GV vs. PFD vs. Wait it out?

[Anonymous]

Hello all, 

I am almost 25 years old and, like many here, are deeply regretting stupid financial decisions made in my teenage and early college years. My score is in the very low 500's and I am now attempting to purchase a new car and having the absolute worst time due to my credit situation. The only positive thing on my credit report for the last several years has been my vehicle. Right now, I own a 2013 Hyundai Sonata with a payment of $400 a month at a 6.9% interest rate (not bad for my credit score), but I feel like I am paying a lot for what I have. I have been through a rough last several years financially and I am finally on stable ground income wise, but I am at that age where I feel as if I should be attempting to have a credit scenario that matches.

I have 19 negative accounts showing on my report and a civil judgment made against me from a private student loan I did not fulfill payment on (long story, but the whole situation I felt was very unfair. However, once the judgement is made I am told the preceding scenario no longer matters so it's a moot discussion). I am going to disclose my baddies below, and if anyone can offer me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it. I have done some research into both GVs and PFDs but I am not sure it makes any sense to do those with the accounts that are due to fall off in May/June/July of 2016. 

Also, I have defaulted on some Sallie Mae student loans since last year and since then they have been assumed by Navient. Does anyone have any advice for contacting/negotiating with this company? 

Basically for back story purposes, my parents helped me pay all of my bills and my father, who owned his own business, passed away and those bills were no longer able to be paid. I was working but only part-time for most of those years and relying mostly on their income. Throw a divorce in on top of that and voila! My financial life in a nut shell. Anyway, my baddies are below- if anyone has anything to offer by way of advice, I would really, really appreciate it. 

IRST PREMIER BANK 

Original ChargeOff: $494 Credit Limit: $300 Past Due: >$494<

06/18/2009 Individual Account Revolving Account CREDIT CARD

$494 Pay Status:
12/09/2012 Terms:
$0 Date Closed:
$494 >Maximum Delinquency of 120 days in 09/2009<

Remarks: >UNPAID BALANCE CHARGED OFF<
Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 05/2016

CAPITAL ONE BANK USA NA 

Date Opened: Responsibility: Account Type: Loan Type:

08/01/2008 Individual Account Revolving Account CREDIT CARD

Balance: $0
Date Updated: 07/08/2012 Payment Received: $0
Last Payment Made: 03/07/2009 High Balance: $789 Credit Limit: $300

Pay Status:
Terms:
Date Closed:
>Maximum Delinquency of 120 days in 11/2009 for $215 and in 12/2009 for $269<

Account Sale Info: ACCOUNT SOLD TO PORTFOLIO RECOVERIES ASSOCIATE Remarks: PURCHASED BY ANOTHER LENDER; TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER OFFICE Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 06/2016

CHASE/BANK ONE CARD SERV

Date Opened: Responsibility: Account Type: Loan Type:

04/18/2013 Authorized Account Revolving Account CREDIT CARD

Date Updated: 01/08/2015 Payment Received: $0
Last Payment Made: 05/24/2013 Original ChargeOff: $2,485

Pay Status:
Terms:
Date Closed:
>Maximum Delinquency of 120 days in 11/2013 for $412 and in 12/2014<

Credit Limit: Credit limit of $2,000 from 05/2013 to 01/2014; $2,000 from 01/2015 to 01/2015 Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 06/2020

CHASE/BANK ONE CARD SERV

Date Opened: Responsibility: Account Type: Loan Type:

08/04/2008 Individual Account Revolving Account CREDIT CARD

Balance: $0
Date Updated: 11/04/2011 Payment Received: $0
Last Payment Made: 06/22/2009 High Balance: $1,982 Credit Limit: $1,300

Pay Status:
Terms:
Date Closed:
>Maximum Delinquency of 120 days in 12/2009 for $406 and in 10/2011<

Remarks: PURCHASED BY ANOTHER LENDER; TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER OFFICE Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 07/2016

SYNCB/IKEA NORTH AMERICAN SERVICES LLC

Date Opened: Responsibility: Account Type: Loan Type:

06/28/2009 Individual Account Revolving Account CREDIT CARD

Date Updated: 03/23/2015 Payment Received: $0 Original ChargeOff: $1,281

Pay Status:
Terms:
Date Closed:
>Maximum Delinquency of 120 days in 01/2010 and in 03/2010 for $365<

High Balance: High balance of $1,281 from 10/2012 to 03/2015 Credit Limit: Credit limit of $1,500 from 10/2012 to 03/2015 Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 09/2016

SYNCB/WAL-MART 

Date Opened: Responsibility: Account Type: Loan Type:

06/19/2009 Individual Account Revolving Account CHARGE ACCOUNT

Balance:
Date Updated: Payment Received: High Balance: Original ChargeOff: Credit Limit:

$0 Pay Status:
04/05/2010 Terms:
$0 Date Closed:
$796 >Maximum Delinquency of 120 days in 11/2009 and in $796 01/2010 for $218<

