How does unemployment, student loans and collections affect my credit score?

Live Human
to me / show details / Mar 4 (5 days ago)
Hello
I got flipped around on your website, redirected to transunion(wouldn't let me log in, then couldn't get through on phone!!!), I am wondering what the impact of not being employed (full-time student) has on my credit score. Will this increase dramatically once I graduate and become employed? I know my debt-to-income ratio will, how will this affect my credit score? Also, what about accounts that are over 5 years old and still not paid? Should I negotiate with these creditors to pay and have this removed? How long will it take for them to reage or remove ususally? thanks
Live Human
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Bo Majors
to Live Human / show details / Mar 4 (5 days ago)
Has no effect at all
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Live Human
to me / show details / Mar 4 (5 days ago)
okay, thanks. so what would you recommend to me if I have 3 collection accounts and 4 accounts (student loans) that are deferred until l2/07. Should I pay off these collections? I was told by citicreditmonitoring (accessed from you website) that this would actually lower my credit score by 8 points! How can I increase my credit score?
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Bo Majors
to Live Human / show details / Mar 4 (5 days ago)
Keep 3 open lines of credit and pay good for 1+ years
Do not get any more bad credit.
Remove bad credit files if possible
Pay off loans and debts

If paying the debt off only reduces your score 8 points I would do it just to say I did it.
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Live Human
to me / show details / Mar 4 (5 days ago)
Thank you, i appreciate you taking the time to help me! How do I get bad credit files removed? will writing to the creditor accomplish this? thank you!
Forward
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Bo Majors
to Live Human / show details/ Mar 4 (5 days ago)
sometimes yes sometimes no
use my dispute form and hope it works

How do you buy a decent home with huge stident loans?

Live Human
to me / show details / Mar 2
I am 2 years removed from bankruptcy, I have taken steps to rebuild my credit and I am doing okay at it...definitely not perfect. however, I am getting my masters degree and I am about 70,000 in debt on student loans. How in the world do you buy a decent home (150,000-200,000) with my student loans. I am not in default and since I am in school I am not paying on them. Is it possible or will I have to live in a rented home for the rest of my life. I have a husband who is self employed and makes 60,000-70,000 per year. I can make about 30,000 a year.
Live Human
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Bo Majors
to Live Human / show details / Mar 2
Start small on the house and buy it for less than appraisel. Roll some debt there then sell the house make money and do it again.
Here is a good debt reduction tool
http://www.oskie.com/debt-reduction-self-help-contact-creditors-manage-loans-develop-home-debt-reduction-budget.htm

Paid off all my loans and my score went down. The inquiries must be hurting my scores

Live Human
to me / show details / Mar 2
Mr. Majors, good morning. I ran across your information related to credit reporting and wondered if you'd take a moment to answer my question.First, I only have (1) open credit card, paid off my last home loan, paid off my home equity loan and have never made a late payment on anything when I did carry credit cards. I keep an eye on my credit report and a ke exceptional pride in living non-plastic and noted my credit score was 700 just 2 months ago. I have not opened any accounts and recently was merely querying lenders for my new home financing however, now my credit report isaround 660?? I checked my report and found no erroneous accounts listed or opened, all my data reflecting on time, full payment of previous accounts so I am at a loss as to why my score is gone down??? I do have (3) inquiriesfrom mortgage lenders (quick home loans, countrywide, etc..) but had no idea inquiries could affect my score. My question is, how long will these inquiries affect my score and how I canget it back to where it was or higher without opening new accounts?
Reply
Live Human
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Bo Majors
to Live Human / show details / Mar 2
The inquiries are not hurting your score at all soemthing else is wrong I would wonder if you have enough credit as it sounds you have eliminated everything. The usual suspect is 80% owed against total limit borrow on your report somewhere. Thats About All I can guess without seeing your report myself

I thought I was asking for a free credit report online but they keep asking for a credit card

