Collections questions?

Question

Current credit:
1 CC always paid on time never reaching half of available credit.
1 consolidated school loan always on time, and paid according to plan
I have rented an apartment and have had bills in my name NEVER late

Credit Marks: (unpaid)
1 large account (late 2003)
2 small accounts (late 2003, will negotiate payment on these first)
5 or so inquires due to starting utilities, apartment, and application of a credit card / car loan

Credit Scores: (Bad?)
Ex 627
Trans 664
Eq 630

Questions:
1.If I request validation of the debt , does this restart the SOL (TX 4?)
2.If I attempt to request validation or try and negotiate does this restart the 7 years?
3.Can a score of 700 or higher be attained in a reasonable amount of time with my current situation, and would it matter with the marks still there?
4.How bad will my score be affected NOW if I attempt to renegotiate these collection items ?

Is the debt validation this late in the game even possible?

Answer 1

1. In Texas the collecting SOL cannot be re-aged unless acknowledgment is in writing:
§ 16.065. Acknowledgment of Claim An acknowledgment of the justness of a claim that appears to be barred by limitations is not admissible in evidence to defeat the law of limitations if made after the time that the claim is due unless the acknowledgment is in writing and is signed by the party to be charged.

2. Requesting validation or negotiating payment will not re-age the collecting SOL unless you specifically state in writing that it is your debt.
Nothing can re-age the reporting period once an account is charged off. If a person makes a "new" contract for the debt, then it would be a new debt with a new tradeline and a new obsolescence date.

3. A paid negative is still a negative.
If a person pays on a charged off debt the trade line would be updated to reflect the payment making it "look" like a newer negative. (updating is not re-aging). If a person wants to pay a past due charged off debt they should request deletion upon payment. (original creditors will rarely agree to delete, collectors will often agree if it means they will get paid)
There are times when "any" activity (disputing the account with the CRA's, requesting validation with the collectors, etc) will "update" the trade line. If the collector had not been actively updating the trade line in the past few years (sleeping) they may wake up and update the trade line after receiving a DV, etc.
Updated trade lines will hurt scores. It will take time after an account is updated for the negative trade line to age again. How long it takes depends on the current credit file. If the file is thin, few accounts or short history, it could take a few years.

A score of 700 will probably not happen soon with updated negatives (paid or unpaid) and only one revolving account and a school loan.
Even if they delete the negatives upon payment, with a thin file it will take time to rebound from losing the history of the negatives. Though it should be a shorter time than waiting for them to age after being updated to show as paid (about 6 months or so).

4. Working on credit does make scores jump around and sometimes you have to see a drop before you see a rise. How much depends on many things - amount of inquiries, updated negatives, new accounts reporting which lowers history (bad) but increases utilization (good), etc.

Without requesting deletion upon payment, the only ones that can appreciate it in the next year or two are underwriters.
If you apply for a credit card and you are denied, you can call and ask for reconsideration with the underwriting dept.
If you are going for major purchases - home loan, car loan, you may have to use an underwriter but they are definately not cheap.

It is always best to try to get the collector to delete if you decide to pay and to also build up your credit. Major credit cards have more of an impact on rising your scores than store cards or loans.

Along with the FCRA and FDCPA Texas has very strict laws concerning consumer debts and they also have their own version of a FDCPA (Texas Finance Code - TFC)

It's never to late to request validation in any state.
In Texas, it does not matter if you request validation within the first 30 days or not. The TFC has strict laws that the collector must comply with the request or cease collections until it is provided. (see TFC § 392.202)
(reporting or updating on your credit reports is considered continued collections)
All correspondence to a collector should be done in writing and sent certified mail return receipt. It should never be done by phone.

Collectors "must" be bonded in Texas when trying to collect. If they are not you have a right to report them to the Secretary of State and the AG. The penalty for not being bonded is very hefty. (they can actually be shut down until they are bonded) Plus you can sue them on your own for any violation, which includes the violation of trying to collect while not being bonded.

If you are past the collecting SOL you do have a legal right to either pay or send the collector a SOL letter informing them the account is no longer legally collectible.
You also have a legal right to dispute anything that is reporting incorrectly on your credit reports.


If you want to rebuild your credit:

The scores you have a fair scores. There are quite a few companies that "may" approve you for major credit cards with those scores, though you may have to pay an annual fee.
Stay away from First Premier and other supersub prime lenders that charge hundreds of dollars in fees, etc.

Orchard Bank, HSBC, Hooters (Merrick) often approve those with scores in that range and their annual fees are generally small.
Secured cards are a good way to go - Bank of America, your own bank or credit union, etc. (if you don't belong to a credit union, join one)
There are also some store cards that approve at those scores - Walmart, Target, etc. Applying instore is usually the best way.

You might click on my profile and do some reading in the links I've provided to the FCRA, FDCPA, etc. Also do some reading in the last link I have listed, it is a totally free credit discussion board - read in the credit forum and the state laws forums.

edit++++++
I just noticed your other question. You might go to the last link on my profile and do some reading in the medical forum and learn how to use HIPAA in dealing with your medical accounts. If you deal with the medical provider and not the collector, you can force the medical provider to accept payment (full & actual amount due) and to have the med. provider recall the accounts from the collector, which would cause the collector to remove the trade lines from your reports.
You can also request a "full accounting" of your medical accounts from the original medical provider.

Medical debts are treated differently than other types of debts, as long as you do not waive your rights by dealing with the collectors.
You have more rights in that you can request a full accounting from the original provider, paying the original provider instead of paying the collector and forcing the original provider to force the collector to cease collecting and to remove all info about the debt from their files and what they placed on your reports.

Answer 2

O lord... might as well mail me the list. 1st, your FICO score below 650 is a bad credit.. not fair. I'm still confused with most of your questions. But I would recomemed you review your credit report and contact creditors about it. You may also contact three major credit companies, equafax, experian, and transunion to file dispute on any wrong informations. Dispute takes up 30 days by then if it wrong, ift will removed of your credit report permately and also boost up your credit score may be at 700..Good luck..