Should I pay American Express or the collection CA

My charged-off account is with American Express; I owe $1,074 and can pay it in full. I have received letters from a CA willing to settle for $700. My Credit report lists only Amex. I was planning to reopen the account to replace the bad credit by paying in full. Would it report the same if I just settle with the CA for $700 and find an alternative source of credit (like Old Orchard). I spoke with Amex and inquired about any good will policy that could be implemented with payment in full – they referred me to their credit department (which I haven’t contacted yet). Since this will fall off in 2009, I want to avoid any re-dating by Amex, but I would also like to take care of my obligations.
--------------------------
It would be better to do business with amex
they will blackball you forever if you do not pay them no matter what your report says
and
you can get new good credit with them.
bypass the ca, but ask amex about the ca and if you pay will the ca go away
get something in writing, on business letter head before you pay
--------------------------------

Instant Free Credit Score Fix 1 problem online for free today. I use this one. $29.95 a month or cancel in less than 30 days and it's free.
Get legal credit repair Credit lawyers help dispute and get better credit.
Credit Cards for bad credit or no credit.
Debt Consultation for battling large debt loads, divorce or job loss.
------------------------------

Recently paid in full five accounts in collections. Will my FICO score increase?

I recently paid in full five accounts that were in collections. I’ve received letters from those companies that were collecting and I would like to fax these letters stating the accounts are closed and paid in full to the three credit bureaus. Can I do this? If so, how long after I fax these letters will my FICO score increase?
-------------------------------
you need to mail themfax number change like the taffic flows in LA
TransUnion P.O. Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 1-800-888-4213
Equifax P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 1-800-997-2493
Experian P.O. Box 2104 Allen, TX 75013-2104 1-888-397-3742
use certified delivery mail your score should change in less than 30 days
IF
the papers show paid in full AND as agreed
IF
they just show paidyour score might even drop for up to one year overall though you have done the right thing and over time you will be rewarded
----------------------
Instant Free Credit Score Fix 1 problem online for free today. I use this one. $29.95 a month or cancel in less than 30 days and it's free.
Get legal credit repair Credit lawyers help dispute and get better credit.
Credit Cards for bad credit or no credit.
Debt Consultation for battling large debt loads, divorce or job loss.

Credit help with debt paid letter

Once I have received a letter from the creditor stating the dept was paid and requesting removal, what do I do with it? The creditor was not a collection agency.
----------------------
copy it
then certify mailto the 3 bureaus
use this dispute form and instructions and addresses
then check you credit report for a credit score increase

Credit help questions for late payments, charge offs and court

I payed off a lot of deb with income taxes on my credit report it shows payed but is there anyway to get them off? I was reading Ur site and u was talking about get written letters saying the would take it off Ur credit if u agree to pay
which in my case is a cell phone bill
should i pay the attorney that sent me a letter or the cell phone company? My husband has a direct tv bill from when he was 18 and he is now 27 but it shows up when we try and get something but i don't see it on our credit report and directv doesn't help when i try and call them b/c the said they need a address he doesn't remember it one more question we both have 3 open accounts but one of his is through citi financial really high interest rates should we pay them off please help with any question need to get score up
---------------------------
number one credit help mistake
paying off past bad debt BEFORE you talk to them and ask for help, removal, or to reopen.
i would try to re open anything that i paid off and after 12-24 months ask them to only report the past 24 months. ATTORNEY. OOOOPPPPS your in trouble there.
I would call the cell company first
attorney second and BEG. Dispute the direct TV bill with the credit dispute form. say not yours you never lived at that address.
you should pay the citi card down to less than 79% of your high credit limit. Keep it open and pay good for 1 -2 years.

Old Paid Collection Items-Help!!

