Should I remove closed credit card accounts from my credit report

I was wondering how I would go about getting closed accounts off my credit report or if it is even necessary? I have about 5 credit cards on my account that I paid in full and closed a few years ago. They show on my credit report as paid in full, closed by consumer.
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Unless they are reported as negative and less than 24 months or more old
it makes no difference

keep new good credit going

Denied credit card for lack of credit. How do I get credit?

I moved here last year March 2007 and been using a credit card as a secondary holder. I tried to apply for a credit card last month, January and was denied for the reason that I haven't been established my credit. I have been trying to call Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, but they are all automated and can't talk to anyone. You might know any number that I can call or you might suggest me on how to build my credit... Like how to apply for a credit card to build my credit... What steps should I do? I thought having a credit card as a secondary holder will establish my credit, only to find out that I just wasted 1 year
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new law on authorized user blanked that. it was called piggbacking. you dont really do anything and get good credit. that was not fair
go here and get a credit card for bad or no credit. most if not all of these credit cards report to bureaus
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Thank you so much for the response! You are truly amazing! I actually went to this website this afternoon. I got it from one of your articles. Only New Millineum Bank offers "no credit credit check required" with 19.50% APR! If this is the only way to build my credit, then I guess I have to take it
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Oh by the way, I forgot to mention that one has to deposit a minimum of $300 with New Millennium and the credit limit will be equal to the balance in the collateral savings account. I hope there is other way to build a credit aside from this set-up
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after one year ask to be cut loose from that arraignment
or
and
go ahead and get another card that does not require that.

stop by a bp oil gas station or exxon and pick up one of thier credit card app forms
apply and hope
if they turn you down call them apply again but send in 300 with your app
charge your gas only for one year and pay more than you charge each month
at the end of one year treat yourself to a gas party ot trip


keep these account open for at least one year to get a rated trade line
here is another get new good credit form i forgot about

you really need 3 rated lines of credit but you dont want to burden yourself or mess it up

Dispute on unverifiable debt can not get any help

August 2006 disputing the amount owed and requesting they investigate and respond to me. By November I had not heard anything so I sent another letter requesting that they either provide the information I initially requested, or remove this debt from my credit reports, still no response. So I disputed with the bureaus to remove the debt, but they only verified the information and told me I needed to contact the creditor. Yesterday I called the creditor, who I had a couple of different issues with, but they still did not have a response for me, and need to do additional follow up. One of their representatives told me they did not have to respond to me in writing, it would be a courtesy if they called me. Apparently this person does not know the fair credit reporting act. I would like your input on this, but I am about to file a complaint with the FTC, BBB. and my state attorney.
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I guess they talked about how much it is or what is was for and you knew or didn't?
If you do not ow what it is
or they cannot provide a copy of the item you request

just call your state attorney.
that would be quicker

student loans that were delinquent and each one appears to be listed 3 times on my credit report

Hi, I've read quite a few posts on your blog, not sure how to post one myself? my question is -I have 2 student loans that were delinquent and each one appears to be listed 3 times on my credit report - each one says condition "derogatory" and pay status "120 days late" I am now paying on them and those two accounts are correctly reported as "current" each entry is listed by Iowa Student Loan, so when my report is pulled, it looks as though I'm not paying on 4 of my accounts. I've tried disputing them with no luck, there is a remark on them that says "student loan perm assign to government" I've called the student loan people and they confused me even more. what other options do I have?
I've used some of your advice on other issues with great results! Had a lot of negative information removed by disputing - EVEN A JUDGMENT! Increased credit score by 40 points in 30 days! Thanks
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what did the dispute reply say
did it give the same address and phone number you used to get confused by Iowa student loan.

if so, and it sounds like that's what happened, you should talk to ISL again and again until you get it straight. There has to be different account numbers for these accounts. Many times a loan company will re do the loan to overcome a consumer being late on the loan companies books. They can't just, out of the blue say, you are not late unless you pay up or they redo the the loan.
I would think you could dispute or negotiate to have those, other, showing late now, loans to "say same account', "duplicate account" as the one being paid on.
When you dispute these items someone is verifying them somewhere. But this someone should say these accounts are now combined with another account and should show zero balance.
The accounts will still show you were late once upon a time, but they should not show you are late NOW.
You might use the account numbers to get a letter from ISL, on ISL letterhead, that says these accounts were combined with accountabc which is now being paid in time.

There is no easy answer but. DIG IN. You can do it.

Three year old collection with unautorized inquiry

Can a collection agency, who has bought my almost three year old debt from another collector and issued a brand new date of debt on my report be allowed to perform a hard inquiry on my credit report? I called them and told them "here I am" and that I wanted to pay or negotiate to make both parties happy. After three months of having my debts they decide to inquire my credit report. They tell me they are fully within thier rights and will use other avenues to get their money. I told them that I will be notifying them by mail that I am not to be contacted at work or home but by mail only according to my rights. Please help me as to whether or not they can do this according to your knowledge.
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they are not allowed an unauthorized inquiry
call your or the state attorney general

7 years is about to expire on account and now account has been renewed

While in college I purchased a few things on credit and really messed up my credit history. Its been about three years since I completed everything and this is my first year a a decent paying job. My current credit score or Fico score is 579, and I am amazed that it is even that high. My problem today that I was contacted by a third party bill collector about a derogatory account and while I have the money to pay and have no problem paying the bill they are not going to remove it from my credit report. The account(s) one which is 300 dollars expires or reaches the seven year limit next June or 2008 while the other which is $2,200 expires next March. Could you please tell me the best plan of action to take, Iwant to pay, but I don't really want a double jeopardy to take place. Thankyou
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double jeopordy is a credit fact of life
there are some common ways to deal with these

1. contact and negotiate with the original creditor. Explain you feel your Fair credit reporting right are being violated and you want to make amends but not with a third party collection agency who is gonna make this 7 year bill turn into 14
2. use debt validation with the third party collections and explain the same thing as before
3. pay the debt and mark it up to learning experience
4. re open the debt after you pay it off
then after 12 - 24 months
then,
ask for them to remove the bad marks since most creditors only report the last 24 months.

in the end if you pay them it will be good and you will have a 0% balance owed to high credit rating ratio on your credit report and your score will go up after 12 months of new good credit

Local doctors office bill went to collection. Not notified

I had a bill with a local doctor's office. They only claimed to have one person working in the office and when my husband and I called to request statements - it was always an issue of they'd print it out and mail it that day. Well - we never received the statements - time passed and we finally received one that said we were being sent to collections.

