how bad is my situation?

I would not negotiate anything with them except how much they are going to pay you. Any money you currently have to spend will do you far more good paid towards that which you want to keep and not throw it after lost causes. Watch that Sears card especially. Get it paid down. Sears is pretty mean to deal with. Discover also is no real picnic. NCO is a piece of cake and Chase is only a little bit tougher . But the others you have can be mean motor scooters. So use your money to keep them from going completely sour on you. Don't make a fatal mistake and throw good money after bad. Discover, Chase & Amex are pretty much top of the line cards so protect them at all costs. Yes, those lates will hurt you for quite a while, but a year of on time payments will put an end to their real effectiveness in the eyes of future lenders.

Don't worry about those lates at all. Yes, they will hold your score down for a year or two but not nearly as bad as not having those cards at all will. Get them up and keep the balances low and learn how to fight those other two off and you should come out smelling like a rose in a year or two.

Don't worry about that. They and NCO can be eliminated if you learn how. Not all that hard to do. But if you pay them you will live with them for the full 7 years. Just be sure to keep careful records of the letters they send you, when you missed your last payment, phone calls, things like that. Careful records are one of the most important tools you can have on your side.

Nothing! Absolutely nothing at all. Keep records, keep their letters and learn how to fight and win. If you pay them it will cement them on your credit and you will have one awful time getting rid of them. So don't throw good money after bad out of fear. Fear will beat you every time.

 

It will.

If the card is salvageable so that once you get it current and paid down you can use it again then do all that you can to save it too but not necessarily to the detriment of the others. If you cannot salvage the card then let it go. Even if you can salvage the card you may have to look at it from a standpoint of your income and how many of these cards you can or cannot sustain. But basically speaking if a card cannot be salvaged and made to be in good and useable condition down the road then you might as well just let it go. Such decisions can only be made by you because only you know your financial situation.

Again. If it is salvageable and later useable then pay it down and keep it if you can afford it.

Treat each and every situation as a totally separate situation. NCO is already a bad mark and there isn't a lot they can do to make it any worse than it already is.

It may very well be but how will accepting it affect you ability to keep the good ones from going to pot? If you can take the offer and still have enough to get all the others in good standing then go for it. If not then you better protect what credit you have left.

Usually 7 years after you missed your last payment is close enough for chatting purposes.

Probably.

 

If you wish to obtain alternate opinions, I suggest you go to creditboards.com or cardreport.com.

 

Lets help Jerseyboy

First of all, keep Sears and Discover happy. Bill is right about those two-they'll likely sue sooner rather than later. In fact at Freeadvice.com a week or so ago a poster reported her last payment to Discover was in Oct of 02 and they sued her the day of her post. The account likely not even chargedoff.

I 'd suggest doing all you can to avoid an R-9 on the Chase. Take the 35% and live with the R-5 until you can figure out a way to dispute.
With NCO, I'm out of my league. Hopefully others will have better ideas.


I have one BofA CC account listed as "Bad debt/collection" (Charged Off & sold to NCO Collections) and a Chase CC listed as 120+ days past due and both are closed.

I am negotiating a settlement with both, 60% & 35% respectively.

In addition I have Discover & Sears which are open but list over 90+ days past due multiple times.

In the past 90 days I did get a loan from Toyota to purchase my lease because I have 5 years good credit performance with them. And in addition I have an Amx gold in good standing.

Chase refuses to negotiate deleting the trade-line or list as closed. How is that going to affect my credit future?

For how long are the two settlements and all the late paid going to keep my FICO in the (mid-500s) doghouse?

I only have a short window of opportunity with the settlements, what should I do if I have to decide quickly?

Thanks.

-Never confuse data with information, information with knowledge, knowledge with wisdom

 

I'd say go ahead and settle on the Chase if it has not gone to collections. You may cement it on your reports for the next 7 years but it is a lot less headache than having to deal with a CA that will rip on you a new anus on fees. It may even be worth it to settle with BofA if you can get rid of NCO. Or you could choose to play ball and let the accounts go to the CA's. Its all about risk and luck. The only thing for certain is that trying to fix your reports is a crap shoot.

Have you considered restrictive endorsements on your settlement checks if your in a state that recognizes them?

Don't screw with sears or discover, sears is vindictive as hell and discover is sue happy.

 

Several defamatory posts within this thread were based upon the faulty premise that a Creditnet member hosts a particular web site. Those messages and their contextual non-credit responses were removed. Feedback regarding Creditnet members may be posted to the forum designated for that purpose and must comply with the Creditnet Terms of Service regarding "Member Conduct."

CCN steve

 

Re: Re: how bad is my situation?

http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/1999a/19990224/ca98-471.html

 

Re: Re: how bad is my situation?