Scenario; paid collections (5 total) back in 2006- have documentation-cancelled checks, letters from collections agency per agreement to pay.
Fast forward: New collections agency showed up on my credit report reporting same 5 debts as unpaid. forwarded proof to all three credit bureaus- report updated to show as paid collections to current collection agency, but I did not pay them... and that I did pay ...it was more than 2 yrs ago and to a different company. Next issue: when I was laid off in 2001,,I promptly applied for the credit protection insurance that I paid for each month prior to becoming employed- a few of the accounts were charged off, however insurance was paid on these few accounts. Have documentation from insurance company detailing each payment and date paid. Problem: Accounts sold to collections agency who is reporting the account as unpaid. How do I find out the charge off date and the balance owed at the time of charge off- I would like to compare amount owed at the time of charge off with the amount that was paid by the insurance company so that I can at least reduce the amount owed or show that it was paid in full prior to being transferred to the many collection agencies over the past seven years ( BTW- the most recent collection agency list the date of last activity as 2003- ( I have a credit report form 7 years ago which is contrary to what they are reporting . any advice would be appreciated.
-----------------
i would legally vaildate the debts with the new collectors trying to double your payout.
send them the copies of your payments and let them know you expect total removal or court action i have found protection insurance to be just like what you said
slow but after proding they do pay, usually after you credit crashes. I think i might be highly upset with them
i would file a compliant with the bbb and maybe call the state attorney general about this credit card proctection...HA collectors are not allowed to change dates.
this is a violation of the fair credit reporting act i would validate those debts and debate court action go to yahoo groups
credit repair
ask for smurf handy... tell her bo sent you as you want to sue some @ss
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Thanks for your timely response and I will follow up with smurf handy ASAP!
--------------------------------
by the way
i do not like smuf handy BUT she has some very real talent

$88.00 car insurance bill went to collections. I want to negotiate to have it removed

I have an $88.00 car insurance bill that has been passed on to a collections agency. I contacted the agency and tried to negotiate a full payment for the removal of all bad marks on my credit report involving this debt. They told me that they can not do this without the approval of the insurance company. I then contacted the insurance company and they said that they can not remove any past marks on my credit report unless an error was made. They said that the Federal Government prohibits this. I have done some research online, including your site, that tells me that this is in fact possible, so I am not sure what to do now. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.
--------------------------------------

you bump into this all the time
mostly with utilties

everything they said is true. By law they would be calling themselves liars if they said you were late once then came back later and said, "ooooops he was never late".

some creditors will work with you, some will not. 80.00. I would think thye just don't care enough about your 80.00 so they just wack you with and don't care if you pay. It's on your report.

My suggestion is to pay the collection and try to make sure the collection does not go on your credit report and make sue they 80.00 shows paid on the original account. If not this could last forever and 80.00 aint no money to mess up your credit over and over. pay and be done

disputed some collections, asked asked Discover if they would re-open my charge off

My average score is 627, my highest is 650 with Equifax. I have a few things in the works right now and I was wondering if you could tell me maybe how much my credit score will jump if these things get through. My girlfriend and I are thinking of buying a house. Her credit is 800+ but I make more money. Do you think we'll have trouble?1. I have disputed some collections on my report and sent letters to the bureaus. I have not heard anything back yet. It's only been a few days though. Most of them are paid (there's like 4 total) and I know they probably won't come off. 2. I have sent a letter to Citibank (student loans) to ask they remove late payments as I have paid on time for the last 24 months. The late payments were from 2005 - I have turned around and paid over the maximum every month for 24 months. 3. I had/have a charge-off with discover. I called and asked if they would either re-open my account if I sent them money, or remove the item from my report if I paid. They said all they could do was report "paid in full / settled" on my report. I said that was fine. I finished paying that off yesterday. They have sent a letter to the CRAs to update the status. How much can I expect my score to jump? Only #3 is the "for sure" thing, the others might not happen.
----------------------
you could go up to 700+

if
nothing shows negative for the past 24 months with citi bank
and
you have 3 lines of new good credit paid down to less than 80% balance owed to high credit limit.

