Help with PFD

[Anonymous]

I want to send this Pay For Delete letter, but I'm scared.  I'm scared they will decline the letter and will update the "late" payment on my account.  I've worked very hard at rebuilding my credit and am left with two baddies on my reports.  This being one of the baddies.  My goal with this letter is for a sucessful deletion and not having them report fresh information on my file.  Should I be safe to send this letter?  Is the letter good enough?  Do you recomend not sending it if I'm scared of the denial and having a fresh "late" reported? 

Here's my letter -

June 20th, 2016

National Credit Systems

Their street address

There city, state, and zip

To whom it may concern,

Subject: Pay for deletion

Account number 000XXXX.  I’m sorry I don’t have the last four numbers of the account as I can’t see the numbers on my end.  I can tell you that the account was assigned on 3/1/12. 

After reviewing my credit report last year, I noticed that you hold an account for me.  I was/am unaware of any outstanding debts owed to the original creditor (original creditors name).  I contacted the original creditor and was unable to get a reason behind why they were saying I had an outstanding debt with them that was turned over to your agency.  My next step was to dispute the debt as I didn’t believe this debt was mine.  My dispute efforts were unsuccessful.  I sit here today still trying to understand why this debt is showing up. 

When I last saw and spoke to the original creditor was the day I was moving out of their residence.  They inspected the property that I was moving from and said something along the line of, “Thank you for taking such good care of the property.  There are a few window blinds that we have to replace and will take the cost out of your security deposit”.  It was agreed that they would keep my security deposit and no other money from me was due. 

For these reasons, I still don’t take ownership of this debt.  I do however want this debt gone.  With that being said, I would like to work with your office.  I’m willing to pay the debt of $85 in exchange for having the debt erased from all three of the credit bureaus (Equifax, Transunion and Experian).  If you accept my offer, please mail me a letter stating that you are willing to delete this item from all three credit bureaus for full payment.  I then will send the payment of $85 to your agency within 3 business days of receiving your letter. 

Again, I do not take ownership of this debt, I just want this debt to be removed from my credit report in exchange of paying the bill off.  Thank you for your time and your consideration of my intents.

Sincerely,

My name

My name

My street address

My city, state, and zip

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I want to send this Pay For Delete letter, but I'm scared.  I'm scared they will decline the letter and will update the "late" payment on my account.  I've worked very hard at rebuilding my credit and am left with two baddies on my reports.  This being one of the baddies.  My goal with this letter is for a sucessful deletion and not having them report fresh information on my file.  Should I be safe to send this letter?  Is the letter good enough?  Do you recomend not sending it if I'm scared of the denial and having a fresh "late" reported? 

Here's my letter -

June 20th, 2016

National Credit Systems

Their street address

There city, state, and zip

To whom it may concern,

Subject: Pay for deletion

Account number 000XXXX.  I’m sorry I don’t have the last four numbers of the account as I can’t see the numbers on my end.  I can tell you that the account was assigned on 3/1/12. 

After reviewing my credit report last year, I noticed that you hold an account for me.  I was/am unaware of any outstanding debts owed to the original creditor (original creditors name).  I contacted the original creditor and was unable to get a reason behind why they were saying I had an outstanding debt with them that was turned over to your agency.  My next step was to dispute the debt as I didn’t believe this debt was mine.  My dispute efforts were unsuccessful.  I sit here today still trying to understand why this debt is showing up. 

When I last saw and spoke to the original creditor was the day I was moving out of their residence.  They inspected the property that I was moving from and said something along the line of, “Thank you for taking such good care of the property.  There are a few window blinds that we have to replace and will take the cost out of your security deposit”.  It was agreed that they would keep my security deposit and no other money from me was due. 

For these reasons, I still don’t take ownership of this debt.  I do however want this debt gone.  With that being said, I would like to work with your office.  I’m willing to pay the debt of $85 in exchange for having the debt erased from all three of the credit bureaus (Equifax, Transunion and Experian).  If you accept my offer, please mail me a letter stating that you are willing to delete this item from all three credit bureaus for full payment.  I then will send the payment of $85 to your agency within 3 business days of receiving your letter. 

Again, I do not take ownership of this debt, I just want this debt to be removed from my credit report in exchange of paying the bill off.  Thank you for your time and your consideration of my intents.

Sincerely,

My name

My name

My street address

My city, state, and zip

---

When was it last updated?

[Anonymous]

It's been updated only once and that was Aug 2015.  BUT, I disputed it in July 2015.  They came back with it being a valid debt then updated it the next month.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

It's been updated only once and that was Aug 2015.  BUT, I disputed it in July 2015.  They came back with it being a valid debt then updated it the next month.

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Then another update is not going to hurt. It only hits you if it has not been updated for a couple years. Inside a year there should not be any score change.

[RobertEG]

I would recommend limiting the letter to your request for good-will, and removing all of the arguments pertaining to why you feel you dont owe the debt.

All thst I would include is a statement that you dont acknowledge the debt, but are offering to pay in order to resolve the matter.

Disputes are handled separately, and if prior formal attempts have failed, you have remedy by way of pursuing civil action.

A PFD is a good-will request, and arguments pertaining to continued dissgreement over the debt are extraneous.

As for reporting of additional derogs, what accurate derogs have not yet been reported?

[Anonymous]

I see your point that I should not plead my case.  So, just a simple "Hey don't acknowledge this debt and I'll pay if you delete it...." should be suffice?

The accurate derogs would be the fact that it hasn't reported as "late" every single month since it hit the collections.  It kind of felt like a blow to the stomach when I disputed the collection and they came back with a big "nope" and here's a "late" on this month for trying to dispute it. 

[RonM21]

That should generally be enough. You want to stick to the point, and in no way show signs that you are disputing something with them.

[Anonymous]

Okay, so what about this one?

June 20th, 2016

National Credit Systems

Their street address

There city, state, and zip

To whom it may concern,

Subject: Pay for deletion

Account number 250XXXX.  I’m sorry I don’t have the last four numbers of the account as I can’t see the numbers on my end.  I can tell you that the account was assigned on 3/1/12 and is $85.

I do not take ownership or acknowledge this debt.   

I would like to resolve this matter by paying the whole balance of this debt in exchange for it being deleted from all three credit reporting agencies (Transunion, Experian, and Equifax).

If you agree to these terms, please mail me a letter stating the agreement of paying the whole balance in exchange for deletion from said reporting agencies.  I will then mail the whole balance via certified check within three business days. 

Sincerely,

My name

My name

My street address

My city, state, and zip

[RobertEG]

Much better!

The main problem with arguing the substance is that it often leads to the letter being treated as a direct dispute rather than a PFD, which can result in a pending dispute being reported to the CRAs.

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone!  I'm mailing my new and improved letter out tomorrow.