So now here we are trying to get in touch with a well known collection agency. The number we dialed never worked and would always cut off. Finally my husband went through several prompts and said we had 4 months to pay the total - which was only 180.00. We decided to break it up into 3 months and send payments. When they woman finally called - she said I would not like the letter I requested with the remaining balance. To sum it all up we could never get in touch with the agency and now it's showing up on my credit report.
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you made a mistake by paying without confirmation
its ok though
what to do now.

dispute the account as paid in full zero balance
get the results and mail your payment copies to the address provided from the dispute if the dispute is verified and they say you still owe money. if not its over.
then validate the debt with certified delivery mail
go all the way to state attorney general if needed.

you said you paid and it still shows up
so that is the assumption i am making here

really one should try to negotiate with the doctors office first. Read what I did on that page.
but in this case someone has taken your money and something has to be done with them

charges deliquent on joint account, other person was in prison

Hi,I noticed that the last time I checked my credit report there was some errors. I had an account that I never used and there were charges on it and it was deliquent, it was a joint account, but the other person was in prison during the time of the charge. I filed a dispute online through the credit reporting agencie, but they seemed to just disregard it. I also called the company about the account and didn't really get anywhere. What can I do? Also there was addresses listed on my credit report that were wrong, could this be a sign of fraud?
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when you say never used this line of new credit card credit but it was deliquent
it sounds like you opened it up with that guy in prison
if you didnt do that
or dont know this person
then yes that would be a sign of stolen identity or fraud

if you disputed and it, it wasnt yours, and you never signed anything with this person, and it did not fall off
THEN
use the results from your credit dispute to follow up with the creditor and call the state attorney general if needed after you use this free debt validation form

FICO score staying around 560 to 599, and using your advice i paid them off all four of them,

I am trying to prepare for an upcoming mortgage rifi...but my score is about 575. I talked to someone who explained part of my problem is the simple fact that I currently have a HELOC and this is holding down my score. I was told having a HELOC automatically places me or anyone who has one into a lower score situation because the HELOC affects my revolving credit ratio, that is it isn't an installment loan. My HELOC is $25K limit, about $24K balance, so highly leveraged. My question is this: I know moving revolving debt around to another credit card doesn't help because it doesn't change the ratio, but if I convert the HELOC to an installment loan, which my creditor says is possible (even though I'm looking at $1,500 origination fee) will that improve my revolving ratio and thus my score?? In other words is it worth doing?? I'm told that installment debt ratio doesn't weigh as much as the revolving ratio.
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that's one heck of a question put that way.
i doubt it and then ????????
i could see how it might help having 50000 dollars in revolving credit with no obligations and the home equity line of credit "HELOC" down to 80% or less. I've been told that you should go for 50 and 10% for super scores. I have always said 80% percent LOWER THAN across the board on ALL loans.
Installment loans always start out at 100% percent balance BALS, to HICR high credit limit ratio.
I guess in "super perfect world" you borrow enough on this installment loan and pay it down to less than less than 80 % BALS balance to HICR high credit ration, FAST no sooner then your first payment afteer you get your installment loan book from installment loan originator.
IE: borrow 40,000 dollars $ and use part of that money to pay the installment loan down to $ 32000 dollars.

if there was any way to move all your money around so that all the balances came down to 80 % percent or less, then I would like to see what happened there, or could happen if you added it all thise numbers up.

If I used the get and installment loan thing i would try to add it up like i said first. pay down the installment loan to .80

you must realize this is a limited answer about your situation.
this is a good general answer.
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I recently go my revolving debt down from a 76% ratio to 21%. I saw my score immediately jump by 63 points at one CB. A little less at the others but still a good jump. Because my scores didn't jump more, and I was seeking answers, this is where I got the advice that my HELOC was the culprit, although technically it isn't a part of the revolving ratio I just mentioned, meaning it doesn't list as revolving on my reports, but as part of my mortgage total. It is probably the case that I just need to pay it down to the 80% you mention, which would cost me about $4K. Also, I have two relatively new student loans that I could get to 80% or so at a cost of about another $5K.

If you agree, the only question then is where to get the money. I'd have to borrow it and I would think increasing my Visas (revolving limits) would increase my 21% ratio, so my question then is would it better to get a signature (installment) loan for $9K, then come up with another $1800 in cash to get that loan down to 80%???
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your talking about borrowing no matter what
so i would borrow eough to add all the numbers up to less than 80 percent bals/hicr and if i could, i would, try to pay the smallest account to nothing NOTHIN or 10 percent or 50% percent if I coud and make the numbers work
when you go to check your credit HERE A GOOD ONE
make sure that all of you reported credit is paid up, on THAT day. no checks in the mail stuff, on company books

sometime i pay my house loan 14 days late online to move my money.
and sometime i pay my gas card a few day late because it is my smallest account
make sure everything is paid in full and the checks for this month are allready on all your creditors books.

THEN BAMM
pull your credit and let me know what happens

What do i do if I sent a letter to a creditor (certified return receipt) and I get no response

What do i do if I sent a letter to a creditor (certified return receipt) and I get no response. How long do I wait and what is my next step?
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you can only get certified delivery to bureaus
i am not sure what you asked for or paid for
certified delivery to the mail PO box should be paid for
PO boxs can only be that way. no body can sign
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I didn't make myself clear at all with my last email. I must have been half asleep. What I am wondering after I sent my letter to the creditors how long do they have to respond. If they don t respond at all what is my next step?
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30 days
dispute my credit report
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Can you except an email agreement from a credit agency ?
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no
usps mail.
certified delivery

call
then mail
mail then call

Mail address is incorrect and I have an account that is too old 7

And I'm not happy. First i would like to start with having an unauthorized mail address in Trans union. There's my mail address with an additional unapproved mail address. Should i contact Trans union and dispute? Second also have a an account open (CITI CARDS CBSDNA ) since 1994! Shouldn't that been deleted? And why does it still say OPEN and (Pays account as agreed)? And on legend it stating (ND). I really don't want to think the worst. Third Is it normal to have accounts display in all three Credit Bureaus.
Please advice. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for your time
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is the mail address one you lived at once? or not. what do you mean unauthorized

if the account is open it will be reported
call citi cards. if it is not open close it i guess or use it to keep good credit for at least 24 months.

most account only report to one or two bureaus
but many do report at all three bureau that support FICO credit scores
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No I have never lived or use that address before. I mean that why would they be sending mail to that address without my authorization.
I will call citi cards. Thanks!
I have sent my negotiating letter to my creditor. Hopefully they will come to an agreement.
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you should dispute the address even tough some bureaus kick that out
say fraud
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y

Got a new credit card and my score did not go up

The fico score has been more consistent climbing from the 550 up to about 602 with the disputes and the other thing that I had removed. I had opened a Orchard bank credit card and it remained at 602. The true credit scores have went from 550 to 592 and back to 568 with the opening of the new card. Can you provide some clarity, and maybe suggest a good credit monitoring service. Oh yea and none of those reports and score match up with a all in one WAC report that a mortgage person might use.
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it takes 12 months reported MR to help your credit report FICO score.Usually you score goes down a little when you first open an account

Old account more than 7 years

I have an old credit card account that is more then 7 years old sitting on my credit report. It is noted as closed for 2 out of 3 credit buerau's and also states that it was a charge off/write off as a loss. Can I have this deleted from my credit report?
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You can dispute it and hope

Filed bankrupt in 2004. Any way to remove bad account before 7 years

I filed for Bankrupt in 2004 understanding that will stay on my Credit report for up to 7-10 years. Is there a way I can clear the individual accounts off the report and only show the negative Bankrupt
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no
anything you filed on will be on your credit report for 7 years
after 2 years it doesnt really matter if you have new good credit IF, that credit was reported to a major bureau for 12+ months
you do not say if it was a 7 or a 13 which make a big difference on when stuff comes off your report

read this about Credit after Bankruptcy.
you can dispute some account, 3 at a time lets say, and hope

Raise my credit score fast. I go turned down

THE REASON WHY I AM WRITING YOU IS FIRST I WANT TO RAISE MY FICO SCORE FAST.
RAISE MY CREDITI HAVE CONTACT THE CREDIT BUREAUS FOR A FREE CREDIT REPORT HOWEVER THEY ARE TELLING ME I RECEIVED A REPORT WITHIN THE LAST 60 DAYS SO I MUST PAY. I APPLIED FOR CREDIT AND WAS TURNED DOWN TWO WEEKS AGO, I THINK I AM ENTITLE TO A FREE CREDIT REPORT. ALSO I AM IN THE MARKET OF BUYING A HOME , BUT I AM BEING TOLD MY CREDIT SCORE IS TO LOW. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

PLEASE E-MAIL ME BACK
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you will get a letter in the mail saying you were turned down
use it and this page
to get a free report
Free credit report I got turned down letter

How do I delete charge off acounts on my credit report?