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

Judgment paid in full but shows balances owed on my credit report

I have a question regarding a judgement that was placed on my credit. It was through a small claims court and I paid it all of the day it was due. I have documentation to prove it. Is there any way I can get this deleted from my credit ort does it show as a pay off?
--------------------
www.oskie.com/credit-dispute.htm
go here and dispute the acount as paid in full

it should show paid in full zero balance
but
the judgment will show on your report for 7 years
after 2 years pass the judment will not hurt your credit
if
you keep good current open credit that is reported to bureaus

Medical bill charged off and sent to collection agencies.

Hey Bo I wanted some advice. I have some medical bill and I have paid them. They were with collection agencies. Can I still have them remove the bad information? What do you say to them. also with charged-off credit cards what do you say?
------------------
one must negotiate BEfor you pay to get the bad marks off

the credit cars are a different story
pay them off
then reopn the same acount with a downpayment
call and tell them before hand you are trying to be a reasonable credit worthy person and need help

after 6 mo, 12 mo, 24 mos
ask them to report only the past 24 month preriod
since these are revovling credit lines
they usually only report the past 24 months anyway
so your not asking for much

i did it with a bp oil card
-----------------
Bo what about with cards like capital one. I have a charge off account and they are still charging me interest. what do you suggest?
------------------
call them
ask for some way to get back in good graces
be willing to pay a downpayment on top of what you owe
ak for help with interest and penalties

explain you are trying to buy a home and be a reasonable credit person
ask for help
you are a ood person who had some problems
just give me a chance
------------
Bo I wanted to ask you if old accounts are removed say tha have passed the statue will that help you beacon.
---------------------
yes but not much
as accounts from today
back two years
count for 80% of ones score

7 years is when account comes off your report
so keep good recent credit open

http://www.oskie.com/raise_credit_score_fast_quickly_free.htm

http://www.oskie.com/get-new-good-credit-started-have-no-credit-got-turned-down.htm
------------------
Bo I am confused about the validation? I do have charge off accounts so do I just sent the letter and what happen with the account while it is being validated. I am in the process of trying to settle with a collection company for Sams card I asked him if they would remove it or show it paid in full. But he said they did not do that. Did I ask the right thing? What are my other options?
----------------
validation is best used for collections from second or third parties

sams is a first party
so validation is not what you need wuth sams

you have done right with them
try to get them to remove if paid in full
if they will not ask them to settle for less, and mark paid in full
if they will not do that ask for marked paid in full with no new date of last activity at least, if you pay in full

Paid Collection. Remove from my credit report.

Was married in 2001 and had a account with a utility company with both me and my wife's name on it. Separated in August of 2001 and moved out of the house. Divorce went final in July of 2003. Ex-wife moved out of the house we had in April of 2005 and left behind this utility bill unpaid. I learned about this account in October of this year and paid it off after it had been in collections. Now I am trying to get it removed from my credit report. I have disputed it with all 3 credit agencies and asked both original company to remove it (they accepted payment and it is paid), plus asked the collection agency to remove their report of this account. All parties refuse to remove this account and as you know it is a major hit on my credit rating at this time. Any suggestions on how to get it removed? Any help is greatly appreciated.
---------------
you have done everything you can dp.
get and keep new good credit to overcome the past old bad credit

Get a collection removed from my credit report.

I was wondering how I can get a collection removed from my credit report? I looked up my report (Experian), and it said I had a collection for 58.00. I called the collection company as directed by experian, they said it had been paid. I told the lady it should not be on my report then, (that is what experian told me as well). How do I get them to remove this. The collection agency said they were mailing me a reciept as paid, so I could send it to Experian
----------------
Use this free universal Credit Dispute Form.
The item will come right off.
You can use a copy of the document they send you.
Remember that it will still show up as a collection
It will say collection. Paid in full 0 balance.

