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Hello Everyone,
I am new here. I would like to tell you all my story. I was a freshman in college with no job, but I had money. I had no problem paying the little bills I did have (credit card, phone). I did not need to work at the time, plus I didn't have time to because I was going to school full time. My fiancee got a job, but it was not enough to pay our bills, so I had to use my money. Well long story short, the money ran out. I was pregnant and was put on bed rest so I could not work. My fiancee tried so hard to get money for us by working 3 jobs, but it still wasn't enough.
We both had a few bills go to collections because we had no money. We were barely eating. We had no family helping us. We finally moved to a different state after I had my daughter and I got a job. He was off work for 4 months while we tried to figure out daycare, then he got a job. Things were going well for awhile.
Then I got sort of a pay cut and for over a year now, our income is less than our bills. I want to refinance our car, but I can't because of my credit. We can't find a cheaper place to live because ours is one of the cheapest out there. My cable internet and phone bill are REALLY cheap because I work for the cable/internet/phone company
Our other bills are just daycare and utilities, so there isn't much I can cut back from there. Anyway, my bills are always paid on time, but I have 2 things in collections that need to be paid and I want to pay them off but I never have the extra money. Right now my experian score is 521, my equifax FICO score is 574 and I do not know my transunion because I have to pay for that one and I do not want to do that right now. I want to get my scores to above 600 and I'm hoping this forum can help me. I know you probably need more information, but if anyone has any advice it would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much!!
When you're ready to deal with the CAs, the information to post is the original creditor, the collection agency that currently has the debt, and the DOFD (which you get from the credit reports).
The first thing to do is to get your credit reports so that you can see how bad it is. And it's probably not as bad as you think. Your EX score is not the same score that creditors see. Consumers can't currently buy the EX score, they only sell FAKO scores, but a mortgage broker that pulls it might tell you what it is. You can get the reports for free at annualcreditreport.com .
Spend some time reading people's stories on these boards to see how other people do it, and what advice is offered. Spend some time with the stickied threads at the top, so that you know the abbreviations, and can keep up with the conversations.
Some of your bad history, you might be able to mitigate by offering PFDs on the collections. Eventually what will help is your good history to outweigh your bad history. So the suggestion will eventually be to have some open credit accounts. It sounds like you don't have any at this point.
Some background is that the kind of things that you are paying every month, are not the kind of things that report to the CRAs. The things to keep in the back of your mind are the statute of limitations on your accounts, so that you know how long your creditors have to sue you for their money, as well as the CRTP so that you know how long things can report.
Good luck! Let us know when you're ready.
Here are my two collection accounts that are outstanding. Neither of the Original Creditors have anything on my report. Since they are collection accounts they only show when they purchased the account, not when I was orginally reported. Also the T-Mobile one was bought from another CA so does that mean it will fall off 7 years from the date the NEW CA purchased the account? Because this is the 3rd time it has been sold. Bank of America is also showing a credit card that I paid off, but they show a 0 balance, but the credit agency removed it from my report.
OC- Bank Of America (bank account, not credit card)
Account Name FBCS
Account #
Account Type Collection Department / Agency / Attorney
Balance $766.00
Date Opened 11/1/2008
Account Status Closed
Past Due $766.00
Payment Status
Seriously past due date / assigned to attorney, collection agency, or credit grantor's internal collection department
High Balance
Limit
Terms
1 Month
OC- T-Mobile
Account Name SUPERIOR ASSET MANAGEM
Account #
Account Type Collection Department / Agency / Attorney
Balance $506.00
Date Opened 5/1/2008
Account Status Closed
Past Due $506.00
Payment Status Seriously past due date / assigned to attorney, collection agency, or credit grantor's internal collection department
High Balance
Limit
Terms 1 Month
These are the collection accounts that are paid.
This one is a medical
Original Creditor- Mount Nittany Medical Center
Account Name CENTRAL CREDIT AUDIT
Account # 0000000000099XXXX
Account Type Collection Department / Agency / Attorney
Balance
Date Opened 10/1/2008
Account Name VERIZON MARYLAND INC
Account #
Account Type Unknown - Credit Extension, Review, Or Collection
Balance
Date Opened 2/1/2006
If you have not yet, pull your free annual reports-- see link below.
Negative accounts fall off 7 - 7 1/2 years from DOFD. DOFD is the date you went delinquent and never caught up prior to charge off/collection/other similar action. The selling/assigning/transfering of the debt among different CAs has no effect on DOFD. DOFD is set by the OC and can not be changed.
You'll need your full reports directly from the CRA(such as your free annual reports) to see what DOFD is being reported. EQ will show DOFD, EX/TU will show removal date.
Check the state resources thread below to determine your state's SOL and when it begins running.
On account 1- FBCS-- What is the DOFD/removal date? Is this beyond SOL?
On account 2- Superior Asset-- SOL on cell phones is 2 years. Has it been more than 2 years since you made a payment? What is the DOFD/removal date?
On account 3- If that is medical and paid, google "whychat". Look for his special purpose letters for medical.
On account 4- What is DOFD/removal date? Is this being reported by the OC or CA? Who did you pay?
I have to mail in my identification to get my free credit reports. I pay for Experian, but it is not showing me the DOFD?? Is there anywhere in particular I should be looking? Once I get my free reports I will report back.
As far as the mobile account, it was delinquent (account was closed) as for July 2006, so it's been almost 3 years. This is the account that they keep selling to different CA's.
All of these accounts except for the medical are from Maryland, but I have moved to Pennsylvania since. Which should I go by?
Account 4 is being reported by the OC but I believe I paid their personal collection department, they hadn't sold it off yet.
I will post the other info once I get it. Thanks!!
Experian will show removal date, not DOFD. You may have to click "printer friendly view" in order to see this. It has to be a report directly from Experian.
Look up both Maryland's statutes and Pennsylvania's statutes. See if Maryland tolls SOL, which means stops the SOL clock once you leave the state. If they do, these might be within SOL until you were to move back and the period elapsed. The creditor may be able to sue under either state's SOL.
Send GW letters over and over to Verizon asking them to remove.