Will you give me advice or pointers on how to delete charge off accounts on my credit report. I am trying to get back on track with my credit. My credit mainly consist of installment debt and collection debt that has been charged off. What can I do? Your response, time, and concern would be greatly appreciated.
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if you paid the charge off, there is nothing much you can do but dispute the collections as not yours and hope
if they are unpaid then negotiate for some credit help on your credit score before you pay.
Installment late payments are pretty much set in stone unless they have beem paid off a long time ago or the company went out of business or something. Get these late payments 24 months old with no new lates and your bad credit score will go up.

MCM sent me a letter via UPS stating that a bill from Verizon, 2003, is going to go to arbritration if I do not pay

MCM sent me a letter via UPS stating that a bill from Verizon, 2003, is going to go to arbitration if I do not pay. that was 3 weeks ago, I had one month to settle, or it goes to arbitration. This was in California. I mailed it back to them stating received and signed in error.

They called the house and I denied it was mine, stating that wasn't the right address or SSN. I know, I just wanted to buy time to find out if MCM was actually doing this legally.

I looked up SOL and for written contracts it's 4 years, which was 2007. Is this legal, or because Verizon has the third party arbitration, the SOL doesn't matter?

I would like to negotiate and pay it, but if it's illegal because it's outdated, I don't want to pay. Can I just negotiate with Verizon?

What can I do? Can you let me know by Friday
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negotiate with Verizon
validate the debt-
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and if they can validate the date, which MCM can, what happens then? buys me time to just negotiate and the arbitration proceedings stop once they get my validation letter?
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You say "they can validate the debt" then pay them.
Try to settle for less
I think thats what arbitration usually means. Try to pay this or negotiate before arbitration. Keep it off your credit report
You didn't say how much
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the balance is around $500. But since Statute of limitation ran out last year, and arbitration is part of the process, however it's not Verizon that served me the papers, it's MCM that did. Is that legal for them to do
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Ryan Howard beats Phillies in arbitration and will earn $10 million

The case was decided by Goldberg, Robert Bailey and Jack Clarke. The panel listened for nearly five hours as each side presented its arguments Wednesday in St. Petersburg.
Howard was represented by his agent, Casey Close. Houston Astros president Tal Smith, who represents many teams, handled the Phillies’ side.
Amaro negotiated with Close right until the hearing began, but couldn’t agree on a deal. Howard can’t become a free agent until after the 2011 season. It’s likely the Phillies will try to sign him to a long-term contract much sooner.
“We negotiated right up to the courthouse steps with Ryan in a variety of ways and unfortunately we couldn’t get it done,” Amaro said.
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borrow some money to pay it early with MCM
call verizon and talk to someone at about this bill and company.
a collection hurts double in that not only are you past due but you have a 100% balance to high credit ratio on that account. It will really help your score to get it paid.
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went to the doctor in January 2005. There must have been some type of error with the insurance

I went to the doctor in January 2005. There must have been some type of error with the insurance because the doctor was never paid.
I filed chapter 7 bankruptcy and it cleared in January of 2006. I didn't include the doctor on the bankruptcy because I never received a bill.
A collection has started showing up on my credit report now, after the bankruptcy. It was not there before. They are also re-reporting it every 6 months.
I disputed this with Experian stating that I had cleared bankruptcy since I incurred the debt. The collection agency responded that the debt was accurate. Is there anything that I can do?
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if it was not included it was not included
there for accurate
try this
free-credit-help-sample-form-letter-letters
debt validation

My credit score has gone up 40 points since November.

Thanks for all the helpful advice. My credit score has gone up 40 points since November.

Your advice was awesome and very helpful. I have recommended you to many of friends and co-workers.
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credit help / fix 3 in 1 credit report credit cards

keed 24 MR Months reported good credit

rated to no more than 80%,
better if, 30 -10 percent
HICR high credit limit / to BALS balance owed now

get DLA Date of last activity on account that have been 30 60 90 late
MORE THAN 24 months old

Credit Report shows 7 entries by the same collections agency all dated for the same month

I got my husbands credt reports from Experian and CSC. on the CSC report it shows 7 entries by the same collections agency all dated for the same month and year for either 22$ or 28$ ( they all have different acct #s). On his experian report their are 17 different entries all for 05/2004 as well for the same collectiosns agency. They also have different acct numbers. they are also all for 22$ or 28$. I am wondering how I go about disputing these. We knnow the original creditor was Utah Radiology Associates but we dont know why they would have charged him 17 times at once and not just put it all on one bill. We have no receipts for this time period. Are we allowed to contact Utah Radiology Associates and ask them what these charges are. Also these charges were all covered in my husbands bankrupcy, but they still all say unpaid. Their is no reference in the reports that my husband ever had a bankrupcy. if I dispute this will that alert them that they need to put bankrupcy on his report? Also, if I do dispute these what would be my grounds? Sorry for the really long email and thanks for your help and time!
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if they were included in your bankruptcy
they should all say so

you say different things

if the radiology was included in bankruptcy but these other debts were not, then the other accounts would not be legal and you should validate the collection debts.

Yes you can call the radiology people and negotiate and you should if they sold these included in bankruptcy debts.

It does not make sense that one filed bankruptcy and it does not show up on the report.
You mention Experian. Could it be listed on your report at the other 2 bureaus? You should know.
Make sure you have all accounts included in bankruptcy shown as included on bankruptcy on your reports as indicated in the link above.

And
inlcuded in bankruptcy means. NOT Paid in full.
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Sorry yes, I got the reports from Experian and Equifax, Experian has the bankrupcy on fileand equifax does not. it says it was discharged in 07/2004. Most of the multiple radiology accounts were opened in 05/2004 one says 12/2002.Their are 2 that say that the status is "Discharged through BAnkrupcy ch 7/Creditor cannot locate individual. these 2 were both opened in 05/2004 and one is for 22$ and one is for 28$. So it seems that initially there were only two charges, one for 22$ and one for 28$. So when they reported it they only fixed those two, becuase the others are just duplicates. COuld this be true ev en thought they have different account numbers and if this is all correct. Where do I go from here? that was all for experian, for equifaxi have the 8 entries all say unpaid.And their is no reference to bancrupcy in the report. Where do I go from here with this one? thanks again. Sorry i am so confusing!
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use the credit dispute form
if you do not already
have the address
to validate
the multiple same duplicate collections

in the end pay them and be done with that no matter what.
its only 22 and 28 dollars several times.

keep new good credit cards that report to a bureau
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Turned down for bad credit with Equifax. Need free credit report.

