Calicurli Tracker

Re: Trying to rebuild, feel like a cat with its head stuck in a paper bag

Calicurli — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:34:10 GMT

Hi Robert!

Thank you so much for taking the time to review my situation.

I'm not understanding "date of derog." Do you mean the date it became a C/O?

I never thought about hiring a lawyer for the other items.

By the way, I don't think you sound negative at all. :smileyhappy: Practicality is the truth. I do wish to pay off each one of them but my concern is the OC wants a lump sum payment. I've tried contacting more than one and they only refer me to a CA. I will not give up!

Trying to rebuild, feel like a cat with its head stuck in a paper bag

Calicurli — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:26:49 GMT

I'd like to start off by saying that this site is so helpful!

For those who have or are rebuilding, I'd love to get your advice, please, on which way to go. I've read through various posts and familiarized myself with various methods of rebuilding but still feel overwhelmed.

I currently have 6 baddies on my report which I'm trying to resolve. These are from TU.

My goal is to rebuild so I can eventually get another car if I need to finance from a non-BHPH lot (I'd prefer to pay cash but live in an area where private party autos get snapped up like crazy so I need a Plan B; in the meantime I'm driving a very, very basic car which runs but won't last forever) and perhaps one day buy my 1st house. The baddies are the result of a time of unemployment (no unemployment pay - wasn't fired, long story) followed by my then-limited salary keeping the roof over the head of two people. For a time I was able to make my monthly payment arrangements, however things changed and I fell behind again.

I do not want to file for BK and was told I now make too much $ anyway.

By the time I was able to get a decent salary, my creditors were not willing to talk to me. Suffice it to say, 2009 was not my year. :smileysurprised:

Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to PIF. I might be able to do a settlement but it would be waaay less than the original balance if the OCs would like it in one lump sum and I could only pay one at a time.

I also don't want to awaken the sleeping giant if time is what will help my score get back up.

Adverse Accounts:

BofA CC - C/O. Bal: $5,365.00. Listed as "closed by consumer" though this is not accurate. In order for me to make payment arrangements on my past-due balance, they forced me to close the card. Date est to drop off: 3/2016. Currently have been contacted by one CA for payment but I'm on my 2nd round of DV with them because they still haven't proved I owe them. The CA has not reported to any three of the bureaus.
Bethpage FCU (Credit Union line of credit) - C/O. Bal: $4,933.00. Listed as "profit and loss writeoff". Date est to drop off: 6/2016.Was contacted by one CA, have not heard from them since I sent a DV letter.
Citibank CC - C/O. Bal: $8,703.00. Listed as "closed by credit grantor". Is the same situation as BofA. Date est to drop off: 1/2014. Currently am battling with a CA law office who has filed a suit in court claiming to represent Citibank. I am working on getting the suit dismissed because Citi no longer owns it.
Discover CC - C/O. Bal: $6,757.00. Is the same as BofA & Citibank. Date est to drop off: 10/2015. Was contacted by a CA, they disappeared after the DV letter was received.
Meriwest CU - Repo. Bal: $10,762.00. Date est to drop off: 4/2016. This is currently in litigation and has turned into a class-action lawsuit. My lawyer estimates it will take about a year to clear this up and remove the mark from my credit report which means around December of this year.
West Asset Mgmt - Collection (this was an old ER bill that I've been paying down, albeit slowly with everything else going on). Bal: $200.00. Date est to drop off: 2/2015. Since I still have access to pay this down online, was wondering if it's worth it to go through the HIPAA process or just send a note to the ER who is the OC.

Thanks to anyone who is able to help!

Message Edited by Calicurli on 03-06-2010 10:24 PM

Message Edited by Calicurli on 03-06-2010 10:26 PM

Re: Please help! Being sued by a two-bit "Law firm" on behalf of Citibank - need input

Calicurli — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:18:27 GMT

@ jesslyn: Thank you so much for your input! I met with a lawyer today. However, I may still try to contact H&H to work out a payment plan but still answer the complaint.