Remarks: PURCHASED BY ANOTHER LENDER; >UNPAID BALANCE CHARGED OFF< Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 07/2016

ALLIED INTERSTATE INC

Placed for collection: Responsibility: Account Type: Loan Type:

06/21/2011

Individual Account Open Account COLLECTION AGENCY/ATTORNEY

Balance:
Date Updated: Original Amount: Original Creditor:

$0 Pay Status: 11/03/2011
$442 Date Closed: MEDICAL-SPRINGHILL

REGIONAL HOSPITAL (Medical/Health Care)

>Account Paid in Full; was a Collection<
11/03/2011

Remarks: >PAID COLLECTION<
Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 02/2018

IDLAND FUNDING LLC

8875 AERO DRSUITE 200 SAN DIEGO, CA 92123 (844) 236-1959

Placed for collection: Responsibility: Account Type: Loan Type:

01/17/2012

Individual Account Open Account FACTORING COMPANY ACCOUNT

Balance:
Date Updated: Original Amount: Original Creditor: Past Due:

>In Collection<

Remarks: ACCT INFO DISPUTED BY CONSUMR; >PLACED FOR COLLECTION< Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 02/2017

PINNACLE CREDIT SERVICES

PO BOX 640
HOPKINS, MN 55343-0640 (952) 939-8100

Placed for collection: Responsibility: Account Type: Loan Type:

06/20/2013

Balance:
Date Updated: Original Amount: Original Creditor:

Past Due:

$1,107 Pay Status: 04/11/2015
$1,107
VERIZON

WIRELESS (Financial) >$1,107<

$439 Pay Status: 04/11/2015
$439
VERIZON

WIRELESS (Financial) >$439<

>In Collection<

Individual Account Open Account FACTORING COMPANY ACCOUNT

Remarks: ACCT INFO DISPUTED BY CONSUMR; >PLACED FOR COLLECTION< Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 03/2017

PINNACLE CREDIT SERVICES

PO BOX 640
HOPKINS, MN 55343-0640 (952) 939-8100

Placed for collection: Responsibility: Account Type: Loan Type:

06/20/2013

Balance:
Date Updated: Original Amount: Original Creditor:

Past Due:

>In Collection<

Individual Account Open Account FACTORING COMPANY ACCOUNT

Past Due:

Remarks: ACCT INFO DISPUTED BY CONSUMR; >PLACED FOR COLLECTION<

Estimated month and year that this item will be removed: 02/2017

In addition to the above, I have a lease that I defaulted on in 2013 due to my father's death - is this worth a goodwill letter attempt in order to explain the situation? Has anyone had any luck in this situation? My rent was only $800 a month but they are saying the balance I owe them is over $3000. This is one of my worst items on file and I am completely at a loss at how to handle it.

Again, thank you for your help in advance. I am sincerely in awe of everyone's results on here and although I have researched, my credit file is so extensively poor I feel as if asking for direct assistance was my best route. 

[Anonymous]

Going to provide a block of text response (and welcome to MyFico!). 

Your car loan isn't bad. I was paying $350 a month for a 10 year old vehicle at a 22% interest rate. IMO, if that's all you have right now, keep paying that on time while you clean up everything else.

If your Sallie Mae/Navient loans are Federal, you can contact Navient and attempt to rehab them. Check out the student loan forum for information on that process. Navient is actually very easy to work with as long as you play the game their way. They give you plenty of options and their customer service is extremely responsive. http://www.navient.com/

I keep a stack of papers from every creditor I'm currently in negotiations with - correspondance to/from, as well as printed copies of payments sent and tracking receipts from USPS. Those get stapled together and pinned to the wall above my computers. Once it's taken care of, I scan all correspondence with creditors and save them to Google Drive, then place the hard-copies in a labelled envelope. It's a little OCD, but it's the only way for me to keep track of what's going on.

• For the entries with a $0 balance that will drop off next year, try a GW letters. Others have reported mixed success with persistence. Your best bet will probably be an early exclusion, though. Members have reported success with TU 6 months early, EQ/EX 3 months early.
• On the lease, you may want to attempt a combo of a GW letter and a PFD. Explain the situation in detail to them, maybe provide documentation (an obituary from the newspaper, for example), and request they remove it if you PIF. The success will really depend on who currently owns that account.
• Anything that is COd through a creditor and placed in a CA, I would pay. The process can be long (outlined below) so be ready to pay $3.50 a pop for certified mail.
• Pay Chase in full (even to the CA handling the account) if you ever want credit with them again - they have a policy to blacklist people who have stiffed them any money. If you settle now for repair purposes, you'll need to be ready to pay the difference in the future. 
• Your CO'd credit cards are going to affect your utilization %, so those need to be zero'd out. 