Live Human
to me / show details / Feb 28
I 'm having a bit of a problem with my credit report. It is showing a judgement that is not mine. I dont know where to go from here! I thought i was asking for a free credit report, (on line). I must have done something wrong because i was asked for a credit card number i thought for verifacation but as it turns out it wasnt free and was charged against my account. I'm very interested in your advice.
THANK YOU

Bo Majors
To Live Human / show details / Feb 28
I have to give my credit card to prove who I am and to possibly bill me later if I am using a link on my credit help website that says "totally free credit report". Cancel in less than 30 days and the report and score are "totally free". It's 9.95 per month if I decide to keep it longer than 30 days. I would keep the service (if it's just 9.95 a month) for a month or two at least and look for the judgements future removal or deletion.

Invest in Your Debt

Twelve Facts You Must Know About Debt
If You are Serious about Getting rid of Your Debt
by Dave Ireland
Hello, I’m Dave Ireland, a retired corporate executive and currently a Professional Speaker, Author and Educator. I have been speaking on the subject of debt elimination for over 10 years. People who have heard me speak know that I have a problem with conventional wisdom. Not all of it is bad but most of it contains ideas that people blindly accept without thinking them through. I encourage people to challenge conventional wisdom as part of developing a True Financial Freedom plan. With the goal of encouraging people to think conventional wisdom through, I present some of my favorite “unconventional” thoughts.
Do not waste your time and energy trying to manage your debts.
Credit cards (and most debt) are just like drugs; they make you feel good in the beginning. But for some of us, there is a high price to pay in the long run. In the beginning, it feels like free money and we are joyous and happy about all the new stuff we have bought. However, 30 days later, the bill comes in and the pain begins. If you are $70,000 in credit card debt like I was, the pain can become overwhelming!
I’m not addressing people with debt problems. There are consumer debt counseling services available for those people. What about middle class American’s paying their bills but feel like they are just treading water; making no real progress and getting sick and tired of being sick and tired of their debt? I’m talking about people making $50,000 a year and spending $55,000; making $20,000 and spending $25,000; or making $200,000 a year and spending $220,000 and trying to figure out; what is wrong with this picture?
What’s wrong is the fact that being in debt is a brand new phenomenon of the last 30 to 40 years and it does not have to be this way.
What should you do?
Don’t just settle for managing your debts. That is just a short-term approach. Start eliminating your debts today, and begin building true financial freedom! And if you can’t do it yourself, hire a debt elimination expert to do it for you. I’m not referring to consumer credit counseling or debt negotiation/settlement companies that have programs that dramatically reduce your credit score. They may be appropriate for someone who has a major debt problem and already has a low credit score, but they are not appropriate for the typical middle class Americans like you.
I’m referring to someone just like you; someone who actually has the “Great American Debt Opportunity”; that is the opportunity to turn their debt into real wealth for themselves and their family. I’m referring to companies that manage your liabilities in such a way that credit scores immediately improve and debts are rapidly eliminated; systematically, one at a time, until all consumer debt is gone in about 3 to 4 years and most 30-year mortgages are eliminated in another 4-5 years.
You’re smart enough to hire a stock broker or financial planner to mange your assets or an insurance expert to make sure you’re properly protected, so don’t think you have to go it alone with respect to your debts. Most Americans are spending $30, $40 or more a day on interest fees. If you ever want to be financially secure, you absolutely must break this viscous cycle of debt management and start eliminating your debt. Think about it, over the past 2 to 3 months you have probably spent three to four thousand dollars on interest fees.
You must start now, today; you can’t afford not too.
Do not fall for the “Interest Rate Trap”
Conventional wisdom has all of us trying to improve our financial situation by pursuing a strategy of getting as low an interest rate as possible. We are scrambling to get lower interest rates by doing expensive balance transfers or expensive refinancing in order to save a miniscule amount of interest cost or get a useless tax deduction, while the creditors are robbing us blind.