@ valley_man: Thank you for sharing your experience as well. I'm sorry to hear they still garnished your pay. From what I was told by the lawyers, the garnishment in CA is *25%* of take-home pay.

As a warning to those of you with cards backed by Citibank: be very, very careful. The law office I met with said they are starting to go after defaulted amounts as little as $1200. Guess they figure the head office has to repay the generous bailout $$ somehow. :smileywink:

Message Edited by Calicurli on 11-09-2009 08:18 PM

Please help! Being sued by a two-bit "Law firm" on behalf of Citibank - need input

Calicurli — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:13:41 GMT

First, I'd like to thank everyone who is able to give any input or had a similar situation and has advice.

I live in Northern California.

After going back and forth with Citibank and trying to negotiate a payment arrangement within my budget and an unfortunate series of life events, I got nowhere and they decided to sic this firm, Hunt & Henriques on me. Ironically, I know someone who worked there and quit because they were so unethical.

I do acknowledge the debt is mine and legit. It is within SOL. According to the complaint filed, they are collecting on behalf of Citibank South Dakota.

My sister told me that she looked on our county's Superior Court website and sure enough, there was my name with about 50 others, all brought to the court by H&H, mostly for Citibank (at least I wasn't alone - we're all victims in this economy). There is currently no court date scheduled.

About two days before receiving the summons, I got a letter in the mail from them in the tone of "If you contact us to make payment arrangements, we won't sue you." Funny, because they had already filed and knew darn well they would sue.

I understand that I need to answer the summons, but was curious if at this point it made sense to contact them to set up payment arrangements since Citibank won't deal with me "due to my (closed) account being in litigation." Would it stop any further legal action if I talk to them or the court about filing a motion to dismiss the case? They will get a judgment over my dead body. :smileyhappy:

And yes, I am currently researching local lawyers to look over the paperwork but welcome insights from those "on the ground" who have lived to tell the tale. :smileywink:

Message Edited by Calicurli on 11-09-2009 08:13 PM

Re: NO SIGNED CONTRACT LENDER REPORTS A REPOSSESSION

Calicurli — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:55:54 GMT

Good show! Glad you stayed on them, Brett. I have a couple of accounts with them and they have done some things that I told them weren't necessarily illegal, but reflect an unethical way of dealing with their customers. I actually regret signing up with them.

If you would not mind sharing, may I have the name of the lawyer you spoke with?

Yes, I had talked to a couple of people at the Chesbro Branch.

What happened to me was I had a vehicle with them for about 2 years which they repo'd for a payment late by 35 days. The odd thing was I'd been in contact with them two days before the repo, which happened late May. Even stranger, I received a letter dated 7 days before the repo stating they were marking my file to receive a payment by May 31st for the past-due monthly payment, but they still took it two days before the file was due to receive payment.

I am thinking of having a longer session with a lawyer because I saw information in my research stating if a lender had accepted late payments in the past and did not repo then (at one point, I had one month beyond my control when it was about 42 days late, but it got paid and the current month was paid on time), perhaps it is null and void. However, I'm not sure if the car being taken voided the original contract.

Also, I finally received my deficiency balance notice in the mail yesterday and since I do not have the ridiculous sum of money they are demanding within 10 days, I will have to make payment arrangements or take the chance they send it to an outside collection agency and I then settle with them. However, I am investigating settling the account because of the amount due (over $10K) and currently I am the only one working in my household.Plus, I do not know if Meriwest wil follow through on their threat/promise to bring an attorney into the mix.

For anyone else reading this message, what type of letter would you recommend I send to the Credit Union?

I am even considering retaining a professional debt settlement firm because of the large amount of the balance due. I understand that settlements look bad on your credit, but with what I've been through financially these past couple of years at this time the point is moot. Like so many others on this board, I used to be the type of person who paid bills early (including my previous car loan) but then life and the economy happened. I do feel that it will get batter soon, just have to weather this storm.