The process I followed for accounts with a CA

• Request a PFD with a settlement
• Request a PFD with PIF (if I had the funds available)
• Offer a settlement, request they report as "paid in full" rather than settled
• Offer a settlement, regardless of what they report
• Begin sending GW removal letters

[surferchris]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Going to provide a block of text response (and welcome to MyFico!). 

Your car loan isn't bad. I was paying $350 a month for a 10 year old vehicle at a 22% interest rate. IMO, if that's all you have right now, keep paying that on time while you clean up everything else.

If your Sallie Mae/Navient loans are Federal, you can contact Navient and attempt to rehab them. Check out the student loan forum for information on that process. Navient is actually very easy to work with as long as you play the game their way. They give you plenty of options and their customer service is extremely responsive. http://www.navient.com/

I keep a stack of papers from every creditor I'm currently in negotiations with - correspondance to/from, as well as printed copies of payments sent and tracking receipts from USPS. Those get stapled together and pinned to the wall above my computers. Once it's taken care of, I scan all correspondence with creditors and save them to Google Drive, then place the hard-copies in a labelled envelope. It's a little OCD, but it's the only way for me to keep track of what's going on.

• For the entries with a $0 balance that will drop off next year, try a GW letters. Others have reported mixed success with persistence. Your best bet will probably be an early exclusion, though. Members have reported success with TU 6 months early, EQ/EX 3 months early.
• On the lease, you may want to attempt a combo of a GW letter and a PFD. Explain the situation in detail to them, maybe provide documentation (an obituary from the newspaper, for example), and request they remove it if you PIF. The success will really depend on who currently owns that account.
• Anything that is COd through a creditor and placed in a CA, I would pay. The process can be long (outlined below) so be ready to pay $3.50 a pop for certified mail.
• Pay Chase in full (even to the CA handling the account) if you ever want credit with them again - they have a policy to blacklist people who have stiffed them any money. If you settle now for repair purposes, you'll need to be ready to pay the difference in the future. 
• Your CO'd credit cards are going to affect your utilization %, so those need to be zero'd out. 

The process I followed for accounts with a CA

• Request a PFD with a settlement
• Request a PFD with PIF (if I had the funds available)
• Offer a settlement, request they report as "paid in full" rather than settled
• Offer a settlement, regardless of what they report
• Begin sending GW removal letters

---

Good advice and analysis.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for your response! This really has helped! I plan on PFD'ing the more recent of the above listed accounts. With the way I worded my PFD letter, I sincerely hope I am at no risk of reaging these accounts. Has anyone had any issues with reaging with a PFD?

There are also two accounts in there I feel the need to elaborate on. Both the Ikea and Walmart ("SYNCB") cards show on two sections of my report - the negatives, and the satisfactory accounts portion. On the satisfactory accounts portion, it states that the cards were reported lost or stolen. My roommate at the time had taken and used the cards and run up the balances, so my father had called in to report them lost/stolen (which I did not know about unti I pulled my report after his passing). What can I do about these two accounts, if anything?

Also, the paid in full medical CA account - is that something I should GW? 

Thank you again. You're all awesome.

[Anonymous]

PFD can't "reage" the account on your CR - that's illegal. It may make it seem newer due to updates, but that's only an issue if they aren't updating the status monthly (which many CAs are fond of doing).

What do you mean "do about" them? Did Synchrony not reverse the fraudulent charges?

You can try GWing the medical. I recently sent some in citing the medical reporting settlement out of New York state as a basis for early removal (traditional GW letters failed). Haven't received any responses.

[Anonymous]

Ah, okay. I was under the impression that making contact can reset the clock in certain scenarios. Still new to all of this.

And no, they did not remove the fraudulent charges. Basically, when my father noticed I was no longer paying on them and receiving the "past dues" in the mail, he called in to the card companies and told them the reason I wasn't paying on them (couldn't afford to after she ran up the charges, I didn't do anything about it myself because I didn't want to charge her for anything as I was still living with her). They are still showing as "charged off" on my report in the negative section and also in the satisfactory section, "current, paid as agreed" with the remarks "card lost or stolen" underneath. Not really sure what's going on there.

[Anonymous]

There are situations where contact with the creditor can restart the statute of limitations.

Many creditors will put a new entry in when they replace a lost/stolen card. I have 3 entries from a Walmart card I had for almost 10 years. I don't know what you cab do at this point about the fraudulent charges.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
There are situations where contact with the creditor can restart the statute of limitations.

---

The simple act of contact with the creditor will not ever reset the SOL (which is not related to reporting). The ONLY thing that resets the SOL is creating a "new cause of action" - that can only occur from a failure to abide by a new repayment agreement. In some states the agreement must be written and signed. It does not change the reporting time limitation, it only effects whether you can be sued for an old debt or not.

[Anonymous]

Some states have legal precedents that acknowledging the debt and expressing an interest to pay can restart the SOL. It's rarely used, but it is something to research before contacting a CA.