There are times when it makes sense to restructure high interest debt into low interest rates, but that should be the exception not the rule. It is all smoke and mirrors and here is why.
Studies have shown that people who consolidate loans are worse off than they would be if they had just left everything alone. This is what typically happens. They get a consolidation loan, let’s say a Home Equity Line of Credit; they pay off their credit cards and car loans and now they are told that they just eliminated their debts. What a joke. They owed $170,000 before and now they still owe $170,000 after consolidating; no change. However, the argument is that it’s good because their interest rates are lower, monthly payments are lower and it all tax deductible; and that is good. NO! NO! NO!
Why do I say it’s not good? You just created a 15 or maybe even a 30 year car loan. And government studies show that within a matter of days the typical American will be maxing out new credit cards and within a year or two deciding to buy new expensive cars; and they still have the consolidation loan on top of all the old debt, which has come back as new debt.
See number five below for a discussion of the tax deduction and find out what a farce that is.
Nothing fundamental has changed, except they are further in debt and more frustrated than ever. Consolidation Loans are a financial disaster for most people, unless they have a plan to pay them off rapidly.
A 13 percent mortgage that is better than a 7%?
The creditors understand the “time value of money” and so will you after you read the following.
Did you know that a 13% mortgage can be far better than a 7% mortgage? Now that is more than unconventional thinking, that is down right controversial. But hear me out. Let’s say you go out and get a $100,000 mortgage at 7%. You will pay about $150,000 in interest cost over the 30 year life of the loan. You say, Dave, that’s normal, everyone knows that a $100,000 house (if you could buy a decent house for a 100k in this day and age) will cost you about two to three hundred thousand dollars, depending on the interest rate. That’s where conventional wisdom goes astray again. It’s not dependent on just the interest rate. As a matter of fact, the “time value of money” is much more important to the total cost of interest than the interest rate itself.
Here is the rest of the story as Paul Harvey would say. Get that same $100,000 mortgage at 13% and pay it off in 7 years or so. Your cost of interest has dramatically been reduced to $50,000. Now that you have been told the rest of the story, I ask you this simple question; which would you rather have, a 7% mortgage that costs you $150,000, or a 13% mortgage for only $50,000? It’s not a trick question. Think about it. And as you do, you may say, “hey Dave, what’s wrong with a 7% mortgage that I pay off in 7. And I say, “Not a bad idea”. Now your cost of interest drops to about $30,000, saving you another $20,000. However, here is the point of the story. Reducing the interest rate from 13% down to 7% only saves you about $20,000, while cutting the term of the loan by 23 years saves you about $100,000; about 5 times more. Folks, chasing lower interest rates for whatever reason is a waste of time and energy compared to reducing the time you are in debt. The “time value of money” trumps the interest rate, every time.
Point two: How does one pay off a mortgage in 7 years? It’s easy; just increase your mortgage payment by about 3 times its normal amount. How does one do that? Get rid of all your consumer debt and add those monthly payments to the principal payment on your regular monthly mortgage. How does one get rid of the consumer debt? Use a roll up process where you payoff the debt with the smallest balance first, and when it’s paid off, you roll that payment into the next smallest debt. Using this systematic approach will eliminate your consumer debt in about 3 to 4 years and your 30-year mortgage in another 4-5 years for most middle class Americans. However, I will worn you, it’s a lot easier said, than done. Why did I suggest using a competent company that has an automatic debt elimination service? Simple; get all the competent help you can. Don’t take any chances that you may not have the time; energy, discipline or wherewithal to get rid of your debt ASAP, especially if it is high interest, such as a 13% mortgage or high credit card debts with a long loan payment schedule. At 30 years, your cost of interest for the 13% mortgage will be an astonishing $300,000 in interest cost on a $100,000 house.
Even a low 5% student loan, paid off over 30 years, will cost you twice as much as you originally borrowed. It’s important to automate the process and make sure it happens. If not you will be in debt forever, as many of the baby boomers are realizing.