Paying off old charge offs and a judgement. My credit score

I am paying off old charge off accounts, will this have any impact on my credit score. In addition, I had judgement placed in 1999, I paid it in full 10/2000. It should have been removed in 2007. Once this is removed, shouldn't my score improve? I have paid off 4 charged-off accounts this year. I live in Texas and these accounts, not all were paid delinquent when I divorced in 1997.
---------------------
it should help some. but if you have new current good credit, which one has to have, to have good scores. Not more than 20+ points.
get and keep new good credit.
---------------------
What do you mean, " not more than 20+ points?" Do you mean that paying the old bills will only increase my score by 20 points or new good credit will increase by 20+ points
-----------------
what is your score now
do you have 3 open rated lines of credit now
I mean if you have good credit now and the charge offs are more than 2 years old your credit score should be pretty strong already
-------------------
I do not know my score. I have not checked it since 2000. I am sending for it this month, and yes I have 3 open rated lines of credit.
-------------
One should know the score and have a copy of the report
Good.
You are on the right track.
Negotiate with and pay off old charge offs. Vaildate any duplicates.
-----------------
Well, I got a copy of my score and it is 589. My plan is to pay down my balances, and pay off accounts. I am currently paying accounts, but these accounts have already been charged off, but I have an obligation to repay. How long will it take me to raise my credit score to 650. I want to purchase a new car, hopefully in June.
----------------
I would dispute some old stuff and hope
paying something off will help you greatly
june is 9 months from now.
with 3 open rated lines off good credit, some paid, some removed, 650 is reachable. Of course I never know for sure till I do it.
You can. Go for it.
--------------------
I was looking over old emails
and
your score could jump way over 20+ points and
could go up to 650
if
you keep 3 open lines of credit that are reported to bureaus and owe less than 80% on the credit limit of each.
Validate legally / then / Negotiate any old bad credit Read this page

be sure to negotiate with original creditors.
be sure to validate any duplicate charge offs
like a collection thats is also reported from a credit card or hospital or utility.

This is the right answer.
Sorry for the mumbo jumbo

Bad checks telecheck check system

I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE FOUND YOUR WEBSITE ... DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I WAS PLANNING TO PAY SOME CREDIT REPAIR COMPANY? I HAVE A QUESTION ... CAN YOU SUGGEST A SECOND CHANCE BANK BECAUSE I GOT MY NAME BOTH IN CHECKSYSTEM AND TELECHECK .... THANKs
--------
the checks have to be paid off
if you want to open an account or write checks.
Telecheck puts your ss# into a national databank for check writing
Unles you pay the bad checks you will not be able to wrtie anymore if the company uses tele check or check system.

Got a lowes card charged off Ge Citi 7300

I “had” perfect credit and a very high credit score. I have never paid a bill late in my life.

I purchased cabinets at Lowes a year ago and applied for a Lowes card with 12 mo/no interest/no payment. I didn’t open the first few statements since no pmt was due.

A few months later I got a call that I was late. I explained it was no interest/no pmts. I got a third call in Dec that at first said I was late. Then the Lowes rep checked and said “you ARE under promotion and it wasn’t entered correctly”.

I admit I am remiss in that I didn’t verify it was fixed, but I received no more calls from Lowe’s, so I assumed it was ok.

In Spring 07, I received a call from a collections company. I do not know if it was Lowe’s GE credit company, or an outside company. I assumed they had outdated info and refused to deal with them. I answered no more “out of area” calls.

Shortly before my one year mark, I attempted to pay Lowes online, but my account wouldn’t allow a pmt. By now, I had misplaced my contract, so I called the local Lowes and asked them to send me a copy. It took several calls and faxes and ended up being only the install portion. By now, I was past the 12 mo date.

So I went to Lowes and talked to the head manager. He was very nice and assured me they would get it fixed. I told him it might be in collections and now it was past the 12 mo mark, but he said they might be able to undo that. He contacted GE and GE wants me to send a dispute letter, but the manager is trying to get me a copy of the contract first.

