You should got to the mortgage forum and present these questions, there are alot of experts that work in the industry everyday that would better be able to assist you. You can go to that forum by clicking the link at the bottom of this page under "sister communities" click the mortgage fit link. Find your topic and present your question there. Hope you find what you need, goodluck!
Usually they willl stay on until the entire 7 year reporting is up, they will how ever update to a paid status, they will stay in the negative side but will reflect paid.
They will fall off either way after the 7 year reporting period is up
Like any other profession, there are reputable business people who go all out to provide quality service, and then there are the scammers who give all the others a bad name!
Before you hire a Credit Repair Agency check with the Better Business Bureau and with the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance (ECRA).
I stumbled across this site looking for a sample letter to negotiate a mortgage modification. I look forward to learning ways of dealing with creditors/banks and improving my credit.
That is not a proper validation letter, that is a verification letter. Write them back, certified mail and tell them you still dispute the debt and what they sent was not a validation letter. The DV letter should have a copy of your original contract with the OC. They them you would like proof that uou and them (the CA) have any agreement to do business together and you want proof. Tell them that since they can not properly alidate the debt you want them to remove it immediately. Stay on them, I've fought some of the biggest and won. Also look on your credit report and see if after you sent them a DV letter, that your credit report shows, "consumer disputes this account." Good Luck, Remember stay on them hard.
I went through a similar situation, however, the collection agency had me served, that was almost three years ago and we still have not went to court. I disputed their claim to the debt, I requested that they show that I had a contract with them and not the original credit.
My thing was that I never entered into any contract with them, I did not agree to their ridiculous rates. The attorney that I spoke with said that they have to prove that I owe the debt AND that I owe it to them. I did not enter into any contract with the collection agency.
So, I would say that no this does not constitute debt validation. I would send another letter, certified mail and keep your reciept that they have signed for it. They will not stop harassing you until you inform them that they are to provide proper validation, put up or shut up more or less. They will try to threaten you, don't listen, they use scare tactics all the time.
Tell them that you need a copy of the original contract that you signed with them.
That depends, how many installations do you have as opposed to revolving accounts? It is good to have a variety of types of accounts on your report. The key is keeping them all at a low balance so that your available credit is higher than your debt ratio.
Take a look and see how many of each account you have and then determine if you want to correct it or not.
If you find out let me know, I just sent my first one last week. If I get a response I will post the outcome. Good Luck, everythings worth a try these days.
Amit is telling you the #1 thing to never do, that is call and talk with a CA. NEVER NEVER NEVER talk in person, only communicate by mail and make sure you send them a letter telling them to only contact you by mail. A single fact sheet is not a validation letter, it a verification letter. This information can be obtained by a collection networks, when the debt is bought from another CA. The information is usually wrong and they don't usually have the proper information to collect the debt. Remember they record calls and use tricks. If you call and I say NEVER CALL, record your calls, you can legally do this and it will save you in the long run.
You do not want a credit card to be reported as a installment loan. If you do not have a balance or a very low balance on a $15K card, you want that high limit to show. This is where the credit agancies get there debt to income ratio. Dispute the account with the credit agency and obtain the credit rating you deserve, you would be surprised.
I am retired - My Checking account was garnished by a creditor, the only money going to my checking account direct deposit is my social security and my pension, I thought they could not garnished social security & pension money , is this legal for them (creditors) to do this, If not, how can I get my money back, on top creditors garnishing my checking account, the bank charge me a processing fee of $100.00?
I found out yesterday that CAG and National Recovery agency are trying to do the same for $122.00 from March. I don't know who or where this is from and will seek to dispute. Thanks for the contact information. Has anyone rec'd any updated information about this?
Not a good idea if you are not going to be able to pay it off before the low introductory rate is over with. You would be better off taking out a consolidation loan with a higher rate. You could then build up a payment history and increase your credit score.
These cards are okay as long as you pay them off before the low introductory rate expires, but if not, then you may owe more than you originally started out owing.
Do your homework and see what works best for you, everyones situation is different.