The analogy that makes the most sense to me is losing weight. The concept is easy; just burn more calories than you take in! You do that and I guarantee you will lose weight; I’ll stake my life on it. Getting out of debt is the same way. Just prioritize your debts (and the highest interest rate is not the best way to pay off debt) and roll one debt into the other and I guarantee you will be debt free. However, like losing weight, it’s a lot easier said than done. We are faced with offers for consolidation loans, new toys to try, new things to buy. Like losing weight, the marketers are constantly bombarding us with new “Twinkies”, new restaurants to visit, etc.
Thus, it is almost impossible for us to lose weight or get out of debt.
If creditors could, they would keep you in debt forever; and they are doing it with interest only loans. Many Americans are retiring with six, seven, eight hundred dollar mortgage payments. Are you now seeing what you are up against? Getting out of debt is not going to be easy, so get all the help you can; you are going to need it!
With all the corporate downsizing and layoffs, it may be a good idea to own your home.
To determine if you own your home, skip two mortgage payments and you will quickly realize who actually owns your home. You may think interest rates are low and you can do better by investing your money someplace other than your house. Please, look closely at your mortgage statement. For most of you, more than 90% of your payment goes to the bank in the form of interest. That’s 90% interest, not 7%. Your actual mortgage payment is a minuscule 10% or less of your total monthly payment.
Don’t payoff your mortgage; it’s the last tax deduction we have left.
If you have a tax planner, financial planner or friend giving you this advice, get a new one...FAST! Yes, while you have a mortgage, it may be appropriate to take the tax deduction, but the deduction is not a reason to keep your mortgage. While you are paying out tens of thousands of dollars in interest over a 30-year period, you are only getting back from the IRS, 15, 25 or 35 percent at most, depending on your tax bracket. And if you only have the mortgage you may be better off taking the standard deduction in place of itemizing. The standard deduction is now over ten thousand dollars for a married couple. To beat that you must be paying a lot of interest on the mortgage.
Why give away dollar bills to the bankers just to get back pennies from the IRS? It makes no sense if you really look at your options and think it through.
Pay yourself first.
No way! Government studies show that 96% of Americans do not achieve financial freedom by the time they retire at age 65 (or is it 66 or 67 for some of us). Conventional wisdom wants you to pay yourself first, but it just doesn’t seem to work for most people.
Here’s why: A $2000 credit card balance at 17.9% interest will cost you $6827 to pay off over the 30-year and 5 month payment plan your friendly credit card company has you on. That’s right, by paying the minimum monthly payment that the bank offers you each month, you will pay nearly $5000 in interest and about 3 ½ times more than you originally borrowed. That’s worse than a 30-year mortgage.
Why not pay your bankers first and in the long run keep more of your money for yourself and your family!
Give yourself a 46% raise by eliminating all your debts.
The typical American family uses about 40 to 50 percent of their paycheck to service their debts; mortgages, car loans, student loans credit card and etc. If you did not have these monthly payments, you could increase your monthly cash flow by the same amount without begging your boss for a raise. Take charge and give yourself a raise by eliminating this unnecessary and burdensome debt.
Get out of debt now!
According to the best selling book, The Millionaire Next Door, by Bill Danko and Tom Stanley, millionaires in our society do not have consumer debt and they own their own cars, homes and their lives. The idea of using other people’s money is a new phenomenon of the last 30 or 40 years. My grandmother did not have credit card debt and she lived a lot less stressful life than I did when I was a quarter million dollars in debt. In the old days, they had the audacity to pay cash for their cars (no leases) and some even paid cash for their homes or at most, had a 5-year mortgage; not the 15, 30 and 40 year or interest only mortgages of today.
Speaking about credit cards. I’m not an advocate of doing total plastic surgery on yourself. How are you going to rent cars, reserve hotel rooms, buy stuff off the internet without a credit card? It’s nearly impossible. So here’s my advice, if you have 18 credit cards go ahead and cut up 16 or 17 of them. You probably only need one or two at the most. Now don’t close the accounts. That will hurt you credit score. But then again, have you ever heard the saying, “Good credit is equivalent to good bondage”. So don’t be putting all your energy into having a perfect credit score. Whether you have a 700 score or an 800 score is not as important to your financial well being as being debt free. Eliminate your debt and you will have a great credit score no matter what.