R9 is chargeoff and R5 is 120+ days late. Negative stuff will stay on your credit report for 7 years. The FAQ's will get you started on the dispute process.

 

1. I agree that you should keep Amex, Discover, and Sears paid on time. Make those your first priority (along with that Toyota loan).

2. DO NOT TALK WITH NCO OR SEND THEM ANY MONEY. Send them a validation letter certified return receipt. You can see why you send this letter at www.mix6.com. It explains the validation process and gives sample letters. What you're saying is "prove it" to NCO... in that interim, they have to do specific things and if they don't you can catch them on fcra and fdcpa violations.. use those violations to negotiate removal of tradelines and inquiries, and even removal of the original tradeline. But for now, the important thing is for you to NEVER talk with them on the phone and to NOT send them money. They won't sue you this early on. They like hardball collection tactics too much.

to answer your question... yes they can sue you after receiving a validation request but it leaves you the ability to countersue for fdcpa and fcra violations (likely)... You don't have to pay anybody to learn this, read the fair debt collection practices act, and the fair credit reporting act, and the www.mix6.com website, and you'll know all you need to know to try to leverage the best settlement later with BofA (NOT NCO) or perhaps with NCO but with full deletions... you'll learn this when you read.

3. If you are going to settle the Chase account while it's still at Chase, you need their settlement offer in writing before paying them. You need them to fax and/or mail you a letter stating that you are settling the xyz debt in full for x settlement. They must close the account (by the fcra) and list it as settled in full. However, be aware they will send you a 1099 form into the irs for the portion of the debt they 'forgave' and you will have to pay income taxes on that... so it's not a payment in full completely in tha you will owe taxes on the portion forgiven, but it does relieve you of the burden of the debt. But again, you MUST have it all in writing FIRST... they can fax you if time is of the essence and then put the hard copy in the mail. Get a manager to sign it and call in and confirm that person works there But remember: if it's not in writing it doesn't exist.

Let me give you the worst case scenario: you have nothing in writing from Chase, you send in 35% as a 'settled in full' payment, and they thank you for your payment and request the remaining balance.

The trade line will be listed as closed, settled in full by law. It will be there for 7 years after the first date of delinquency. It will not affect you too much after 24 mos.

You can later try to dispute it off, with 50/50 luck or so. After 24 mos (the score takes into account your most recent 24 mos most heavily)... your score will rebound nicely. Also, with even a lower score but 24 mos clear you can get a reasonable car loan and even mortgate. If chase does not close the account, show it with a 0 balance (within a timely manner) you can actually sue them for fcra violations. they must report correct information. Right now, the balance on it with the currently r9 is killing the score.

You want to try to keep the current creditors in play (AMEX, Discover, Sears) b/c the score needs current info to give you a decent score... if you have no current creditors that you use then you have to try to apply for subprime cards and that's expensive. Also, if you have had a one-time economic glitch but recover, the score and lenders take into account that it's not habitual but instead was a situational issue... in other words, they will normally resume letting you charge once you get them current (or you can request they reopen you account once you've gotten this all more in order)

As for NCO, read the other site and get back to us. But in the interim, odds are they won't sue you so don't let them intimidate you at all. they're scum.

DO keep detailed records of any conversations you've had, keep copies of the validation letters you will send (there will be more than 1).. and keep your statements. You can later use these for possible fcra violations.

Hope this helps. As for "how bad" your situation is.. it's moderate. Horrible would be you can't get it back on track at all. Great would be all paid on time with 0 balances. You haven't even really screwed up all the accounts (they all aren't closed and at collection agencies)... and if people are really honest with you, more people than you would ever guess have glitches in their credit files.. it happens, and that's ok. the thing to do is to try to recover the file as quickly as you can, pay off those debts, use the cards only for convenience in the future, and learn your rights so you can fight the best battle you can now..

Also, one of the best books out there is
The Guerrilla Guide to Credit Repair: How to Find Out What's Wrong With Your Credit Rating-And How to Fix It by Todd Bierman, Nathaniel Wice

Amazon has it for under 10.

 

Help me out here, Marie. What can be done if BofA tells you they won't deal with you because it is NCO has the account and it is out of their hands?

 

He's not going to call or write BofA right now so that's not an issue.

1. He'll send validation letter 1 to NCO
2. He'll either get a response or not.
If he gets no response, at 31 days after receipt he'll pull his credit report, if it isn't listed as "in dispute" he'll have NCO on fdcpa and fcra violations.
3. NCO will almost certainly either call him or mail him again after receiving the validation request. FDCPA violation.

or: he'll get improper validation as defined by case law. He can still continue as though he received nothing.

