Hello all - I am hoping I misght be able to get some advice regarding a Utility credit problem. My credit report for SNET (phone service) reads paid charge off. I moved and I assume that I paid these guys late. I still have SNET service fro both phone and cellular. I am wondering if I should try to speak with them about this or if I should try to remove it via the CRA's? Also what approach should I use? Please help credit novice. Thanks!
I would dispute it with the CRA's first. If it goes away, your done. If not, then you can talk to the utility. Since it's paid, you don't have much in the way of leverage. Although since you are a current customer, you might be able to find a sympathetic ear.
What strategy would you take? I have read several - on these boards. It seems that a general letter to the CRA asking them to investigate is the most sucessful without giving them too much information. Any thoughts?
I would dispute as "not mine". I have been giving them my name,address,ss no, and birthdate. You can also give them the acct # as listed on the report for their benefit. Thats about it.
Ok thanks Pat - what has your own sucess rate been with this type of problem (assuming you have had something similar)? does it normally take a couple letters? Any suggestions are appreciated.
I have done all my own disputing. I had 2 pd chargeoffs showing on all 3 CRA's. Got 1 removed from all 3 and one verified on 2 of the 3 (not sure how that happened). A bunch of closed cards with 60 & 90's on them. All deleted. Some mixed info and miscellaneous old cards showing as open that I needed to talk to the original creditor on, to get reported as closed. They went away because of the 7 year rule, one I rehab'd. I'm now working on the pd chgoff with the original creditor and trying to get a bunch of 30's removed. All in all not too bad. The paid chargeoff is still my biggest pain. If you are going to do it yourself, dispute by phone, all of your old (incorrect addresses first. Once they are gone, go to town. Start with the worst. I only did 2 at a time, but I've heard people do 1 or all at once. I didn't want to chance it. I figured it took me quite a while to get into this mess, so I'll be patient getting out of it.
Thanks alot for the info Pat. So you think that I should start with old address that are incorrect first and call teh CRA's via phone? Tell me if I am wrong or misread what you posted. Again thanks for the advice All advice welcome!
You will get good info here from people more in the "know" than me I'm just giving you my approach, that has worked for me and a bunch from the yahoo credit-repair forum. I found this site at the tail end of my repair, so I was mostly done. I've read/heard good things about Junum and Lex, so that call is yours. It does take some time to do it yourself, but in a strange way I've enjoyed it. I'm up to a 665 last check, and rebuilding my arsenal. I think if I had more negatives, I would have tried Junum. Now to answer your question. You read it right. I was able to get rid of the incorrect addresses via a phone call with Equifax (CBC affiliate) and Experian, TU I had to send in writing. I was told early on that getting rid of old addresses makes the verification more difficult. I'm not sure that I buy that now, but I don't think it hurts. If you dispute the addresses on the phone, you will get an updated CR. Then if the utility is your only bad mark, a single dispute.
While I am in no way an expert, I do know one absolute. NEVER dispute by phone. ALWAYS dispute by letter. These people they have answering the phones are as slick as Bill Clinton. They are not there to represent you, but rather their employers interests, which will in most cases conflict with your own. If you talk to them on the phone, they will try to ask you details which may make you trip up and not be able to initiate an investigation. I learned this first hand. Just by a book of stamps and start disputing by mail. I keep copies of all my letters to the CRAs in a nice little file folder. It pays to be very organized when doing this credit repair. It will prevent you from being redundant in your disputes and waste valuable time. For me it has become a great little hobby. You will meet with some success and some failure, don't let that get you discouraged. It took a while to get into this mess, so it's only logical that it will take time to get out of it. But it will happen. Good luck!
Scabbo, I would attack both ends by disputing CRA and disputing CA using letters available here. I would do it only by certified/return receipt mail. Good luck!