Also, I don’t think that debt is bad either. I don’t even think debt is good. It just “is”. It’s like fire. Fire can heat your house, heat your body, but what else can it do to your house? See my point.
As you looking for ways to pay off your debt, focus on the smallest debt first.
Put all your energy into eliminating your smallest balance debt first, regardless of its interest rate. Do this by investing any extra funds into the smallest balance and get a real sense of accomplishment when you eliminate that debt in a matter of months, in place of years. Then go onto the next smallest debt and achieve real confidence and self-esteem as you eliminate one debt after the other in a matter of month in place of years.
I know that conventional wisdom wants you to pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first, but debt is paid off so fast, that the interest rates become irrelevant. Remember it’s the time value of money that counts, the term of the loan is what’s important, not the interest rates
Another point, the smallest debt method may actually be more cost effective in some cases. However, the psychological advantage is huge.
To achieve True Financial Freedom, invest extra funds into your debt before
you put money into traditional investments (stock market, etc).
Do this by making extra payments on your smallest balance first. Do this easily, by using the funds that you are currently putting into traditional investments. When you have the first debt paid off, put all the money you had been investing into your first debt, into the next smallest debt. Continue this debt elimination process until you reach your mortgage which usually will be your largest debt and the last one you will eliminate.
Following this process you will eliminate most consumer debt in 3 to 4 years and then eliminate most 30-year mortgages in another 4-5 years.
To get a guaranteed, risk free, tax free and commission free double digit
return, you do not have to be a Wall Street Financial Wizard.
Just invest in your debt. It’s risk free because I don’t know of any banker who will not take your money and stop charging you 7%, 18%, 29% or whatever interest you are paying on your debts. It’s guaranteed to happen. And it is tax free, not just tax deferred.
Why? Because if you agree with Ben Franklin that a penny saved is a penny earned, when you pay off your debt ahead of schedule, you are going to save (earn) a lot of money and no one from the IRS is ever going to come to take any of that earned (saved) money. It is truly tax free.
In the textbook, Invest In Your Debt, it is shown that the typical American family will receive an equivalent 37.13% return by investing 10 percent of their monthly gross income into their debt. Unless you have 2.64 children and 2.98 cars in the garage, you probably will not get a 37.13 percent return. With my ADE® Students, I’ve seen as high as 55%, and as low as 15%. However, the point is, you will get a substantial double digit equivalent return on your debt investment, which will be a guaranteed, risk free, tax free return. And you will not need to pay a sales person or stock broker any commissions.
When you are debt free, take the money you were wasting on debt, typically
30 to 40 percent of your gross pay, and put it into more traditional
investments.
You are now paying one, two, three thousand dollars or more each and every month on your debts. When you are debt free, you will no longer have to make any debt payments, this money is all yours and you can invest this same money into traditional investments. Because you are out of debt 15 to 25 years sooner, you can easily accumulate a million dollars or more of future wealth for yourself and your family. You now have the “time value of money” working for you, not against you. You can do all this on your current income, while most Americans are still struggling just to get out of debt and pay off their mortgage.
If this type of thinking resonates with you,
visit http://www.investinyourdebt.com/ for more information.
______________________________________________________________________
Dave Ireland is Founder, CEO of IYD Inc. and co-author of Invest In Your Debt. He is co-creator of the Automatic Debt Elimination® program offered by IYD, Inc. He can be reached at iyd@investinyourdebt.com and http://www.investinyourdebt.com/ or call his direct line 512 447 1990 or 888 913 8786. This article is copyright (c) 2007 by Dave Ireland, and may be reprinted in it's entirety as long as this byline and copyright statement is included.