There are mistakes and perhaps a few things that are correct. All were based on emergency surgery I had with no health insurance. My story may be worse than some and better than others. Regardless, I need help getting it corrected
I think all credit repair is not a scam, Some credit repair will sometime scam but we must have to aware from scammers ,
Before joining credit repair program we must have to know that is this co. is scam or genuine.
It will keep you away from scammers.
Thanks you so much,
________________________
Procrastination is enemy of your financial success.
I don't think credit repair companies are 'always' a scam, but of course you have to be careful in choosing which companies are there for your best interest. A friend of mine introduced to me
a credit repair company.. I signed up with them back in 2004 when I really had a hard time qualifying for any loan. I had over 20 collections in my credit report. I didn't have a bank account ! in less than a year, I've noticed a major improvement in my credit as most negative items were gone. also, as I've shopped around, they were cheapest than most other companies... this company is definitely not a scam. They changed my life !!! I was always used to 500 FICO.. and I was really happy when it went up to 690 in 6 months !!
not bad, right ? Good thing about them is that they had great customer service, and their response were fast.
:roll:
Check them out:
"<a href="http://affiliate.yourcreditattorney.com/478739-0-3-1.html"" target="_blank">www.yourcreditattorney.com
The Credit Repair Organizations Act prohibits making false claims about credit repair. It makes it a crime for companies to collect credit repair fees from an individual prior to services being rendered. It requires that these companies inform you about your legal rights. It demands that a credit repair company provide information about your legal rights in a written contract, that also must detail the services the company will provide you with, the duration of the services, the timeline before results can be expected, the total cost of the repair and any guarantees that are offered. The written contract must also clearly state that an individual has three days to cancel the contract and services at no charge.
I have a history of offering free advice/help to the members and guests of this forum, in exchange for visits to my website, I would like to offer the following as well...
For ONE AGENCY PER HOUSEHOLD, I will make the calls STOP within HOURS! This is not a gimmick, nor a "with strings" offer... Call the office, and give me some of the necessary info, and I will IMMEDIATELY END the calls!
Hey Doc, glad to see you still at the forum. I was also glad to see that you are continuing to be a great asset. I can tell anyone who has recently joined this site that Doc really is a great help and just visiting the website is worth the time.
I lost money from a guy in North Carolina who took my money and never did anything.
Then a friend referred me to a place in Arizona that was great called Wise Choice Credit Repair. They got rid of a bunch of negatives super quick. Also they don't make you pay upfront. The price was inexpensive also.
It is important to do your homework when you are going to depend on someone else to take care of your bills for you. You have to take the time to do research like with the places that doc mentions above or come to a forum like this and ask your questions before making a commitment to them.
Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience, thank god it was inexpensive. Do they have your bank account information, if so, I would watch it in the future and make sure that you dispute any charges they put on there when they did not do the work that you contracted them to do.
LIKE MOST THINGS OUT THERE YOU GOTTA LEARN TO WEED OUT THE BAD FROM THE GOOD.My sister found a very good company ( I don't know the name ), she got all of her creditors paid within the timeframe they predicted. She now has her credit rating back where she wants it. When she first told me about what she was doing I thought she was being takin, and told her what I thought.
You should know going into something like this what you are actually getting into. It is our responsibility as consumers to do the research to make sure that a company is legit and that they have a good track record before giving up our hard earned dollars.
Unfortunately as with any company or any industry you will have your scam artist out there trying to make a quick buck and take advantage of people in bad situations to make it.
The best way is to educate yourself and attempt to do the credit repair yourself, if you find that it is a task that you can not handle then start looking into companies to do it for you.
Well aren't the debt consolidation companies basically trying to repair your debt. I mean you must have overextended yourself and caused problems with your credit ratings or why would you use them. You've ruined your credit and now you're looking for a way to repair the situation. After you put your credit cards into the hands of a debt conselor and your debts are cleared , your're on your way again.
Credit card debt is one of the biggest and easiest things to get in. It starts out with just a little here and then you say Oh its only a little more I will go ahead and get it..pretty soon the bill is higher than you ever planned. Its scary. Once we paid most of ours off we weeded out a lot of them. Yes we kept the oldest ones but the ones not used were closed. It was way to easy to go deeper in debt. Not only that being involved in this forum really helped keep me on track.
