Fix credit?

Question

I have a couple things on my credit report that are about 200 bucks each. People have told me to get in touch with the collection people and ask them to send me a letter that will say that they will either remove it from my report or they will mark it as paid. After talking with all the people, they won't do that. They say "we promise we will do that". I know that you can't trust them and I'm worried that even though we have settled on a lower payment, but without putting it on paper, I know that they will leave it on my report and demand the rest before removing it. What is the best way remedy this? Any suggestions? I'm not looking for a service to do this for me, so please no advertisements.

Oh, and I haven't sent in the payments yet, waiting on something from them to prove they won't ask for more and will update my credit report...that is what I'm asking for suggestions.

But my question is that without them sending me something that says they will settle for less, then how will I be able to prove to the credit bureau that we settled for something? What would keep the creditor from taking my payment and then saying....Where is the rest? We aren't taking it off till you pay everything.

Answer 1

Are the debts more than seven years old? I mean the ORIGINAL debt. Let's say you owed Sears 300 bucks in 1999 and they sent it to a collection agency. And that collection agency sent it to another one...etc. A debt can no longer be reported after seven years from the ORIGINAL date of default, not date of referral to the collection agency. So, if the debt is old enough, you might be able to have it removed.

Another issue is the statute of limitations on collection of the debt. If the debt is "out of statute," you have some leverage over the collection agency, because technically, they cant sue you for the amount outstanding, and you are doing them a favor by paying them anything.

Finally, the process for getting a committment from them is somewhat easy. Tell them to fax you a letter that says "We agree to settle the outstanding debt (get account number, etc) for 200.00. Upon receipt, we will remove all negative credit reporting with respect to this debt from all three major credit reporting agency reports."

Or something to that effect. Some creditors will not give you that statement because technically it violates their agreement with the credit bureaus. But at the very least, you can get them to say the debt is paid in full or settled. They HAVE to report that. No question.

Answer 2

Keep a paper trail...if you pay them by check you can prove to the 3 credit bureaus that you paid them. Without any written settlement agreement, unfortunately, it's your word against theirs. You could call and ask to speak to a supervisor and maybe you will get somewhere with them. If the debts are legitimate (not ID fraud), then they will stay on your credit for 7 years from the date it was reported, but the credit line has to be closed out before they will remove it at the end of the 7 years. So basically, it will still show on your credit as a collection account, but the account will show as "paid" or "settlement accepted."

Answer 3

Insist the settlement be in writing before you send payment. Otherwise, they will come back. Maybe they are just too lazy to write a letter for such small amounts.

I suggest you compose a letter outlining the settlement offer. Put a signature line for the collector to sign and return. Upon receipt of their signed agreement, you send payment.

Answer 4

To Repair credit score
Your credit score is based mostly on:

1. Length of credit history
2. Payment history.
3. Ratio of credit used to available credit.
4. Number of credit inquiries you authorized.

If you cancel your card, you'll be hurting your credit ratio. (#3).

You want to deliberately keep your oldest credit card open, even if you never use it.

You want to always pay the minimums of each loan on time every month.

You want to keep your available credit high, but actually only have balances equalinig 25% or less.

You want to keep your credit inquiries to a minimum. Try for no more than 3 or 4 per year for any type of loans.

You do these things and your credit score will quickly soar into the 700s.

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http://www.bestcreditrates.net

Answer 5

They will take it off once you pay them. As long as you dont do anything they wont do anything except hound you for their money. If you pay by check your bank statement is proof enough. It will take 30-60 days for any changes to appear on your report.

Call and talk to someone with some authority. Tell them to send you a statement in the mail on how much the settlement is plus where to mail the check. If they ask why tell them you want it for your own records. Worth a try.........