4. He'll send the validation letter #2 with a cease and desist. NCO with either try to contact him again (yet another fdcpa violation) or they will cease and desist. If they cease and haven't provided proper valdation then they must remove the tradeline and inquiries in full. He may even have them on an impermissible purpose fcra issue.

Now that he has documentation of violations on NCO... and has had time to better clean up his report.. he can apply for a very prime credit product. Get denied, have actual damages.

In the interim, if NCO can't provide timely validation they'll either turn it back to BofA (to avoid a lawsuit by him) or they'll try again to get validation proof... but by the time they do get their ducks in row they've likely given him ammo on multiple fdcpa and fcra violations. Once they receive from him a scathing demand letter they will want to get rid of his account and instead go scare innocent, ignorant consumers into paying overinflated charges to NCO. Easiest prey.

He then can write BofA and tell them he's holding them liable for the actions of NCO and demand damages and removal of their tradeline, NCO's tradeline, and all related inquiries. He can also dispute all related NCO and BofA tradelines and inquiries with all credit bureuas. THey'll verify. The accounts won't be listed as in dispute (even though he's now also put BofA on notice and sent them a demand letter as well). He now has the credit bureaus in a position of liability.

Now, he can sue the bureaus, NCO, BofA... or just send very nasty demand letters to them all and force a settlement or deletion in full with or without payment. Now odds are BofA can and will provide proof of the debt at some point since it's a relatively recent account.. but by the time someone realizes they really have to deal with this account in a proper manner he'll already have causes of action against NCO, BofA, and the bureaus. they'll settle and delete.

BTW: I've used this with Nationsbank (now BofA) and it works, so this isn't just theory but first hand knowledge I'm passing onto him. If he had no leverage, no violations, then BofA would likely tell him to take a flying leap and deal with the devils at NCO... but he won't contact them until he has this leverage.

 

jersey,

when NCO does not provide proper validation, which they wont, send formal camplaints to the BBB and the state AG for NCO. I think they are in Penn. Make sure you put a cease and desist in your valid letter. Most likely they will not adhere to your request.

I had 3 account with NCO and they did not valdiate any of them and with the help of the BBB they have all been deleted. Do a search on this site for NCO and you will see all the encounters we have had with them.

Marie's advise is great, if I were you I would follow her instructions instead of some others on this thread.

Good luck.

 

Well, Marie, that is a great explanation indeed.
But in going to all that work you brushed my question aside as though it did not even merit a second thought. In fact, that is what you said.

Now then, if you would please be so considerate as to answer my question which was:

Help me out here, Marie. What can be done if BofA tells you they won't deal with you because it is NCO has the account and it is out of their hands?

I would appreciate it.
Thanking you in advance for your kind response to my question.

 

Re: Re: how bad is my situation?

Actually Bill, I thought I answered your question in such great detail that I'd get teased for the length of my response. And I gave such detail to help the poster know what to do and in what order.

As long as BofA owns the account then the settlement of the amount of the account is never out of their hands. It's simply a matter of how to get them to get involved... and how quickly you can accomplish it.

BofA would perhaps not deal with him if he called them right now, with no violations on NCO, with NCO servicing the account (somewhat likely)... but that really only goes for the actual settlement of the dollar amount of the account...

However, that actually presupposes that BofA won't discuss an account that's with a Collection agency. some creditors actually will discuss and settle and account with you even though they also have a CA servicing the account (and they will then forward the commission to the collection agency as a matter of fulfilling their contract with the CA)

If BofA won't discuss an account directly that's with a CA... then the way I detailed showed the original poster how to force:

1. NCO to turn the account voluntarily back over to BofA
2. How to make BofA WANT TO take back the account from NCO to mitigate any further liability that NCO will generate for BofA by violating the fdcpa and/or the fcra


3. The only other situation in which BofA would really be out of the situation in some aspects is if they sold the account to NCO instead of just hiring them to service it. Then BofA wouldn't settle the account balance but could still be made to remove the tradeline information via the generated fcra violations. (BofA will always be liable for their reporting of their original account). They can not get out of that even if they do sell and account to a CA.

4. and this is so obvious I'm embarassed to really point this out.. but my whole point of this was to detail a way to make sure the poster has detailed records of violations so that he can SUE, if need be.

If you're suggesting that BofA would ignore or refuse to answer a lawsuit...then the only recourse the poster would have would be to laugh his happy butt off b/c he got a default judgment and was able to collect from BofA... but that would be so unlikely that it just didn't really merit a discussion.

Filing a lawsuit is always a way to get anyone to have to deal with you.

 

Re: Re: how bad is my situation?

No, I really don't plan on chiding you for anything at all.

Under what law?