I had a lot of credit card debt at one time, way to much. So one day I sat down and picked out the lowest amount, paid the minamm on all the others, and put all the extra money on the one I picked out. After I paid it off, I went to the next lowest ,put the amount I now had left from the one I paid off plus the extra money I had left on it. I did this until I was down to only two cards. I now have them down to reasonable amounts and always make more than minimum payments. I think that it is a waste of money trying to pay a third party to get your credit ratings up.
The case is not same with all companies.But i have noticed that many companies (which even have good BBB rank) are just trying to gather clients and after that they scam them in one way or another.
it is definately a scam. they make your credit worse by not paying anyone, that worsens your credit. Credit counseling agencies and debt settlement are all scams. The CCA only send a VERY small amount to each creditor, making the account further deliquent. Debt Settlement Companies are just like a savings account that you have to pay for. They sit on your money til u have enough to start negotiating, while all your accounts are becoming further deliquent. You could do this all yourself! Collection agencies do not give the Settlement agencies a better settlement deal than they will give the consumer, so really you are paying these companies to save your money for you. SCAM. and while in the program you cannot get approved for any other kinds of loans/credit cards.
#1... We aren't talking about debt settlement... That's what you are referring to in your post... And the companies that operate in the means by which you described are definitely scammers...
#2... There are alot of things you COULD do yourself, but pay an expert to do... Landscapers/Yard maintenance... Stitches... Taxes... Criminal defense... haircuts...
Just because you CAN do something yourself doesn't necessarily mean it's the best option... I'm just sayin'...
There are some legitimate Credit "Repair"companies out there but you have got to be careful!!!! Truthful speaking credit repair companies are not doing anything that you can't do yourself, its just that sometimes we as consumers don't want to put in the effort to achieve the results that we desire so we pay someone else to do it. I think that ever consumer should take the time to become famliar with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, FACTA, and the FDCPA and the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). As consumers we have got to stop yielding the power to everyone else and starting arming ourselves with the knowledge that we need to invoke our consumer rights! Lastly, if a company is just "repairing your credit", deleting negative tradelines, and not doing anything to help you build your credit, they are truly hurt you in the end!!!
Credit Advocate is right about the last thing in particular... We suggest that consumers build credit in addition to letting us work on the derogatories...
This is true building credit while working on derrogatory only makes sense, having derrogatory items removed will improve your score and building credit will improve your score at the same time, it is a win, win.
Plus, if all you do is REMOVE credit, you eventually run out of tradelines altogether...
One of the key elements to a good credit score is a good 'mix' of credit... In other words, if you don't have a revolving tradeline (credit card) there's a bit of a cap on your score...
There is also something as having too much credit. We recently close some newer accounts. They were a couple furniture store accounts but they were values over $13,000 and I heard that open accounts like that, even though you owe nothing, effects your debt to income ratio. How true is that. We did call our bank ahead of time and asked if it would hurt our scores to close them and they said no. We have have a few cards with years of good credit history on them so I assumed it would be ok. (We is my hubby and I).
You should got to the mortgage forum and present these questions, there are alot of experts that work in the industry everyday that would better be able to assist you. You can go to that forum by clicking the link at the bottom of this page under "sister communities" click the mortgage fit link. Find your topic and present your question there. Hope you find what you need, goodluck!
Usually they willl stay on until the entire 7 year reporting is up, they will how ever update to a paid status, they will stay in the negative side but will reflect paid.
They will fall off either way after the 7 year reporting period is up
Do your homework!
Like any other profession, there are reputable business people who go all out to provide quality service, and then there are the scammers who give all the others a bad name!
Before you hire a Credit Repair Agency check with the Better Business Bureau and with the Ethical Credit Repair Alliance (ECRA).
New Here
Hi all!
I stumbled across this site looking for a sample letter to negotiate a mortgage modification. I look forward to learning ways of dealing with creditors/banks and improving my credit.