Re: NO SIGNED CONTRACT LENDER REPORTS A REPOSSESSION

Calicurli — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:19:47 GMT

Ouch!

I am not sure if you live near or in the San Jose area, but there is a program called "Lawyers in the Library". If you call early enough on a Monday you can get a free, 20-min appointment with a Lawyer in the Martin Luther King Library. As a matter of fact, I am going to see them today after work about Meriwest.

If you'd like more info, you can google "Lawyers in the Library" or feel free to PM me.

Re: NO SIGNED CONTRACT LENDER REPORTS A REPOSSESSION

Calicurli — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 05:30:01 GMT

Hi Brett,

I'm curious to know - what was the outcome of this?

I've PM'd you as well.

Calicurlee

Re: capital one backdoor number no longer works

Calicurli — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:25:16 GMT

Thank you everyone who posted these #s. I just tried the 9939 one and got a $300 CLI!! The other one didn't work, so I'm so glad I tried again.

The limit was doubled from 300 to 600 and should go up again with the Credit Steps program.

Anyone who is skeptical about them may want to talk to them - they seemed to have changed from the CapOne of yore. :smileywink:

Message Edited by Calicurli on 12-29-2008 01:25 PM

Re: DMP and future first-time homebuyer: do they mix?

Calicurli — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:56:29 GMT

Wow everyone, thanks for weighing in!

Re: DMP and future first-time homebuyer: do they mix?

Calicurli — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:21:55 GMT

DallasLoanGuy, you bring up another good point - I've heard that in some cases a DMP is construed just as bad, if not worse than, a bankruptcy. Never understood that. If you're in a DMP, they have a defined limit of time to pay off the creditor and the creditor still gets their money. You get to keep the payments showing "current" on your credit reports.

Isn't a DMP a better option than defaulting if you can't meet the minimum payments the creditor's asking?

Since this is Discover I'm dealing with, the word on the street is either that they won't offer a settlement until your account's 90 days delinquent (which messes up your credit too) or that they will sue you for the balance.

Thanks to both of you for listening. This is a situation I've never been in before, so I'm learning as I go.

Re: DMP and future first-time homebuyer: do they mix?

Calicurli — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:18:03 GMT

Excellent suggestion UpUpUp and yes, I've been talking to them a lot over the past two weeks.

Discover told me they could put me on a payment plan, but it would only be for 1 year and the committment they need from me is more than I can do in my budget right *now*. Hopefully this will change within the next 6 months.

I should also note that the Discover payment program's APR is higher. Currently, I'm paying 23.99% (on top of late- and over-the-limit fees of $39 a pop which they put under "purchases"); their program would reduce it to 19.99% but the DMP would reduce it to 15.99%.

Message Edited by Calicurli on 10-22-2008 12:18 PM

DMP and future first-time homebuyer: do they mix?

Calicurli — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 06:27:51 GMT

Hello -

I am currently a renter and have been for about 6 years ago.

I was thinking down the line of possibly buying a house one day.

However, there is a chance that I may have to enter into a DMP for one creditor (Discover Card - account is suspended but reporting current) because this is the only way to pay this off within my budget.

I do have positive tradelines which are increasing my credit score because of decreasing balances.

My question is: how do mortgage companies view a DMP? If I proceed with the program, this would be my first one ever in my 11-year credit history. The only reason I'm having to do this is to avoid default on the account.

Thank you.

Creditors constantly hounding you? Give 'em the silent treatment for less than the cost of CMRR!

Calicurli — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:12:29 GMT

These boards are so full of great info!

Instead of simply lurking, I wanted to return the favor.

I'd like to offer a couple of tips you might find helpful for dealing with creditors possessing an overzealous autodialer or crazy in-house collector while you are trying to sort things out. You know who I'm talking about - they disrupt you 10x/day to ask where your payment is while you're trying to sort things out (as you've told them before and they won't help you) or want to give you the latest and greatest upsell.

