I am in a bad situation. I have already settled almost all my accounts. Now I want to get pre-appoved for a home loan, and though we have not run the paperwork yet, I have told them about what we did, and they said it will probably not be approved since the settlements look bad on the report.
Is it possible for me to go back to every creditor and attempt pay-for-delete now?
I really need to clean up my credit report ASAP.
I have plenty of money to even go pay the extra interest (the amount we would have had to pay if we didn't settle) Do I need to do that? Can I do that?
I also have an account that I had settled, but the collections agency never told the bank it was settled, just that we made a payment, so I still owe about $1,500.00 on that. Would it be better to do a pay for delete on this account, or clear up that it was settled or what?
Sorry, I just am in such a mess and I need help.
I am not sure that they will even work with you after the fact, they got what they wanted, Paid. Maybe if they are money hungry they will.
Wait and see if anyone else comes along with some more advice, there may be others who have a different approach.
I would say go for it, it never hurts to try.
If you still have a debt that was not closed still with an original creditor, you can go back to the OC and offer payment to get the collection agency withdrawn on the account since they never updated the creditor to the close / settlement status.
Original creditors are harder to get to accept deletion of their account listing, they may accept recalling the collection agency and getting that listing removed off of the credit report.
Always be sure to get confirmation of agreement for pay in exchange for delete in writing, in case they agree but fail to notify the credit reporting agency - that way all you have to do is forward copy of letter to the credit reporting agency yourself with request to delete.
pay for delete after settlement
Hi Ditchmagnet,
You can definitely try to make the creditors agree to a "Pay for delete" agreement (PFD). However, as you have already paid them their dues, I don't think they will want to deal with you anymore.
As for your last question, whether or not to pay again on the settled account, did you not check your credit report after the payment? If not, you should first check the status of your account on your credit report. Check who still holds the account. If you have copy of your payment, you can use it to resolve this matter.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Aaron
I have deleted settled accounts through normal credit repair techniques. It is not legal to bribe them to delete items from your credit that you have already paid.
What the collection agency did my failing to report the account as paid in settlement is illegal. I would use this to get the account deleted.
it would be better if you seek for the help of the professionals...but, i have to remind you that there are so many scams out there..in doing so, you must be very careful since they might put you into another kind of trouble...
cinnamngrl - how do you delete settled accounts with normal credit repair techniques? Where could I read up on that?
I will be contacting NCO again. I did not know that was illegal for them to not report that, maybe they will be more co-operative if I mention that.
OK, I just talked to NCO again, and the original creditor.
NCO told me they had never heard of them being the ones to fax the settlement letter to the original creditor. They told me to contact the original creditor again to see if I could just send them the letter.
I didn't think it would help, but I did anyways.
So now the OC pulls up my account and says that there is no reason to send in a settlement letter since the account has been charged off.
So, since there is no way to settle the account now (and I THINK that is not what is says on the CR) should I DV that account?
How do I start a DV?
Oh, and what is the best website for a free credit report?
freecreditreport.com?
myfico.com?
freescore.com?
I am sure there are more....what would be the best?
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
credit repair is disputing with CRAs
Sending 623 letters directly to the tradeline furnisher -this can work because after they get your money, might be sloppy about records and not be able to respond to your requests
file complaints with AG and bank regulators
Cinnamngrl,
What is AG stand for? Just wondering. You responded to one of my post and I was unsure what AG stood for?
I think it may be some type of agency?
Why are compliants filed with AG and bank regulators?
Thanks
AG = Attorney General
I am still confused about nco and oc.
did they own the debt? isn't it fraud to settle a debt with you and tell the bank you made a payment? I would tell this to the AG and
if the OC then
complain to OCC for national banks
OTS for others
Federal Reserve and FDIC can also help
google is your friend.
OK. One more question. It looks like I can file a dispute through their websites. (for example equifax's site)
Is this a good idea? Or should I only send it in by certified mail?
I don't think I mentioned this, but I also have a Sprint account on my CR, that was opened with someone else's SSN (don't know how that happened) so I need to dispute that too.
Should I send in 2 disputes, or include them both on 1 dispute?
I like to dispute through the web site myself, but the down side is if you get it deleted and then for some reason the company reinserts it, that give the credit reporting agency a quicker way to notify you of reinsertion, by e-mail. Technically if you mail in the dispute they have 5 business days to notify you by mail. And I know once when I disputed by mail on reinsertion I did accomplish getting permanent deletion. Because if they reinsert and fail to notify you that item has to come back off.
On the other listing don't just dispute it, actually file a fraud alert with the credit reporting agency, get a ID Theft Affidavit with the FTC www.ftc.gov and file a police report and send all of that to the credit reporting agency, the collection agencies, creditor and so forth.
You don't want to have who ever this person was that opened the account come back on something else, you want to tag your credit report to prevent this person from accomplishing this again. You should also add a victim statement saying you are a victim and give a phone number for new creditors to verify your identity before extending new credit.
letter throygh certified mail
Hi ditchmagnet,
It is always better to send letters through certified mail, requesting a return receipt. In this way, you will be able to retain the proof of your communication or dispute request with the credit bureaus.
You can send both the disputes in a single letter. However, it's better to dispute with all the 3 credit bureaus, if the items are showing up on all the 3 reports.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Aaron
filing online is a big waste. dispute in writing. you can use certified mail