Turned down for credit card with information provided by Equifax. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, I am entitled to a free copy of this report. Who do I contact?
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http://www.oskie.com/free-letter/get-my-credit-report-with-out-without-credit-card-letter.htm

Have 3 open lines of credit in good standing

I do have 3 open lines of credit in good standing. I have not gone over the credit limit nor have I made any late payments. One card increased my limit by $250 and another will be increased by $200 in 3 more billing cycles. Unfortunately, I opened 2 of the accounts less than 6 months ago (nearly 4 months ago). I know that is not long enough..... I have had the other card for over 1 year. They each have less than a $10 balance on them. One has $5. One has $2 and one has $8. I saw on your website that it is a score booster to keep the cards at less than 80% of the balance. I am trying desparately to get the lowest score up. I just don't know how to go about doing that? I had a negative item deleted from my credit report which allowed my Experian score to go from a 628 to a 640 in less than a month. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am going to try and purchase a home in a couple of years. I don't want a lender to reject my loan or to give me an astronomical interest rate.

Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! with any suggestions. Again, thank you for the quick response. I am recommending your website to all of my friends and family.
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your high credit limits are low too
you have whats called a thin credit file
one needs some pretty big high credit to go for a home loan
if you have 10 to 20 % down you should be ok thought
ask to have your credit limit increased on those cards.
the 630 range will get most people financed if the credit file is thick
your job is good and youve been there a while?
youve got a good downpayment

anything can be overcome with a downpayment.

It was only a $39 bill that was paid immediately (we always pay off balances every month)

We have a late payment on our credit report. I don't dispute the late payment; however there were extenuating circumstances (we lived out of the country at the time, and my mother-in-law didn't send us the bill in time to get it paid promptly). It was only a $39 bill that was paid immediately (we always pay off balances every month). We never carry credit balances, and yet we have this black mark on our credit report for a $39 bill!! Is there some way to add a comment to the report or to get it removed?
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you can dispute it and hope

you could negotiate

you can wait two years from today and keep new good credit

thats about all that can be done
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remove negative accounts from credit report

I need to know how to get old negative accounts removed from my credit report. Please send more info. Thank you.
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remove clean delete
Negotiate

http://www.oskie.com/validate-collection-collections-account-removed-credit-report-completely.htm

Moved and didn't get utility bill. Paid collection will not remove account

Jn. 2007 - I moved from Sacramento to Costa Mesa on a temporary basis until I could find a place in Los Angeles. I had my mail forwarded fromSac to Costa mesa. I own a house in Sacramento and rented it out, and I still own it.
Feb. 2007 - Moved to a new place in Los Angeles. I completed another forwarding mail with the post office. This is where the problem occurred. I didn't get all my forwarded mail from this address. Apparently I had a utility bill that went unpaid for $172, which I was unaware. They had sent me a bill on three different occasions in Jan, March, and Aug, 2007.
My mail never was forwarded! I thought I paid the balance owned before I moved. It wasn't until I was looking into refinancing my house when myExperian credit score dropped from 756 in July, 2007 to 620 in August! I was told I had an unpaid account. I called PG&E right away. But I made the huge mistake of paying the bill at that moment instead of negotiating to have it removed from my report.
In the mean time, I was given the advise to report it to the creditbureaus as "not mine." And if they don't respond in 30 days, it will automatically be removed. This didn't work, as they verified it to bemine. Today I called PG&E and spoke to a representative (I was very nice and professional). I explained to her that I was never made aware of the collection...that I would have never jeopardized my great credit as a deadbeat customer and not paid a $172 bill. I have always paid my bills on time. I said by law they have to ensure that they contact me, that I never received any letters nor a phone call. She actually put me on hold (probably to talk to someone) and came back to basically tell methis "unfortunately was can't remove it because it has to be an erroron our part.
" I asked why I didn't get a phone call. She said they don't make phone calls. This just doesn't seem right that they just send out automated letters then report you to the credit bureaus. I'm sure those letters were returned to them, so they can at least call to inform me as a good faith gesture.So, I left a message with the supervisor on his voice mail in hopes that he will help me remove it.
Here are my questions:
1) I don't believe her when she said, the credit bureaus wont let herremove it unless it is their error. Can they have it removed?
2) How do I get this removed? This is not by my neglect and I workedvery hard to get my score over 750.
3) If they don't remove it, what is my next step? What would you do?
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1) most utilities will not negotiate. Actually they are telling the truth. Is is against the law to lie about credit both ways. They see you didn;t pay and it was not their fault so thats thats. Utilities do this as a means of pretecting their interest in further matters with past bad debtors which they have thousands i am sure.
2) You probably cannot have this removed and you should forget about it if possible and go on. In 2 years it will be a zero balance collection and your good current credit will swallow this bad apple and your score will go back up
3) shoot for 2 years behind thee satan.

in the end you paid your bill and did the right and honest thing. More than likely they would not have taken the bad mark off even if you had called before you paid. That's just the way they do business. I know it happened to me with Nashville Electric Service. They wouldn't even talk to me yea or ney and didn;t really care if i even paid them which i did. behind the satan.
---------------------

My credit score has dropped 80 points in last year

Can I talk to someone about raising my credit score. I'm happy to accomodate you for your time. I was just reading your website.
---------------------
sure
let it rip
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My credit score has dropped 80 pts in the last year..... 660-580. No late past 30 60 90 days late payments, foreclosures or bankruptcy's. I did start a business though in which I maxed out 5 credit cards (25k total) All payments have been made on time though. We are trying to buy a house and I was shocked at my credit. In reading your suggestions, it sounds like I need to get these cards BALS to less than the 80% of HICR mark. I could pay a couple of the smaller ones off completely and close them.......is closing them a good idea? We do have an existing home loan which is for a rental.....it's in good standing in the 4 years we have had it. We also have two car loans......also in good standing for the 3 years. How quickly and what route do I take to get my score back up over the 620 mark which is what I believe the lenders are looking for? I appreciate your help.
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pay off the small ones
since you can
do not close them.
keep the paid off cards open for higher bottom line or total balance to high credit limit ratios.
pay others down to less than 79% percent.
i have been advised to strive for 50% to 10% percent or less.
then credit score will jump right back up.
If it doesn't let me know