Collection for MCI and another telephone company hurt my credit report and scores

Live Human
to me / show details / Feb 27
Hello Bo,
I recently purchased a copy of my credit report from all three bureaus. I saw I had two collection accounts from over a year and a half ago. This is the first time I had even heard of them. The first is for a collection agency for an MCI long distance account in the amount of $39.00. The second is from a collection agency for a telephone account in the amount of $139.00

I first called the collection agency for the telephone account and asked them what the collection was for. They informed me that they cannot provide me with that information and I would have to contact the original creditor to obtain that information. I did so and received copies of bills which did show that I had a balance on the account after I moved, which I am willing to completely admit to, and take care of. It was an oversight on my part when I moved and I do owe them this money.

I then called the collection agency back, and told them that I would do what I could to satisfy the debt if they could send me something in writing stating that they will completely remove the record from my credit report. The gentlemen asked for my address and told me he would get a letter out that same day stating something to the effect that once the debt is paid, they will update my credit report with the status as paid. I then informed him that I was actually requesting that the collection be completely removed from my credit report, and he told me that they cannot remove something from the credit report once it has been posted, its just not possible. He told me I would have to contact the original creditor to see if there was anyway they could get the record removed. I then called the original creditor and asked them if they could remove the record completely if I were to satisfy the debt. I was told that they "do nothing with credit and credit reports" and that I would have to contact the collection agency in regards to this.

This is when I realized I was getting the run-around with these two companies and started researching on the internet more. I came across your site and read just about every article pertaining to my situation. I wish I would have found your site sooner! What can I do to get these removed? Should I satisfy the debt with the original creditor if possible, then dispute the collection agencies reports? Should I continue to try to negotiate with the collection agency?

I am desperate to get these taken care of so we can purchase a house in the next 12-18 months. My wife and I have already completely paid off one high balance (87%) credit card which has not been updated on my credit report yet, and will be paying off the next high balance (87%) completely within 2 weeks. I know I can dramatically improve my score once I the reports get updated with these payoffs (continuing to keep the accounts open). The icing on the cake would be to get these collection accounts removed! I think these are hurting me just as much as, if not more than, the high balances on the credit cards. Lets see just how high I can get more score with your help! Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this. I realize you are most likely a busy person, and I do sincerely appreciate the time you take to help others like me out!

Credit Scores:
581 / 591 / 674
Live Human
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Bo Majors
to Live Human / show details / Feb 27
The collections are so small I would pay them and take paid in full with no dates changed for date of last activity if possible. If these are recent, which they must be, the date want help much anyway.

Seems to be too much difference in your scores.
640's will get you in a house with decent debt / income ratios.

So I would concentrate on the 2 lower number reports at first.
Utilities do not offer much help in most cases and its is better served to pay and go on.
Sounds to me like you have done everything right and as best you can. I would keep trying if you've called only once just to make sure.
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Live Human
to me
show details / Feb 27
Thanks Bo,
The dates on the two collections are as follows:
$39.00, opened 1/06, reported 2/06
$139.00 opened 3/05, reported 1/07

There is a large difference in my credit scores as two of my loans in the past were not reported to anyone but Equifax, and one correct credit card which is not being reported to the others. I assume there is no way to get those loans/cards reported to the other agencies? Should I try working with the collection agencies, or the original creditors?

Thanks Again!
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Bo Majors
to Live Human / show details / Feb 27
I would just pay them if i got much resistance. The amounts are not enough to hurt that much other than they are new and unpaid. So paying can do nothing but help your score.

Experian dispute online no help. Will raise my credit score if I dispute by mail and pay?

Live Huam
to me / show details / Feb 27
Hey Bo,
I just happen to stumble on your website looking for the address to Experian. I am locked out to dispute online, and they want me to order a report from them before they give me an address. So, I found it anyway on your website. I do not know exactly what to dispute, but I have had items removed in the past. Hey, here's a question: if the amount on the bad debt is higher, will it raise your credit score more than settleing an account with a small balance? What about medical bills? I have two that are around 600 dollars total. What can I do about those? Should I contact and negotiate a settlement amount with the creditors, to reflect settlement or completely take it off? Any info will help me! Thanks so much.