Coincidentally, one day after I talked to the Lowe’s manager, CTI, a collections company, called me at work and said I can only pay THEM now. They started to offer a lower amount, but I said I didn’t want to “settle”, as that would stay on my credit report and get reported to the IRS. I said I wanted to pay the original amount (no interest or late fees), but I wanted assurance that nothing negative would be on my credit report.

When I told them about the no interest/no pmts mistake, they said they would call Lowe’s/GE. I regret talking to them now, in case they muck up what the manager is trying to do from the Lowes/GE end.

#1 – If Lowes/GE sees the 12 mo no interest/no payments on my contract, can they legally pull it back from CTI and let me pay them? If I have to I will pay the interest, even dating back to the purchase date since I went past the 12 mo mark, but what would I need first from them to assure me they will clean up my credit report?

#2 – Any chance they will refuse to give me a copy of the contract? If they get wind that I have lost mine, will they lie and delete the no interest part? (I’m a bit worried it was never put on there, but I have hope since the one agent did admit seeing it).

#3 – If the contract does not state “no interest” and I have to deal with CTI, what should I get from CTI prior to paying? CTI mentioned a “paid as agreed”, but I see you suggest “paid as agreed and on time”. What else can I ask CTI to do to remove any trace of negative info?

#4 – Even if I get CTI to do these things, won’t Lowe’s keep reporting negative info? I would think I have no leverage to demand Lowe’s fix anything if I am not paying them.


My main consideration is in undoing the damage to my credit, not paying the least amount.

Original - $6600
Charge off to CTI – either $6600 or $6900 (couldn’t clarify)
CTI’s current amount - $7300

I know I brought this on myself by procrastinating and not following up with Lowe’s. But I feel they made the first mistake and should be willing to consider that.

Thanks for any help you can give me. (Please reply to all, so that I can get it at home).
---------------------------------
BO
you didnt do right on the lowes from the start
they alerted you there might be a problem and you ducked it.
that will get you burned no matter who is right or wrong.

all you can do is pay it and go on
negotiate but pay it no matter what they agree to
--------------------------
You are so right.

But what should I ask either Lowes or CTI to put in writing prior to me paying them anything?

Is “paid as agreed on time” all I need to make sure my credit is fixed?

Thanks for replying – I read your blog too and you have very useful info.
------------------------
Bo
this is the best full answer for an uneven but frequent question I get
Citi is lowes
but maybe lowes can you you on their end too
---------

College discover card and master card maxed out. Remove fix clean delete late payments raise credit score

In college i was given a discover and Mastercard that i maxed out and eventually had serveral late payments. After graduating I was able to pay off both of the cards. During college i closed both of the cards, thinking that it would help me. In 2006 my credit report showed that both cards were paid in full. I thought that i needed to establish good credit by getting a new credit card. The only company that approved me was capital one. I have been paying all of my bills ontime, but my credit still lingers around 640. What should i do to increase my credit. Currently i have a balance on my capital one card. Also, is there anything that i could do to have the late payments removed from my credit report -i.e. discover and mastercard? Should i open the discover card account - which is my oldest account - and have my balance transfered from capital one? Please help! Also, I have amortgage and two other credit cards open which are in good standing. My goal is to hopefully have a minimum credit score of 750 in the near future
-----------------------
if you had late payments and paid something off before negotiating you cannot help your report.
Unless
I re open one of those same accounts, pay good 1 year, then ask for removal of old lates.

get 3 open rated accounts with no past lates, drop balances on credit limits to less than 80% of maximum.