Trying to remove delinquent accounts from my credit report

I was recently trying to remove past 30 day 60 day 90 days late on my credit report and ran into one account that I could not pay. I could not figure out who had the account so I tried calling the initial company (AT & T) and could no teven get a human to talk to me in all of the united states. Finally I found out who had the account and called them and was told that the original company took the account back. After getting contact info for the original company I contacted them and was told that they did not have my account and that it was probably sent to another creditor. After contacting the 2nd creditor I was told that they had no account for me. After contacting the original company and the original creditor that they sent my account to neither one would claim they were currently in possession of the account and neither one would take my money. I was willing to pay the full amount right then and there over the phone but no one would take my money. I don't feel it is ethical to just brush me off and am tempted to report them both to the Better Business Bureau but I am worried it may complicate things further. Have you ever run across this situation? I would appreciate any advice you can give. I am sorry to email you directly but I am not "Blog" savey and could not figure out how to contact you through your blog. I thank you in advance for your time and consideration in this matter.
-----------------------
you hit a gold mine and do not realize it
if you cant find it
neither can a bureau

so

dispute it

Had 3 things removed from credit report. Going to check my FICO

I just wanted to say thanks because your knowledge has helped me gain ground on my credit report. I have done exactly like you said with excellent results. I have successfully had 3 things removed from my credit report although I haven't seen my FICO score yet, I am very happy that they were removed. I used your forms to negotiate and it worked.Thank you very much!!-----Original Message-----
From: majors@oskie.com [mailto:majors@oskie.com]Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2008 4:40 To: US Military personel
Subject: Re: Credit help
Car loans and home loans are the hardest thing to get off your report AFTER they have happened. If you catch them while they are happening, or right after, then many times the installment loan company will make a change. If you have reciepts or bank statements contradicting the entries, the creditor has to take the 30 day late marks off. it sounds like you have already tried this and it did not work. so i doubt very seriously that you will be able to get these removed. the best thing to do about this is, to get it all, date of last activity's for the past 2 years 2 years or more behind you, and keep good at least 12 months, reported credit going. If you keep good credit open, when 2 years pass the 30 day late marks will have little or no effect on your credit rating. Credit is real and sometimes it is best to learn and go on. You can dispute these items with a free dispute ,but you have already called them directly. So the chance of anything different happening is very slim on other suggestion would be to pay the loan off as quick as possible. the quicker you can start the date of last activity on that account the quicker the account will be gone off your report. As it stands your report will continue to show you were 30 days late for seven years after you pay off the account in full.
On 1/3/08, US Military E3 wrote:
Hello Sir, Is there a way to get rid of the 30 day late payments on my credit report? I was reviewing my credit report like you said and I do not think I was as late on my car payments as the car company is saying. I even printed out my payment history with them and it is not clearly evident that I was late nor on time. Do you have any suggestions? Please Cc your response to (email), this is my home account. Thank you very much for your time and knowledge.

Collections have to notify me before put on my credit report

Does a collector who buys an account have to notify you before they put it on your credit bureau?
------------------
Normally a collections company will try, with a letter.
BUT
most cannot find the customer without some difficulty.
so they send a letter, then they put the debt on the consumers credit report and wait.
One letter, to one address, where ever that may be.
Always have second party collections debt validated. Then negotiate before you pay.

Sent letters of payments with request to have lates removed

I have sent in letters and proof of payments with requests to have the items removed once the account is satisfied. One, they didn’t remove it and two, my score didn’t go up an inch. I’m so frustrated I want to cry. Any advice?
------------------
accounts will show up as paid once you pay them
not removed, UNLESS you get lucky when you negotiate before you pay the account off in full.
which it sounds like you have yet to do. So pay the accounts off and get new good credit and in 2 years you will be happy.
bad credit is not a quick fix unless everything is totally an error by a creditor or a bureau.
Sounds like you have had past 30 60 90 days late, in the past 24 months.

i do not have all your information.
so this answer is limited in scope
---------------------
I have contacted several of my creditors and paid the account off in full…requesting at that time to have the item removed. They said they would do so and it is still on there and they received their money.

Also, I had a summary judgment that was satisfied…being that it was $8000 and I didn’t have to pay anything (landlord filed it when he found out I was suing him for his garage door falling on my head and injuring my back), I thought that it would make a difference in my score once I notified the CRA’s but no change. I know that this is going to take along time…how do they say “if I knew than what I know now” I would have been much better at this, but I got stuff and lost my job…and couldn’t keep up anymore.
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usually creditors will only remove that you are late NOW
not in the past.
UNLESS you get something in writing saying theyt will do so.

get new good credit and get satan behind thee

a judgment rendered is a whole nother matter
if you had a judgment renderd
then
you found to be at fault by a court of law.

that just takes time to get off your report.

2 years and things will be much better
--------------------------
Thanks.

Paid collection still on my credit report. How to remove

I was looking for someone to help me and give me advice and I found your site. I realized that I screwed up when I paid in full the debt I owed to LTD, a collections agency. I paid through an electronic check and asked the person helping me, "So I'm all done right? There is nothing or bad on my credit report?" And the guy said "NO, You're all fine." Later on I tried to raise my credit limit and my bank says that I have something bad on my credit report and its going to be on there for SEVEN years!!! I have been trying to call the collections agency but I just keep getting transferred to like a million people and I have called so many times. I really need help because I'm only 19 and I don't want to have something bad like this on my credit report. I need a new car to go to school and there is no way that I could get one now that I have that on my credit report!
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nothing you can do here
but
1) dispute the account and hope
2) wait two years for the accont to not hurt your score as bad
3) keep at least open lines of credit for at least 12 months to over ride the past bad credit

remember you paid the bill ad in the end that is always best. It over and its done. It will only hurt for 2 years. 5 of those years the account is irrelevant if it is paid and you have new good credit.
AND
there is no gaurantee that even if you negotiated before you paid that they would agree to remove the account completely.
So do not beat yourself up. go on and remember

Credit counseling and past late payments paid off.

I have two credit cards that i went through credit counseling, and even though i paid every month, I paid lower monthly amounts that my credit counseling told me to pay but they didn't finalize the agreement with my credit card companies yet. I didn't catch this right away and now I have late charges on my account for not paying enough. I have been on time for the last three years and know they are paid off, but I still have negative reporting. Also, i was late on my student loan, but know paid in full three years ago. Is there anything I can do to get the negative off my report. Two years ago I was at 520 now I am at 670 but I can't get any better. I have three credit cards with little balance and higher credit limits. I haven't missed a payment in over three years, but two years ago I paid of two collections, and I didn't negotiate with them before i paid them off. If you could help I would really appreciate it
----------------------
you can dispute those old accounts and hope
but more than likely you have done all you can for now other than wait

oh
a 670 fico score is pretty good

Insurance premiums are going up each year because of my credit score

I recently received my automobile insurance bill and home owners bill from the Hartford insurance company. I have been with this company for 4 or 5 years now.
Each year my insurance keeps increasing and they say it is due to my credit, they claim that I need 40 years of credit history. There are to many people looking at my account, to many credit cards, etc.
I have one credit card, one car payment and one mortgage payment. My wife and I have a large money market account and a large IRA fund built up. We pay an additional $300 dollars per month to the principal on our mortgage.
I have never heard of such garbage.
My credit is impeccable, I have never declared bankruptcy and my credit score last time I checked was 780. I am told that is a good score.
I actually purchased this insurance through AARP, so assumed it was an honest company, now I think the reason my rates keep going up are because of my age.
I am 67 years old, I am sure the company would not want to fall into an age discrimination law suit if they told me the truth.
I have never collected on either policy, have never had an accident or any tickets.
Should I start looking for another insurance company or is this something that there is an answer for to reduce my insurance premiums?
It certainly is not my credit that is making my premiums rise.
I wish to thank you in advance for your response.
----------------------------
That sounds like you are right spot on.
I do not see that I could help any further as you know what is going on.

i would suggest maybe talking to the bbb or ftc or even your state attorney general about untruthfulness.
there has to be some accountability here. So put their feet to the fire if you can.