Sincerely,
Live Human
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Bo Majors
to Live Human / show details / Feb 27
Contact first creditor to get collections removed
Make full payments if possible
http://www.oskie.com/raise_credit_score_fast_quickly_free.htm

http://www.oskie.com/how-i-get-paid-collection-collections-account-removed-credit-report-completely.htm

I filed bankruptcy and a credit cards still shows as unpaid and I can't get a motgage

Live Human / to me / show details / Feb 25
Dear Bo, I filed for chapter 13 in January 2002 and was discharged from it March of 2005. I have been trying to get financing for a home purchase but no luck. I have been told many different reasons for not getting the loan but after meeting with a Country Wide Home Loans and was told the main reason for not qualifying was a debt that was showing on my credit report. The debt is more than likely a credit card that I had with First Union but they merged with Wachovia around that time. It shows up as a debt to Wachovia but the amount that was owed differed from the First Union amount listed on my BR papers by 725 dollars less and the last 4 numbers at the end of the debt for that account don't match either. It is listed as a closed account as of November 2001 and has been charged off how do I remove this from CR? Do I write dispute letter and say that this was part of my bankruptcy but was not since I had no debts to Wachovia. Can it be removed since the closed account date predates my BR date? I'm confused can you help?
Thanks in advance,
Live Human
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Bo Majors
to Live Human / show details / Feb 25
Just dispute it and say its not yours
youll find out fast

A 7 year old debt showed up on my credit report. Is that legal?

Lve Human
to me
show details
Feb 25
I have a credit card debt from 1999 that I did not pay. I recently received notice in the mail(2007) that they will reduce my balance. I thought bad credit was taken off your record after 7 years? Am I misinformed and I do not have the money to even pay the reduced balance. What do I do?
thanks for your advice
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Bo Majors
to Real Person / show details / Feb 25
Have you checked your credit report to know what the dates are?
Dates can be changed if their is activity or sale on debts.
There can be multiple entries if collections happen.

7 yrs after date of last activity records come off reports. yes

A 7 year old debt showed up on my credit report. Is that legal?

Lve Human
to me
show details
Feb 25
I have a credit card debt from 1999 that I did not pay. I recently received notice in the mail(2007) that they will reduce my balance. I thought bad credit was taken off your record after 7 years? Am I misinformed and I do not have the money to even pay the reduced balance. What do I do?
thanks for your advice
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Bo Majors
to Real Person / show details / Feb 25
Have you checked your credit report to know what the dates are?
Dates can be changed if their is activity or sale on debts.
There can be multiple entries if collections happen.

7 yrs after date of last activity records come off reports. yes

A 7 year old debt showed up on my credit report. Is that legal?

Lve Human
to me
show details
Feb 25
I have a credit card debt from 1999 that I did not pay. I recently received notice in the mail(2007) that they will reduce my balance. I thought bad credit was taken off your record after 7 years? Am I misinformed and I do not have the money to even pay the reduced balance. What do I do?
thanks for your advice
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Bo Majors
to Real Person / show details / Feb 25
Have you checked your credit report to know what the dates are?
Dates can be changed if their is activity or sale on debts.
There can be multiple entries if collections happen.