shoot for 700-720

My credit score went down when I paid a collection

On 6-7-07 my score was 650 that same month Capital One raised mycredit limit from $300 to $1,800 (%18) as well as Washington Mutual approved me for an $8,000 card (%9). I have a secured loan for a boat and have never been late. There are two vehicle payoffs paid never late since 2003. Now 10-10-07 my score is 642. I thought I was doing great until I paid $200 on a $3,000 medical collection that was never on my credit but now is ( I was alerted today 10-11-07 of this new entry to my credit). I never thought apayment would have such a negative impact on my credit.
My question: Since I have all but this one huge medical bill and the others were paid between 20 and 65 days ago would it help to file a dispute withthe CA's in hopes of getting these collections updated to paid status any faster? It's now mid October and I had planned on making a vehicle purchase in December of $30,000 with about $8,000 down and am afraid that since my credit appears to be collapsing I'm going to either not get approved or get approved with a high interest rate. I have approximately $1,800 a month of disposable income. Normally I would wait on a vehicle but due to a manufacture change I am running out of time to buy this particular vehicle type.
WaMu- $8,000 limit with $5,200 balance
Cap One- $1,800 limit $1,000 balance
Vehicle 1 payoff 2003
Vehicle 2 payoff 7-2007
Boat - paying since 4-2006 never late
Truck to pull boat - on wish list
---------------------------
Bo
One should validate and negotiate before they pay.
call the collections agency and talk to them.
ask for no new dates at least. totally removal if you pay in full now.
you have enough money to do it. Once a person pays on a debt, they validate the debt themselves.

I would rather close cap one (had problems with reporting maxed out all the time) if it is over 1 year old.
get one if these credit cards instead.
they will not help until 1 year passes.

the interest rate difference from 650 - 620 is not more than 1% if you have 5000.00 down on most car loans. Do you have a credit union. sometimes all collections have to be paid with credit unions. Credit Unions provide very competitive rates.

Even though your score went down right now it will go back up soon if you keep good current credit going.

Desperate Student with credit card problems. Charge offs.

On campus, 18yo freshman are bombarded by credit card companies and Before I knew i was in some serious debt and stressed out to the max. I know have ruined my credit and at the age of 25 my independent life is just beginning. I actually had to take some time off school b/c of the high stress levels. I am currently back in school, Graduating next year. I would like to buy a home, car ect. However I don't know where to begin on fixing my credit. This summer I did pay off four accounts that had gone to collections but I still have three accounts that are not paid also in collections. How do I get the accounts I paid, off my report? Also, How should i go about paying off the accounts in collections? Should I pay them off? Its been awhile since they were charged Off? Is this too many questions?
------------------------
Pay off a couple cards and reopen the same card with the same account number if possible.
Send them upfront goodwill money to do it.
After 1 year your score will leap.

On a scale of 1 to 10 what is the likelyness of a collection agency removing a charged-off account once paid in full. Who should I contact the original company, because they always refer you to the collection agency immediately. Shoulf I even becalling theses people because they are extremelyhostile at times.
----------------------
Once paid?
Nothing
Before paid 50 / 50

Collections and debt validation, paid in full, pay in full

# 1) I have two accounts on my report, that have been forwarded to a Collector. I have had better response from the Creditor than theCollectors. I have not rec'vd any validations from the collectors tothis date. I want to contract the credit bureau, informing them that Ihave sent these collectors Debt validation letters with no response, butI don't want to open a can of worms. To this point, I have decided todeal with the creditor who is not on my report. Do I just send a letterto the Creditor for negotiation and deal with them?
#2) I disputed an account with a Creditor, who sent me a letter statingthey would be contacting the Credit Reporting Agencies to have the itemDeleted from my report. Two of the three have deleted the item from myreport and the other one is still holding off.
#3) I have been in dispute with a Collector on an account that was paid in full prior to them purchasing the account. I have sent them all theback up pertaining to the account with no response. I have since sentthe documents to the Credit Agencies, who, two out of three have removethe account, but again, one is not budging.
#4) Can a collector who have been DELETED from your report, go backafter the SOL have run out, no debt validation given be added back toyour report?
-------------------
anything can happen in credit reporting
sounds like your are doing all you can
i would negotiate with the first creditor of they are willing. They can ask for removal of a collection they assigned. Sometimes they don't. But if you can pay it do and go on.