That is not a proper validation letter, that is a verification letter. Write them back, certified mail and tell them you still dispute the debt and what they sent was not a validation letter. The DV letter should have a copy of your original contract with the OC. They them you would like proof that uou and them (the CA) have any agreement to do business together and you want proof. Tell them that since they can not properly alidate the debt you want them to remove it immediately. Stay on them, I've fought some of the biggest and won. Also look on your credit report and see if after you sent them a DV letter, that your credit report shows, "consumer disputes this account." Good Luck, Remember stay on them hard.
Some people do not have the credit history or score to get a loan from a conventional loan source that is how they end up at the pay day loan lenders.
Best thing to do is to avoid them all together if at all possible.
I went through a similar situation, however, the collection agency had me served, that was almost three years ago and we still have not went to court. I disputed their claim to the debt, I requested that they show that I had a contract with them and not the original credit.
My thing was that I never entered into any contract with them, I did not agree to their ridiculous rates. The attorney that I spoke with said that they have to prove that I owe the debt AND that I owe it to them. I did not enter into any contract with the collection agency.
So, I would say that no this does not constitute debt validation. I would send another letter, certified mail and keep your reciept that they have signed for it. They will not stop harassing you until you inform them that they are to provide proper validation, put up or shut up more or less. They will try to threaten you, don't listen, they use scare tactics all the time.
Tell them that you need a copy of the original contract that you signed with them.
goodluck, hope all works out.
That depends, how many installations do you have as opposed to revolving accounts? It is good to have a variety of types of accounts on your report. The key is keeping them all at a low balance so that your available credit is higher than your debt ratio.
Take a look and see how many of each account you have and then determine if you want to correct it or not.
If you find out let me know, I just sent my first one last week. If I get a response I will post the outcome. Good Luck, everythings worth a try these days.
Antics6891
Amit is telling you the #1 thing to never do, that is call and talk with a CA. NEVER NEVER NEVER talk in person, only communicate by mail and make sure you send them a letter telling them to only contact you by mail. A single fact sheet is not a validation letter, it a verification letter. This information can be obtained by a collection networks, when the debt is bought from another CA. The information is usually wrong and they don't usually have the proper information to collect the debt. Remember they record calls and use tricks. If you call and I say NEVER CALL, record your calls, you can legally do this and it will save you in the long run.
I just sent one for the first time I will keep you informed on the outcome
Satchmo
You do not want a credit card to be reported as a installment loan. If you do not have a balance or a very low balance on a $15K card, you want that high limit to show. This is where the credit agancies get there debt to income ratio. Dispute the account with the credit agency and obtain the credit rating you deserve, you would be surprised.
I posted a reply to this and have no clue where it went, all my posts are endinng up in one single post, does anyone know why?
Social Security and Pension Money
I am retired - My Checking account was garnished by a creditor, the only money going to my checking account direct deposit is my social security and my pension, I thought they could not garnished social security & pension money , is this legal for them (creditors) to do this, If not, how can I get my money back, on top creditors garnishing my checking account, the bank charge me a processing fee of $100.00?
Capital Assistance Group
I found out yesterday that CAG and National Recovery agency are trying to do the same for $122.00 from March. I don't know who or where this is from and will seek to dispute. Thanks for the contact information. Has anyone rec'd any updated information about this?
That's a great question - that's about what mine is - that used to be good - I'm wandering if it's enought to get buy these days.
Not a good idea if you are not going to be able to pay it off before the low introductory rate is over with. You would be better off taking out a consolidation loan with a higher rate. You could then build up a payment history and increase your credit score.
These cards are okay as long as you pay them off before the low introductory rate expires, but if not, then you may owe more than you originally started out owing.
Do your homework and see what works best for you, everyones situation is different.
notice of stay
Anyone knows what a notice of stay is in the arbitration forum?
thanks.
good credit repair
There are mistakes and perhaps a few things that are correct. All were based on emergency surgery I had with no health insurance. My story may be worse than some and better than others. Regardless, I need help getting it corrected
I think all credit repair is not a scam, Some credit repair will sometime scam but we must have to aware from scammers ,
Before joining credit repair program we must have to know that is this co. is scam or genuine.
It will keep you away from scammers.
Thanks you so much,
________________________
Procrastination is enemy of your financial success.