Dell computer went to collection by mistake

In 2003, Dell billed me twice on a computer I purchased (once on my AMEX and once on a Dell Preferred Credit card I never opened. ) The dell preferred account went to collections. I complained to Dell executive offices. Dell refunded the charge on my AMEX card and removed the finance charges on the Dell preferred card and told me to pay the collection agency just for the computer and all derogatory information would be removed from the credit reporting agency.
I have an email from a man at Dell executive offices and in his email he says, Dell has issued the credit necessary to correct the extra charges, please call Dell Preferred accounts and they will be the ones that will send the letter and remove any derogatory remarks on your credit report at this point.
I contacted Dell Preferred account and they faxed me a letter that says, “Per our conversation, I have adjusted the account to show pays as agreed. Once the adjustment is fixed the reporting will go thru. This is for your records”.
In 2004, the Experian report was fixed to say “closed, never late “ but I just got my credit report from Experian and now it says “paid in settlement and was 180 days past due in the past”. They changed it and I think this is so unfair because in good faith I paid the collection agency.
-------------------------------
dispute the item as incorrect and include a copy of your email
if that doesn't work re contact dell for clarification
-------------------------------
Thanks for your reply. By the way, I just clicked on your link and signed up with that credit reporting website and I got my credit scores. Transunion: 700, Experian: 685 and Equifax: 690.

So do you think I should just leave it alone or should I still sent the dispute letter
---------------------------
yes
leave that alone

those are great scores
I wouldn't sitr up any dust

Trying to refinance a home with 105 negative statements

My fiance was laid off reducing our income. I had 13 credit accounts that all went delinquent --- charge offs, late payments (30, 60, 90, 120). Last sping (2007) I worked with a company to settle these debts. All balances are now zero, but did not raise my credit score due to the remaining negative statements. Currently there are 105 negative statements from the 13 creditors. We are on our 2nd arm mortgage and have to refinance again next Jan (2009). I am deathly afraid of getting another arm, obtaining a new payment we cant afford, or losing our home.
----------------------
over come them with new good credit
if the acounts show a zero balance.
3 new good lines of reported credit will raise your score enough in that time to help big time
this is what i did

free credit report and score

free
credit report and score
close account in less than 7 days
or
keep and really work on my credit fast now.

All government appointed credit reports come without free credit scores.
Make sure I get all 3 scores free
Pay $5.00 to each bureau for score upgrade?
Get all three now fast and free

Credit Boards has great answers. BAL HICR ratio

i would be willing to pay for some professional critique
maybe I AM stupid or terrible. i dont know. all i know is what works for me.
so if you are willing to share your positions on my terrible
i would pay you.
say 100.00 for 5 good reasons or instances of terrible
-----------------------
The bad advice I saw was that people could raise their score by payingtheir cards down to 80% of their limit. That kind of usage will drop your score like a rock. Ideal is under 20%. 50% is passable. Thanks for being honest about it. We know - we've been doing this a while now. Our board is heavily moderated. Most of the other credit discussion boards will let you post links if you are participating, but if you just sign up and spam them they'll get mad. They don't have our level of expenses, so they don't care about getting agood price for their ad space - or they don't know any better.
-----------------------
thanks for the reply
i worked 12 years in automobiles and finance
I actually had many people pay down balances to less than 80% and i could get them financed because the score jumped big time. even my boss who now is a banker had it happen to him. went from 720 to 600 and back to 700 over the 80% thing. he bought a motorbike on credit (that put him 100% on that line of credit) and jammed up one card. He sold the bike and paid his card to less than 80% on my advice and bamm.
So this has been done by several people I know. It's been 2 years ago but i would assume it still holds true. What the hey?

At least terrible is not as bad as i imagined, and you are very nice to answer me back as i know i have hit the wrong button with you folks. I hate it when i get these cash advance comments on my blog with a link back to this cheap site. I am sure thats how you felt. Sorry

have a nice night
------------------------
www.creditboards.com
Paying down balances always raises scores, that's true
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i must agree. 20% - 50% are optimum BAL balances to HICR ratio's.
enter balance, then / divide high credit limit figure and press equals =.

Trying to get my score up to purchase a home

Thanks for the quick response. I do have 3 open lines of credit in good standing. I have not gone over the credit limit nor have I made any late payments. One card increased my limit by $250 and another will be increased by $200 in 3 more billing cycles. Unfortunately, I opened 2 of the accounts less than 6 months ago (nearly 4 months ago). I know that is not long enough..... I have had the other card for over 1 year. They each have less than a $10 balance on them. One has $5. One has $2 and one has $8. I saw on your website that it is a score booster to keep the cards at less than 80% of the balance. I am trying desparately to get the lowest score up. I just don't know how to go about doing that? I had a negative item deleted from my credit report which allowed my Experian score to go from a 628 to a 640 in less than a month. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am going to try and purchase a home in a couple of years. I don't want a lender to reject my loan or to give me an astronomical interest rate.
-----------------------
your high credit limits are low too
you have whats called a thin credit file
one needs some pretty big high credit to go for a home loan
if you have 10 to 20 % down you should be ok thought
ask to have your credit limit increased on those cards.
the 630 credit score range will get most people financed if the credit file is thick
your job is good and youve been there a while?
youve got a good downpayment

anything can be overcome with a downpayment.

Insurance collection on my credit report. I have no idea what it is for

I have an account on my credit report that I have no idea what it is for. There is no money amount. Under comments it says paid was a collection account insurance claim or government claim or was terminated default. Could you explain this to me if you can. I am so confused
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my advice would be to
dispute that item as not yours and find out.

3 open credit cards. Should I switch to a 0 percent card?

If I only have 3 open credit cards and one is offering a 0 percent interest. I would like to transfer the balances to one card. Would that cause a significant drop in my credit score? Because then I would only have one open line of credit. Is it best to just keep them separate. I have tried to get the credit card company to lower the interest rate but they will not do so.
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I "hop" credit card interest rates my self.
do it but only use 75% of your total high credit limit
if get a credit limit of 15,000 dollars do not use more that
15,000X .75 = 11250. I have to remember most credit card companies charge a .03 balance transfer fee on each transaction. That's why I say 75% rather than 80% for my credit limit ratio. If I pay the fee up front and I get 0 percent for like 6 months my total monthly obligation goes down because the payment has less interest built in. Many times I can quailify for another card when 6 months run out because my debt to income ratio goes down when I pay mostly on priciple. The main thing is lower my prinicple by paying less interest

On the down side of credit scores I must remember it will take 12 months for my new credit line to get rated.
On the upside my credit card I am giving up is rated too so My score should not be affected to much in most cases where I keep good credit and less than 80 ratios.

If you become disabled after school student loans can be forgiven

your credit repair site is awsome. I wanted to let you know something you may not know. If you become disabled after school your student loans can be forgiven by requesting a form for your dr to fill out and mail it back to the student loan agency. I noticed a lady on your blog with this problem. You can copy and paste this info and get it to her.