7 yrs after date of last activity records come off reports. yes

What document or letter to use a form for getting collections off report

Real Person
to me / show details / Feb 22
I have been reading the information on the website and find it veryuseful, thank you for sharing. If I were to payoff a debt listed on my credit report to a collection agency, what document should I request from them to say it was paid off. And what should the wording be on this document?Your help is appreciated. Thanks.
Real Person
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Bo Majors
to Real Person / show details / Feb 22
Anthing with letter head and persons signature of agreement.
- Show quoted text -

Real Person
to me / show details / Feb 22
How about the wording anything in particular to look for or have?
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Bo Majors
to Real Person / show details / Feb 22
I guess I need to make something up and put it on my site. The thing is, no one thing works for each situtation. Letter head with names number addresses. So and so with account number xxxxxxxxxxx paid as agreed and in full on this account from 01/02/06 - 01/02/07. Person you agree with.
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I guess I need to make something up and put it on my site.
The thing is, no one thing works for each situtation.
Letter head with names number addresses.
So and so with account number xxxxxxxxxxx paid as agreed and in full on this account from 01/02/06 - 01/02/07.
Signed
person you agree with.

Credit card late payments that were errors and charged off are now showing up as bad credit.

Real Live Human Being
to Bo Majors / show details / Feb 22 (7 days ago)
Hello,

Sorry to bother you... but you seemed to be the most knowledgable person on this matter

I had 5 months of nonpayment on my credit card (balance of $300).

For the last 3 months I did not receive a statement, due to a system error. I later got a letter from the credit card company apologizing for the system error.

Then they resent a copy of the 3 statements that had not been mailed out. Lets say months 3, 4, and 5. The statement for month 5 had a notice that if I did not make payment within 30 days after due date, that my account would be bad credit or charged-off and reported to the credit bureaus.

I'm contesting the charge off, because I was not notified of the action that would be taken... what are my options? I am willing to pay the entire $300, but want to change what is being reported to the credit bureaus.

Real Person
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Bo Majors
to Live Human Being / show details / Feb 22 (7 days ago)
I hope you saved the letters stating system errors or its your word against theirs and they win those battles. I would negotiate with the lender and pay any fees that can be removed for. 300 is in the don't even consider NOT PAYING that one off. No matter what pay it off, but try to get relief. As you said it was their error
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Can I remove Medical Collections from my credit report that was in bankruptcy.

DEAR BO,
CAN I REMOVE MEDICAL COLLECTIONS FROM MY CREDIT EVEN THOUGH IT'S ONMY BK. MY BK IS A CHAPTER 7. I WANTED TO BUILD MY SCORE FASTER?ALSO I HAVE AHOUSE THAT WAS PAID OFF IN 2003(SOLD)CAN I ALSO HAVE THAT REMOVED? I NEED TORAISE MY SCORE TO ATLEAST A 620 OR SHOW THAT I'M A FIRST TIME BUYER TO GET AMORTGAGE LOAN NOW WITH A 590. IT'S KIND OF AN EMERGENCY, MY LANDLORD WENT UPON THE RENT TO 1250 FROM 1080. I CAN'T AFFORD THAT AND WITH THE PRICES TO RENT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO OWN. TIRED OF DEALING WITH THESE PEOPLE.
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Reply from Bo Majors
http://www.oskie.com/how-i-get-paid-collection-collections-account-removed-credit-report-completely.htm
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from Real Live Human Being
to me
show details
Feb 22 (7 days ago)
i just paid my credit card bills more than half way off. how long does ittake for my score to go up?and when should i check my credit.
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Bo Majors
to betty
show details / Feb 22
I would check it now and later, but in 30 days everything should be totally cleared up on your report for sure.

Does paying a collection hurt my credit score?

Hello-
I recently read somewhere that by paying items in collection, it will actually hurt my credit score. Is that true?
I currently have several items in collections on my credit report, but the total I owe is only around $350, so I was planning on just paying them off once I get my tax refund. How do you think this will affect my credit score, which is only a lousy 550-ish right now. My goal is to bring my credit score up over the next few years.

Thanks a lot!!
Real Live Human


Bo Majors
to Real Person / show details / Feb 19

http://www.oskie.com/credit-repair-negotiate-with-creditors-remove-delete-bad-credit-collections-charge-offs.htm

http://www.oskie.com/how-i-get-paid-collection-collections-account-removed-credit-report-completely.htm

I paid all my debts period.
I would negotiate first. Ask for totall removal or no re dating.