I don't think credit repair companies are 'always' a scam, but of course you have to be careful in choosing which companies are there for your best interest. A friend of mine introduced to me
a credit repair company.. I signed up with them back in 2004 when I really had a hard time qualifying for any loan. I had over 20 collections in my credit report. I didn't have a bank account ! in less than a year, I've noticed a major improvement in my credit as most negative items were gone. also, as I've shopped around, they were cheapest than most other companies... this company is definitely not a scam. They changed my life !!! I was always used to 500 FICO.. and I was really happy when it went up to 690 in 6 months !!
not bad, right ? Good thing about them is that they had great customer service, and their response were fast.
:roll:
Check them out:
"<a href="http://affiliate.yourcreditattorney.com/478739-0-3-1.html"" target="_blank">www.yourcreditattorney.com
helo
well u guys are doing good.but the topic is not clear to me.
i need your help to get through this topic.
Thanks for your posts. They are really very cool, very wonderful.
simulationcredit
The Credit Repair Organizations Act prohibits making false claims about credit repair. It makes it a crime for companies to collect credit repair fees from an individual prior to services being rendered. It requires that these companies inform you about your legal rights. It demands that a credit repair company provide information about your legal rights in a written contract, that also must detail the services the company will provide you with, the duration of the services, the timeline before results can be expected, the total cost of the repair and any guarantees that are offered. The written contract must also clearly state that an individual has three days to cancel the contract and services at no charge.
FREE
I have a history of offering free advice/help to the members and guests of this forum, in exchange for visits to my website, I would like to offer the following as well...
For ONE AGENCY PER HOUSEHOLD, I will make the calls STOP within HOURS! This is not a gimmick, nor a "with strings" offer... Call the office, and give me some of the necessary info, and I will IMMEDIATELY END the calls!
Another gift to my friends at http://www.creditmagic.org
Contact me via my website for complete details!
Hey Doc, glad to see you still at the forum. I was also glad to see that you are continuing to be a great asset. I can tell anyone who has recently joined this site that Doc really is a great help and just visiting the website is worth the time.
Thanks for the kind words, fireyone! Much appreciated!
You are very welcome Doc. It was much earned.
Credit removal companies
Comments in Credit Magic does not identify the companies used to repair and/or remove credit. How do we know who is legitement or a scam.
Credit Repair
I lost money from a guy in North Carolina who took my money and never did anything.
Then a friend referred me to a place in Arizona that was great called Wise Choice Credit Repair. They got rid of a bunch of negatives super quick. Also they don't make you pay upfront. The price was inexpensive also.
It's a good idea to check with whatever state government office regulates banking in your state. They'll probably be able to refer you accordingly.
It is important to do your homework when you are going to depend on someone else to take care of your bills for you. You have to take the time to do research like with the places that doc mentions above or come to a forum like this and ask your questions before making a commitment to them.
Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience, thank god it was inexpensive. Do they have your bank account information, if so, I would watch it in the future and make sure that you dispute any charges they put on there when they did not do the work that you contracted them to do.
credit repair companies
LIKE MOST THINGS OUT THERE YOU GOTTA LEARN TO WEED OUT THE BAD FROM THE GOOD.My sister found a very good company ( I don't know the name ), she got all of her creditors paid within the timeframe they predicted. She now has her credit rating back where she wants it. When she first told me about what she was doing I thought she was being takin, and told her what I thought.
You should know going into something like this what you are actually getting into. It is our responsibility as consumers to do the research to make sure that a company is legit and that they have a good track record before giving up our hard earned dollars.
Unfortunately as with any company or any industry you will have your scam artist out there trying to make a quick buck and take advantage of people in bad situations to make it.
The best way is to educate yourself and attempt to do the credit repair yourself, if you find that it is a task that you can not handle then start looking into companies to do it for you.
Well aren't the debt consolidation companies basically trying to repair your debt. I mean you must have overextended yourself and caused problems with your credit ratings or why would you use them. You've ruined your credit and now you're looking for a way to repair the situation. After you put your credit cards into the hands of a debt conselor and your debts are cleared , your're on your way again.
Good point, it is good to be aware of your problems and to try and do something about it before it is too late.
Some of us learn the hard way, that is why we are here, learning from each other and paying our dues.
It is a good community with lots of advice from people who have been in a hard place and digging themselves out.
