that you are looking at it from a moralistic standpoint and of course that is commendable but these kinds of things also need to be looked at from a business point of view. That is what Apex is trying to get you to see. What you need to do is try to figure out when you made your last payment to the original creditor plus 30 days because is when the delinquency first occurred and would determine the starting date for the statute of limitations in most cases. If you are out of stat or nearly out of stat then there simply isn't any reason to be concerned about it.
I am from Arkansas and I don't believe I am near the SOL. The status on the C.C. says: Account Charged off/Past due 150 days. $2,312 written off. Charge off as of June 2006 to Aug 2007 Credit Limit was $300 BTW. The phone bill status: Collection Account. $1,935 past due as of Jan 2006. Collection as of Jan 2006. This being said, I pay them an agreed upon amount, what do I try and ask them to report it as? Charged off, Account Closed, Settlement..etc?? I know it sounds stupid and not might be the smartest way to go but I just want to avoid a legal battle, pay it off, and start on a smarter credit use path.
Just pay them, they won't negotiate payment status after the fact. It will be reported as "paid" and was "180 past due." They will place the date of status as the date you paid it which will make it look brand new. Your brand new "paid" collection will cost you about 40 to 50 FICO points but, at least you won't have to worry about it. You cannot "start on a smarter credit use path" traveling down the road your on. You've got to fight these folks at some point or it will harm you at least for the next two years. Right now, you are the prey and they are the predator. Although you have decent information at your disposal, you ignore it. See what happens . . .
She might be able to use the Westcap endorsement on them and force them to take it off that way. The instructions are right here on this board if she does a search for it.