It is always good to know there are people like you out there. God bless...
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Two credit reports show Spiegel accounts as charged off

My problem, briefly: At least two credit reports list Spiegel accounts as charged off ( one even states Profit/Loss Write Off ) with DOLA at Dec. 2001. The same two CRA's are reporting Midland Credit Management as creditor of the same accounts and are being reported as "opened" in December 2007. In other words, Spiegel and MCM are reporting the same accounts twice in each CRA. I believe with the DOLA at Dec. 2001 plus the fact that I live in NY, the accounts have reached the SOL. Still, I don't want the MCM listings since they are neither valid nor the OC. I copied one of your validation form letters and re-worded it some to fit in with having found the information on the CR. On both CRs, MCM gives almost no information: only last three numbers of acct., no contact information and obviously the blatant misrepresentation of when the accounts were opened. Are the last four digits of the acct. number enough ? Should I send the CMRRR (or whatever the acronym is) to any one of their business addresses I find on line. By the way, I have sent letters to dispute to the CRA's, but I feel that is probably not enough.
-------------------------------
make them validate that debt with signatures and legal chain of ownership
or call the attorney general and ftc and bbb

SC Dept of Revenue tax lien of 9849. Tax attorney

In May 2005, the SC Dept of Revenue lovingly informed me of a tax lien in the amount of $9849. After a panic attack, I phoned my accountant who assured me that it was an error. It was an error and it was made by SC. On top of that, my accountant actually found that I was due a refund of $1200, which I DID recieve. However, after several certified letters sent by me and my accountant, to have the false lien removed from my credit report, it is still there. I am certain that this is affecting my credit score. I don't want to wait 5 more years for this to be removed. Any recommendations on how I might "expedite" this MAJOR error? Is this something I might consider discussing with a tax attorney?
Any help is GREATLY appreciated!
----------------------
contact your state attorney general
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AWESOME!! Thanks so much! That never even occurred to me!

8 Collections and charge offs on my credit report. two are paid.

I currently have 8 collection/chargeoffs on my report. 2 are paid collections neither is 2 years old. The other 6 unpaid are scheduled to fall off by this time next year. I have 3 open of lines of credit that have been never been late and in good standing for 8, 7, and 3 years which each of them report to the bureau each month. Besides being patient with father time and continuing my on time payments with the positive 3 is there anything else I can do. I know one is a duplicate. I can dispute that one. One has a different date of delinquiecy than the original creditor so i think need to dispute that also to have it linked to fall off at the correct time. Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated on the others Bo
--------------------------
That is one of the most comprehensive well put questions I have ever received
One thing is missing. What is your credit score now.
Verify the debt with a debt validation letter to the collection agency. Negotiate if they can verify the debt. Dispute the account if you get no answer, or signed with company letterhead agreement.
You seem to had a great grasp of the best parts of raise my credit score fast. Make sure your open credit, show less than 80% of balance to high credit ratio. Divide the balance by the high credit limit and get lower than 79 percent %.

Where can I get help with my bad credit report 477

Is there some where I can go to get someone to help me with my credit report?
My credit score is 477 and I am trying to get a loan to repair my home. I thought the house would stand for its self but no one will even talk to me. Is there someone that will loan me money on the house with my credit
I was hoping that with the loan I could pay off my bad credit. I work really hard and have been at my job for almost 12 years and make good money. In the past I got in over my head and let something go unpaid, but I am where I can work on paying them off. I have already paid one off but how do I get it off my credit reoprt?
-----------------------------
477 is about as bad as it can be
you must have nothing open that you have paid on time
usually about a 620 is as low as they go for home loans
i would say you are 1 year away from having better credit
you could start here
pay money down to get someone to open a card or two
one year later you will have your job, a house with equity
and
some good credit
-----------------------
What do you mean pay money down? On what?
----------------------
money down to open a new credit card
a 477 will not get new credit in most if not all cases
so money down should help

Medical collection on an insurance dispute. Remove clean delete

I have a medical collection due to an insurance dispute and would like some coaching to get it removed from my report. I am getting divorced and not receiving all the mail. My husband's insurance changed processing agents and was requesting documentation of additional coverage (which I didn't have) before they paid my claim. I was unaware of their request due to my husband's lack of notification. When I discovered the charge was on my report I called the doctor's office and paid the bill in full. Now I find out that I over paid because they were a PPO for our plan. The insurance company is paying the doctor directly and now I have to fight them to receive the overage plus they won't help me to remove it form my credit report. I haven't contacted the collection company yet and would like to know which is the best direction to go to have this issue resolved.
----------------------------
the ppo would be liable for the late payments
thats why to doctor bill doesnt want to help
all they see is you were late and thats all
maybe the ppo could help

but if you already paid there is no incentive to get the doctor to help now that they have the money in hand

so i would haggle with the ppo and see wht relief you can get
and of course the my husband thing will always be trouble
until
you are totally removed from all loans, insurance and anything credit

Parking ticket collection dropped credit score

My boyfriend has a collection for a parking ticket he was unaware he had … the car was not his vehicle he was on title, it was his daughters and the ticket got sent to collections he had his credit go from 759 to 640 over night we are trying desperately to refi his home. With that one collection how do we go about removing that collection he was never made aware of the collection or the ticket.. The car had been totaled in the middle of the ticket... his daughter had taken possession of the vehicle and moved out he had given her all the paper work and released the vehicle into her control and responsibility. They had gotten into a fight and he had no idea a ticket had happen.

The daughter in the mean time moved out and was suppose to go and remove her father from title and put the vehicle in her name, well the car had been totaled in a car accident, so she went and bought a new car.

The room mate of the daughter she was living with took the car and it died on a local street and he left it there now the daughter and the father have no idea that the car had been ticketed, the daughter went and picked the car up with out knowing or seeing the ticket.. So know one at this time knew there was a ticket.

So here we are 4 months later with a collection and unknown ticket and a dumped credit score.
-----------------------------------
you just need to call the collection agent and tell your story about how you didn't know anything and nothing is your fault. which of course is full of holes and sounds so normal.

ask for help
pay in full with interest if they will take it off

if is a second party collection
validate the debt first

negotiate anything you can

Unpaid collections and a judgment with huge interest

We are trying to currently fix our credit on our own and its a never ending battle but we got our score up to about 660, which is better than the 559 it was about 3 years ago. We have 2 questions that we cant seem to find an answer to.
1. we have several accounts that show UNPAID that are for the same debt but 2 different collections companies are reporting them. Can they do this? If not how do we get the older one removed?
2. We had a $1400 judgement almost 7 years ago. We have paid $10 a month for the last 3 years with no writted agreements to the collection agency on anything. We just gave them something because they tried to garnish her wages 3 years ago and this made them not pursue that. We assumed after all these years that the balance would be managable to pay off now but we called to get the balance today and now its over $1700. We never signed nor agreed to pay any kind of interest. Can they do this and what do we do now?
---------------------------
#1 use the debt validation form and get at least on or both collections removed in most cases.
yes they can they did. is it right moral and just. Porbably not. But not paying isn't either. If one validates the debt then negotiate and pay the debt as fast as possible IF YOU CAN.