Credit card debt is one of the biggest and easiest things to get in. It starts out with just a little here and then you say Oh its only a little more I will go ahead and get it..pretty soon the bill is higher than you ever planned. Its scary. Once we paid most of ours off we weeded out a lot of them. Yes we kept the oldest ones but the ones not used were closed. It was way to easy to go deeper in debt. Not only that being involved in this forum really helped keep me on track.
I had a lot of credit card debt at one time, way to much. So one day I sat down and picked out the lowest amount, paid the minamm on all the others, and put all the extra money on the one I picked out. After I paid it off, I went to the next lowest ,put the amount I now had left from the one I paid off plus the extra money I had left on it. I did this until I was down to only two cards. I now have them down to reasonable amounts and always make more than minimum payments. I think that it is a waste of money trying to pay a third party to get your credit ratings up.
I agree, you give some good tips, every little bit that you put toward them is more to your advantage and getting them paid off is even better.
great advice simpletruth, good to have you hear, contributing to the forum, welcome aboard.
There's a great book by a guy named Stacy Johnson, called "Life or Debt"... Talks alot about this... I suggest reading it...
The case is not same with all companies.But i have noticed that many companies (which even have good BBB rank) are just trying to gather clients and after that they scam them in one way or another.
Again, not all are same.
Thnx,
Rog
it is definately a scam. they make your credit worse by not paying anyone, that worsens your credit. Credit counseling agencies and debt settlement are all scams. The CCA only send a VERY small amount to each creditor, making the account further deliquent. Debt Settlement Companies are just like a savings account that you have to pay for. They sit on your money til u have enough to start negotiating, while all your accounts are becoming further deliquent. You could do this all yourself! Collection agencies do not give the Settlement agencies a better settlement deal than they will give the consumer, so really you are paying these companies to save your money for you. SCAM. and while in the program you cannot get approved for any other kinds of loans/credit cards.
Mary489794---
#1... We aren't talking about debt settlement... That's what you are referring to in your post... And the companies that operate in the means by which you described are definitely scammers...
#2... There are alot of things you COULD do yourself, but pay an expert to do... Landscapers/Yard maintenance... Stitches... Taxes... Criminal defense... haircuts...
Just because you CAN do something yourself doesn't necessarily mean it's the best option... I'm just sayin'...
There are some legitimate Credit "Repair"companies out there but you have got to be careful!!!! Truthful speaking credit repair companies are not doing anything that you can't do yourself, its just that sometimes we as consumers don't want to put in the effort to achieve the results that we desire so we pay someone else to do it. I think that ever consumer should take the time to become famliar with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, FACTA, and the FDCPA and the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). As consumers we have got to stop yielding the power to everyone else and starting arming ourselves with the knowledge that we need to invoke our consumer rights! Lastly, if a company is just "repairing your credit", deleting negative tradelines, and not doing anything to help you build your credit, they are truly hurt you in the end!!!
Credit Advocate is right about the last thing in particular... We suggest that consumers build credit in addition to letting us work on the derogatories...
For example, we suggest secured credit cards for revolving tradelines... For example: http://www.creditgecko.com/secured.html
This is true building credit while working on derrogatory only makes sense, having derrogatory items removed will improve your score and building credit will improve your score at the same time, it is a win, win.
Plus, if all you do is REMOVE credit, you eventually run out of tradelines altogether...
One of the key elements to a good credit score is a good 'mix' of credit... In other words, if you don't have a revolving tradeline (credit card) there's a bit of a cap on your score...
There is also something as having too much credit. We recently close some newer accounts. They were a couple furniture store accounts but they were values over $13,000 and I heard that open accounts like that, even though you owe nothing, effects your debt to income ratio. How true is that. We did call our bank ahead of time and asked if it would hurt our scores to close them and they said no. We have have a few cards with years of good credit history on them so I assumed it would be ok. (We is my hubby and I).
***IMPORTANT NOTE***
"Debt-to-income" ration is not the same as "credit-utilization-ratio"...
DTI ratio has nothing to do with your report... Debt / Income
CU ratio is a measure of how maxed out you are... That DEFINITELY impacts score...