Need some help please

Anonymous · ‎02-05-2015

First post, I have been doing a lot of research but need the communities help to resolve my issues.

Spring of 2013 I bought a car with a credit score in the low 700's with literally nothing but student loans on my credit report. I'm in a bit of a mess now and would really like to get back to the 7's.

So I applied for and received a Citi Forward card with an $1,800 limit in March of 2012. Ended up defaulting on this and the account ended up with GC Services LP (San Diego office). The amount I owed Citi was $1,619.53. Now I ended up making an agreement with GC services back in July of 14, before I had any knowledge what-so-ever of charge offs and how to handle them. The agreement was that I would pay $151.95 a month directly withdrawn from my checking account until the balance was paid in full, "interest free". These were scheduled to run until April of this year. So now I'm at a point where I have started doing research and have discovered "pay for delete". After learning about this option and realizing how important it will be to get this charge off removed, I call up GS services. I speak with a rep named Oscar Vela and I tell him that I'm not interested in paying them any more money unless I have in writing that upon my account being paid in full it will be deleted from my CR. Oscar tells me that GC Services has absolutely nothing to do with credit reporting. Thinking this is a typical defense I ask to speak with a supervisor to reiterate my concerns with. I then speak with an individual named Curtis Gunther who pretty much tells me the same thing. I tell him that since he has bought the account it is his collection agency that will report my account to the credit bureaus. I also tell him how I have already paid back $1,163.68 and only have a balance of $455.85 left. At this point he seems to get upset and tells me that GC Services did not buy my account and that they are "hired" by Citi Bank, and that it is Citi that reports my account to the credit bureaus. I then tell him to stop withdrawing checks from my checking account until I get this figured out.

What is my best route here? Are they telling me the truth? The most important thing to me is removing the charge off.

I also have a Dick's sporting good card I opened for an in store purchase ($625) that has been charged off and I am yet to even speak to anybody about this. I have no idea if it is still Dick's handling thing or a collections agency. Hopefully someone can provide insight on how to attack this and settle it with a pay for delete.

I have my Experian report in front of me and it currently says:

EXPERIAN/FAIR ISAAC AUTO LOAN MODEL 08 = +589

MODEL 2 = +565

*CITI CHARGOFF DELINQ 150

*SYNCB/DICKS CLOSED CHARGOFF

And then everything else is in good standing. A few late payments on the Huntington car loan.

Discover It with $800 limit since 4/13 never missed a beat on and I was just instantly decided for a CLI. When I called they told me it was because of my accounts in collections. This is really frustrating me and I just want to make things right and repair my credit.

Thank you.

Pway · ‎02-05-2015

@Anonymous wrote:
First post, I have been doing a lot of research but need the communities help to resolve my issues.

Spring of 2013 I bought a car with a credit score in the low 700's with literally nothing but student loans on my credit report. I'm in a bit of a mess now and would really like to get back to the 7's.

So I applied for and received a Citi Forward card with an $1,800 limit in March of 2012. Ended up defaulting on this and the account ended up with GC Services LP (San Diego office). The amount I owed Citi was $1,619.53. Now I ended up making an agreement with GC services back in July of 14, before I had any knowledge what-so-ever of charge offs and how to handle them. The agreement was that I would pay $151.95 a month directly withdrawn from my checking account until the balance was paid in full, "interest free". These were scheduled to run until April of this year. So now I'm at a point where I have started doing research and have discovered "pay for delete". After learning about this option and realizing how important it will be to get this charge off removed, I call up GS services. I speak with a rep named Oscar Vela and I tell him that I'm not interested in paying them any more money unless I have in writing that upon my account being paid in full it will be deleted from my CR. Based upon what I have been reading here PFD has to be established in the beginning of setting up payment arrangements not in the middle or end. Oscar tells me that GC Services has absolutely nothing to do with credit reporting. Thinking this is a typical defense I ask to speak with a supervisor to reiterate my concerns with. I then speak with an individual named Curtis Gunther who pretty much tells me the same thing. I tell him that since he has bought the account it is his collection agency that will report my account to the credit bureaus. I also tell him how I have already paid back $1,163.68 and only have a balance of $455.85 left. At this point he seems to get upset and tells me that GC Services did not buy my account and that they are "hired" by Citi Bank, and that it is Citi that reports my account to the credit bureaus. I then tell him to stop withdrawing checks from my checking account until I get this figured out.

What is my best route here? Are they telling me the truth? The most important thing to me is removing the charge off.

I also have a Dick's sporting good card I opened for an in store purchase ($625) that has been charged off and I am yet to even speak to anybody about this. I have no idea if it is still Dick's handling thing or a collections agency. I would find out who currently hold the Dick's Sporting Goods account and sent them a certified letter of your intentions, PFD, are you trying to settle the account in full or make payments arrangements. They can either accept or reject, it's their call. Hopefully someone can provide insight on how to attack this and settle it with a pay for delete.

I have my Experian report in front of me and it currently says:

EXPERIAN/FAIR ISAAC AUTO LOAN MODEL 08 = +589
MODEL 2 = +565

*CITI CHARGOFF DELINQ 150

*SYNCB/DICKS CLOSED CHARGOFF

And then everything else is in good standing. A few late payments on the Huntington car loan.

Discover It with $800 limit since 4/13 never missed a beat on and I was just instantly decided for a CLI. When I called they told me it was because of my accounts in collections. Yes normally when requesting CLI they do not like to see any collections accounts, late payments etc. listed when being granted a CLI. This is really frustrating me and I just want to make things right and repair my credit. Getting your credit back to the 700's club will take time. I would also suggest adding another tradeline to your profile, although taking care of those two accounts first. Adding another credit card will also help you begin to repar your scores. I would try for a Capital One card they are generous and look less on collections accounts. Good Luck and I hope this help you out some.

Thank you.

Thank you for the wealth of knowledge I have learned from these forums. I am logging off as of November 9, 2022. I wish everyone great success.

dbs8222009 · ‎02-05-2015

From what I have learned through reading here and other blogs and such, there are two types of collectors- those hired by the original creditor (OC) who take a percentage off the top of what you pay but give the remainder to OC, and those who purchase COs and keep whatever they collect for themselves (these are the bad ones lol).

If they are in fact hired by OC (I would research that, calling CITI directly), paying the rest of what is owed could help you in the sense that you will have the opportuntity to write a goodwill letter to OC in hopes of a delete or reporting something better than "charge-off".

Good luck!

gdale6 · ‎02-05-2015

@dbs8222009 wrote:
From what I have learned through reading here and other blogs and such, there are two types of collectors- those hired by the original creditor (OC) who take a percentage off the top of what you pay but give the remainder to OC, and those who purchase COs and keep whatever they collect for themselves (these are the bad ones lol).

If they are in fact hired by OC (I would research that, calling CITI directly), paying the rest of what is owed could help you in the sense that you will have the opportuntity to write a goodwill letter to OC in hopes of a delete or reporting something better than "charge-off".

Good luck!

If the OC has sold the account to a JDB they have to 0 out the balance and usually there will be notes sold/xfered to another lender, this is how you know if the OC still owns the debt or not.

Anonymous · ‎02-06-2015

Does anybody have the appropriate phone number to get me to the right person at Citi? I've tried numerous numbers and they are endless transfers. There is a citi bank branch in my city I wonder if going in person would be beneficial?