Okay I have a few questions maybe someone can help me. After getting my credit reports from equifax and experian I realized that they are pretty much F*^@*d Up (Am I allowed to do that...if not let me know and I wont do it again) The only thing that is good is my student loans. I think the only thing good about going to my school was that it was expensive as hell. Anyway for the 2 years that I wen I racked up clost to $15,000 in federal and state loans. All of which are being paid (no lates or nothing). Anyway how much weight do student loans carry. I mean how do they compare to lets say a, car loan or a line of credit for $15,000? I hope i didnt lose anyone so far. Okay my next thing is this...The rest of the stuff on my credit report. I am sending letters to the cra's asking them to investigate them (i have a good feeling about a few things coming off), but are the banks usually easier to work with when trying to get things removed. For example if i write to the bank and say that the account isnt mine. Is the bank obligated to verify that information? And if so and they cant find anything will they remove it or will they send me a letter and will i have to send that to the cra's? And my final question....I have a few things that were charged off or in collections...they are only like $150-$300. What are the chances of me paying them the $150-$300 and having them remove all the information (basically to show that it never existed)? Okay I hope i did confuse anyone if i did e-mail me and I will try to clarify. My address is: degrant@mol.usmc.mil or dario1979@hotmail.com OH yea Happy Holidays to everyone and I love this message board. You all seem like you know so much (very useful). Oh yea I didnt spell check this so please forgive the spelling and grammer and all that good stuff. Good Night
Hi Dario, The student loans should help. I think they are treated just like another installment loan in most cases. Roni's the expert on this though. As for question number two. Dispute with the bureaus first. Don't dispute with the creditor until you've exhausted the bureaus, unless your in a big hurry. When you ask for validation from the creditor. They will gather their paperwork to respond to your dispute. Thus, it becomes much easier for them to verify the debt when they receive the dispute from the bureau. They've got your file and paperwork in order. Basically, a big "heads up". Does this make sense? As for your final question about debt negotiations. I and others on here have been trying that. So far I haven't had any luck I know others have. I'm still working it though and will keep you posted. Happy Holidays, Kelly
Hello Dario, As for question #1, student loans didnot count much. Creditors dont look at them much when evaluating your credit. More importantly, they are not treated like other installments loans. They do not help your credit score really until they are almost paid. They do however count in your debt ratios, but this is only important when you are trying to make major purchases. But as you know student loan repayment can be extended for decades, so your monthly payment is what they mostly look at. The long repayment time make the payments lower than a car or house so this helps your ratios. Do they hurt you if you default? Hell yes, so dont ever do it. They are reported to the credit bureau like any other charge off, and FICO doesnot recognize the difference. So, the best advise with them is to pay them and never default, but they do not boost your credit until they are mostly paid. As for question #2, I agree with Kelly 100%. The first step in any credit repair is to obtain your 3 major credit reports and dispute the inaccurate (negative) items. You may catch the creditor sleeping on the job and get the item deleted through lack of timely verification. If this attempt is not successful, then you may contact the creditor to ask for written verification (if indeed the item is not true) or negotiate payment for deletion. Almost every creditor and some collection agencies will tell you that they "cannot delete an item on a creditor report once it is put there". BULLCRAP! Let them know you are smarter than that and negotiate your butT off. (Hint: I have been most successful in getting items removed by convincing the creditor that the delinquency was caused by an error on their part-paperwork, mail, address change, etc,etc.) As for your 3rd question, I have paid an account with collection agencies when #2 above didnot work, waited 3 months and disputed the item and deleted it. This is a last resort method and should be done after many attempts at #2. This is because, once it is paid, you will never be able to negotiate with the creditor. They have their money. Gameover. I paid something once and deleted is with negotiations, but I worked a miracle in this cause. I should say God was looking out for me that time. But I would never suggest this method to anyone. Only pay an account if the creditor/collection agency will just not negotiate and you want it off and willing to take the chance. Since your balances are low, I personally would say you are not taking too big a chance. How old are they? That is important also. Paid collections have a few benefits. If you want a home, they will have to be paid before purchase. Paid collections do not help your credit score at all. But, some banks would rather see them paid before issuing car loans or credit cards, but in these situtations the benefits of paid collections is very minor. So with very little benefit except for buying a home, paying a collection and hoping for deletion should be done with care. Boy I'm tired. I hope this has helped. And as always, Good Luck! roni
Thanks Roni That explains a lot! You are the student loan expert It sucks that they can't help you but definitely can hurt you !!! Thanks for your post, haven't seen/heard from you in awhile, miss your posts! Kelly
RE: Thanks Roni Hey Roni and Kelly Thanks for all of your help. I will hold off talking to the credit card companies for right now. I am going to send letters to the CRA's and wait to see what happens. If that doesent work I will go ahead and try to get the creditors to do something. Anyway thanks and have a good night. Dario