Either way, they either wake you up early Sunday morning or disturb a rare, quiet evening at home. :robotmad:

First tip: Cell phones are your friend!

If applying for credit and you have a cell phone, provide that number. Dealing with an existing creditor? That's ok! Please read on:

When they call you, either abort the call or let it go to voicemail. Now you have their number(s) (literally) Save it to your phone book. Most phones have a way to assign each entry a seperate ringtone or profile. Set theirs to "silent". Next time they call, you won't know until you get the voicemail notification. :smileyhappy:

I have done this with both Discover and NCO.

Second tip: Harness the power of the internet!

This tip can be used regardless if you have a cell phone or not: most creditors have a way for you to make payments online, right?

Ok - go to the site and find where your phone number, address, etc is listed. Look for an asterisk, dot, bold or red type. It's not there? Great! That means it's not required. Now, go to the field and delete your phone number. Replace it with zeroes (ex: 000-000-0000). The system doesn't accept it? Try your area code followed by zeroes (ex: 123-000-0000). Still won't take it? Try repeating digits (ex: 123-123-1231). Just be sure to Google the number to make sure it doesn't belong to someone else.

If for some reason you have to talk to them after you make the change and they press you for a number, tell them the truth (for instance: "My employer doesn't like us getting personal calls at work/doesn't allow giving out our work phone number"; "My number is unlisted" or my favorite "I decline, thank you".)

The beauty of both of these tips is that your creditor can still contact you via snail mail or

e-mail (since they will likely have your home address or e-mail address or both) and you will now have a paper trail when they do.

There you have it! Hopefully this will relieve a little bit of the stress of dealing with debt.

Re: A penny for your thoughts: clds and future FICO scoring

Calicurli — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:38:06 GMT

Thank you, everyone who's posted so far. Appreciate your sharing. :smileyhappy:

A penny for your thoughts: clds and future FICO scoring

Calicurli — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:06:56 GMT

Hi everyone -

Just curious to get your opinion:

Since it's apparently becoming the "in thing" now for a growing number of credit card companies to give clds (even to their most loyal cardholders), do you feel this could possibly bring about another change to FICO scoring down the line since util is part of the equation?

Has anyone done a balance transfer FROM Discover Card to another card?

Calicurli — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:39:11 GMT

Hi my FICO posters:

Have any of you decided to escape from Discover's charging fees at every turn by doing a balance transfer? What issues did you encounter? How long did it take to complete?

Message Edited by Calicurli on 10-14-2008 06:39 PM

Re: Bill Me Later

Calicurli — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:39:04 GMT

Hi there -

They do not report at all to any of the three credit bureaus.

I have just completed a settlement with them and checked to be sure they didn't add any baddies to the mix. The only thing noted was their initial inquiry.

Re: Car rental while rebuilding credit

Calicurli — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:13:44 GMT

Whoa! I didn't know about rental companies doing a hard pull on your credit. :smileymad:

Thanks for dropping some knowledge on us. :smileywink:

Crazy high score needed to refinance auto loan, is this true?

Calicurli — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:32:44 GMT

Hi everyone -

I was talking to a loan officer (not applying, just asking questions) at my local Credit Union.

He told me not to even think of applying for refinancing my auto loan until I had a least a 680.

Now, I have applied in the past for refinancing and was turned down. But right now my scores are in the low 500s (EX) and 530s (TU and EQ).

For those of you who have successfully refinanced, do you find this was the case?

Message Edited by Calicurli on 05-23-2008 06:53 PM

Message Edited by Calicurli on 06-11-2008 03:32 PM

Re: Car rental while rebuilding credit

Calicurli — Sat, 24 May 2008 01:28:38 GMT

Thank you everyone for all of your great advice.

I have tried Cap 1 and was denied unfortunately (twice!)

I am definitely interested in a CLI, but I just opened this card so I'm sure it'll take a few months.