#2 of course there will be interest. The bad news is you validated the debt. The good news is many times when a creditor accpets a partial payment they usually cannot take you to court. The bad news is you have already been to court. So I don't really know what the answer to court ordered payments might be. Your in a fix here and I am not sure what to tell you other than to try to negotiate a payment in full now if they drop interest.
- Show quoted text -

My husband and i are trying to raise his credit score

My husband and I are trying to raise his credit score. We are trying to consolidate our debt into a equity loan. We need a score of 660 to qualify. The scores right now are 679, 658 and 639. One 30 day late (April 07) that the creditor has agreed to correct (we have a letter of deletion) and the last negative is the amount we owe on cc's (ratios) that we are trying to refinace.

My questions are: boyfriend

#1 if the creditor has reported it to Transunion how can I get Transunion to show it. The creditor told me it is slow on their part but they checked twice and they sent the info on their part. Also in your estimate how many points would that add back if if got corrected?

#2 Would it help to reopen old accounts that we requested to be closed to show more credit avaliable so the ratio would come down. Also if we did this would it show as an inquiry on our credit?
-------------------------
a 30 day late that close to today will actually help alot. i am gonna guess 30 points but i don't know.

you can dispute the account yourself and say account not reported correctly, never late.

if you asked to have accounts reopend they would check your credit and put an inquiry on your credit report.

the ratio your talking about is not a ratio that matters avaiable credit ratio
you need to be concered with credit limit balance ratios to raise scores and debt to income ratios to show you have the ability to pay.

Trying to raise my fico score. Secured credit card or not

I have a question concerning bringing my fico scores up, if I go and get a secured credit card that reports to all 3 bureaus today will that bring my fico up or down when the credit card creditor reports it?
I am trying to bring my scores up I have a 602 at Trans union 585 at experian and a 595 at equifax.
And I also have 2 credit cards already one which I have had for 5 years they just increased yesterday (limit now is 1300.00) And the other one I have had for 6 months coming march they will increase it to 400.00. I always wanted a department store card such as walmart, do you think with these scores I can get approved for one?
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it takes 1 year to get a credit line rated.
no one can say you pay well unless they have worked with you for 12 months or more.

if you have 3 credit lines that report, concentrate on them and get no more

Served court documents for a judgment hearing on medical bill

i'm looking for advice. i was served by certified mail today for a 6 year old medical bill. i do not dispute it. i would like to know what options i may have on this $776.86 suit. like do i show up or not. let it go to judgement and if i did what could i expect to happen. and any other info you may have on what i can expect from all of this.
please help.
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it would be best to pay this before it goes to court
so the judgmen doesnt show up on your report

Collection came up after 7 years. What should I do?

Last week my credit union granted me $12K loan to pay off my payday loans and past due accounts. Well, I was thrilled, my prayers had been answered. Today I open the mail and there is a letter from a collection agency. I phone the agency, since I did not recall the bill and it was not on my credit report. Well, it turns out that the bill was from the 90s. It originally was a $2200 bill that my husband was suppose to pay in the divorce. Now they had added interest so the bill is $6200.00.

I am not trying to ignore my problems or bills. If I had known about this bill I would have put it in my consolidation loan. I wrote a letter informing the collection agency that I did not have $2200 to pay the lump sum for the settlement. I am requesting that they reduce it to $1500 and allow me to pay $100 per month for 15 months.

I just do not know why this bill appeared after all these years, and what happens if they do not take the $1500 offer?
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validate that debt
with vigor
1990's means it is more than 7 years old.

if they can't call your state attorney general, the ftc, the bbb

Trying to buy a house my husband lost job and credit cards

Hello. I have contacted you in the past. I am in credit card debt...not horribly, but in a bad spot ($3000). I filed bankruptcy in 2005 since then I have gotten credit cards and my husband lost his job. I have 4 of them. I was behind and worked out plans with 2 of them. The other two were horrible. Tribute and Aspen and I should have NEVER even gotten them. They have both closed my accounts and tell me that if I pay a ridiculous amount on them they will reopen them. Should I try to reopen them and how does this fix my credit any? I am trying to buy a house and this can't come at a worse time. What can I do to fix this situation and try to buy a house in the near future (next year or so). My credit score was something like a 450, but there were a lot of bills that I had paid or included in my bankruptcy on my credit report still. I am currently disputing some of these and providing proof of payment. I am working with a community program (Mustard Seed in Akron Ohio) that helps people like me buy homes. However, they aren't the best at getting back with me. Do you have any ideas of programs that can help me buy a house? Help with a down payment? Another question, with the interest rates being so low, should I still try to buy a house or should I scrap the idea? I am renting a house for $905 a month. I am POSITIVE I would pay less if I bought a house. In Ohio $905 is a lot of money for a 3 bedroom house in Cuyahoga Falls. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I am simply losing my mind and a lot of sleep.
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if you can
pay and re open the credit cards
after one year you ask them to only report the past 24 months like most revolving debt.
the old bad goes away and the new good raises your score even more.

whenever i hear someone talk about help with a downpayment and borrowing money for something, I am remided of an old finance here pay here philosophy.
No personal investment means it is too easy to walk away from.
So you really have to have some investment or most will not finance you. Maybe sweat equity or rent to own.

maybe you can't buy a house. Most of this is stable income and budget stuff. Until anyone works that out, the credit will be bad.

Medical bills sent to collections. Insurance

Hi, Bo

I emailed you before and you were a great help. But now I have another big issue that i seem to not be able to get off

I send valadtion letter to West assest after 30 days of no response I send Val follow up,
I then sent dispute letter to CRA that they sent me back as verified.

I then for the 3 and forth time requested detail bills from this company because I have had and still have medical insurance that they never billed. still with no response so I called company they told me they do not send bills

PLEASE HELP there is 17 account from them on CR
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if its insurance you have to work that our yourself
somehow

if one does not follow up on certified delivery mail
debt validation

call your state attorney general and the ftc and your local bbb

Fix my credit. Prioritize judgments and collections for payment and negotiation

I recently found your website while browsing "credit help". You have provided some useful tips, which I plan to use. My past credit history is pretty bad (mostly charge-offs and one judgement for a medical bill), although somehow I have managed to obtain a high interest car loan and 2 lines of credit in the last 2 years, with no late payments. I am a divorced mom (deadbeat ex, no child support, left me with bills, etc..) I am now at a point where I can TRY to pay off the old unpaid bills and chargeoffs (anywhere from 2-7 years old). My question is How do I prioritize which ones to pay first? I can't do them all at once. Mostly they are several small medical bills which have gone to collection, a couple of department store cards written off as charge-offs and then duplicated by collections, and one small utility bill that went to collections. The largest is the judgement (medical bill) for $1200.00. Suggestions on prioritizing? Which ones should I try to negotiate?
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forget the judgment if it is more than 2 years olds
as nothing more can be done to your credit and paying it probably will not help

With the collections i would go, one by one, with the debt validation and follow ups.if they can validate the debts
then negotiate as best you can and hope for the best.
start with the collections that are the freshest and the least.
then work your way to older and higher as you go.