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Hello,
I am grateful to have found this forum. I was searching for credit attorneys when this forum came up in the Google search results. After reading a lot of what you all have written, I've decided that I am going to go about the credit repair by myslef.
From my reserach on here, it looks like negative items can be removed from my report as long as they've been paid. Well, that's my situation, 3 negative items that have all been paid off.
COMCAST CABLE/CMI COLLECTIONS- $250 debt (put on my report 4 months ago. Paid off entirely 2 months ago.
Healthcare Company- $90 (put on my report 5.5 years ago. Paid off 5.5 years ago. They put it on my report. 3 days after it was on my report they gave me a call and I paid it immediately. I wish they would have called me previously but oh well.)
Questar Gas/Utility Company- $140
This one is a little trickier. They gave the bill to the Collections Agency. The Agency then gave it to an Attorney and I was given papers to show up to court. Luckily, I got the money in time so I was able to pay the initial bill and late fees and any other fees that kept it out of court.
(Went on my report in September 2011. Paid everything off in November 2011.)
Then I have a few late credit card payments...
However, the problems have done a number on my credit going from a score of 680 to a score of 522. And I thought 680 was bad before. WOW!
Anyway, it's time to start the rebuilding process.
Do I contact the Credit Bureaus first and dispute the negative information since it has been already been paid?
Or do I contact the creditor and the collections agency, or one or the other?
We're moving into a new apartment in a couple of months and I am worried that our application will be rejected because of my low credit score. Please help this newbie out.
Thanks,
Shaun
P.S.
What are these terms-
DV?
GW?
PFD?
Welcome!
DV = Debt Validation - sent to the collection agency to determine they own the account and have the authority to collect on it.
GW = Goodwill - sent to the original creditor or collection agency requesting GW deletion of an account, or account info.
PFD = Pay for Deletion - agreement to pay debt in exchange for deletion.
These negative accounts are already paid so all you can do is send GW letters to whoever is reporting and request the negative information be deleted. You can't dispute the accounts unless there is something incorrect about them. Like if it was still reporting a balance after being paid in full.
The dispute process is limited to disputing the accuracy of information reported by a furnisher. I dont see an asserted inaccuracy that would support a dispute.
No DV. There is no debt to validate, and no ongoing collection activity to bar.
No PFD. There is no debt to pay in exchange for CR deletion.
GW remains the path.
Well since yoou have already paid these debts off I would send GW letters out. Search the board to see if anyone has any contacts to the higher ups in the company. Hope this helps
WOW, thanks for the quick responses everyone. I didn't think this forum would be that active. I've got the terms cleared up and it sounds like my job is a little easier, but I know that it could take a while to get these items removed even though they've already been paid. I appreciate it!
I am thinking I'll ask the collection agency to remove it first. If they don't comply, I think I'll go back to the original creditor and show them what a good customer I've been in the past and ask them if they kind politely ask the collection agency to move in my behalf.
Hi Shaun2012,
Just thought I would drop in and say Welcome to the forums.
FICO scoring sees a Paid CA the same as an Unpaid CA, no score change by paying the debt. But looks great on a manual review.
Agree with prior posts, with sending a short & sweet G W letter, asking for a removal of the CA.
A new/recent debt with a CA can hurt a score by 80-90points. Ouch. By new/recent, I mean the DoFD of the debt was recent, not an old debt that was recently reported by a CA. Debts with CA's hurt most in the beginning, then hurt less and less as time goes on.
You may or may not see a score jump by having a CA deleted, it depends on how old the debt is.You may see more of a score jump , by having a recent debt deleted, older debts the jump isn't that much if any. Good Luck to you!!
Welcome! These forums are EXTREMELY helpful! I was in a very similar boat less than a week ago (I had paid three CA in full without trying to negotiate pay for deletes (PFD) - if only I had found these boards before I PIF, sigh). I highly recommend the GW letters. I also strongly recommend calling and requesting a GW adjustment by phone (it's worked twice for me so far just today). And don't give up! Good luck with everything!