Settle or wait for things to fall off?

[gdale6]

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@Skrewed wrote:

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@gdale6 wrote:

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@Skrewed wrote:

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@gdale6 wrote:

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@Skrewed wrote:

Well I was able to pull 2 of 3 credit reports. Trans Union and Experian. For whatever reason, my Equifax report wasn't available online. I must have answered some verification questions wrong.

Anyway, according to the reports, all of my credit card accounts are due to fall off in mid to late 2018. I do have a hospital bill I apparently forgot to pay that I need to take care of, but that is only $40, so nothing compared to the rest.

Where I am confused, hypothetically speaking if I were to settle all of my accounts next week, would that count as new activity and therefor extend the reporting period another 7-10 years? Or would it still be considered from the original date of delinquency like mentioned, so everything still go away in 3 years - 2018?

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Once a DoFD is set it can never be legally changed. CRTP is calculated from the DoFD.

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Well thank you for clarifying that. I went to search for what the acronym DoFD meant ( I missed the earlier post that mentioned it), and came across this thread, which reaffirms what you said.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/DOLA-DOFD-SOL-AHHHH/td-p/13384

I really appreciate the information from a senior member of the board. Not to say that people with less time/posts know less, it just seems to be more clear answers come from people who have been answering much more, for a while longer.

If you don't mind me asking your opinion, would I be better served just waiting these things out until 2018? Or would I see any increase from settling the accounts for minimal in the interim. I know it is a long shot, but I would like to begin to repair my credit sooner than later, and I realize that is not as likely with all these bad things showing that I paid absolutely nothing. I guess I figure I may be more likely to be extended an offer of credit for rebuilding if it looks like I at least tried to make things right with previous creditors.

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If they are updating on a monthly basis you want to get them settled preferrably with the PFD but if they wont go for it I would still settle to stop the updating and switch to GW letters asking for removal of the TL. The sooner you get them to stop updating the sooner your Fico score can begin to recover.

If they are not updating monthly then I might wait for them to be past SOL before making an offer to settle unless you can get the PFD right off the bat.

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So I guess I need to confirm the Statute of Limitations and find out when they are no longer collectible. The majority of them are still reporting sporadically. Not every month, but all withing the last few months.

As for pay for delete, I doubt they will go for that at 10% of original balance. I'm not even sure they'd be interested in a Good Will offer. But I have no experience with those.

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An offer of 10% is when its a Zombie (past SOL and cannot be on your report) I seriously doubt they would accept as long as it can be reported. You do need to verify SOL before you proceed

[Anonymous]

Hi gdale. This relates kind of to my question on my own thread...and to what you're answering now. So if I have a zombie account (outside of SOL), it would be wise to offer a discount PFD? Instead of PIF? What's a good discount offer? 10-30 cents on the dollar?

[gdale6]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi gdale. This relates kind of to my question on my own thread...and to what you're answering now. So if I have a zombie account (outside of SOL), it would be wise to offer a discount PFD? Instead of PIF? What's a good discount offer? 10-30 cents on the dollar?

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Zombie is not only past SOL but cant be reported on your CR. If its reporting its not yet a zombie but if its past SOL you can make a reduced offer, 30-50% is the range I would offer to something past SOL. If you are going for a PFD they still may demand a lot more but every day that goes by a little more power goes to you and I might let them sit for awhile more.

[Skrewed]

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@gdale6 wrote:

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@Skrewed wrote:

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@gdale6 wrote:

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@Skrewed wrote:

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@gdale6 wrote:

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@Skrewed wrote:

Well I was able to pull 2 of 3 credit reports. Trans Union and Experian. For whatever reason, my Equifax report wasn't available online. I must have answered some verification questions wrong.

Anyway, according to the reports, all of my credit card accounts are due to fall off in mid to late 2018. I do have a hospital bill I apparently forgot to pay that I need to take care of, but that is only $40, so nothing compared to the rest.

Where I am confused, hypothetically speaking if I were to settle all of my accounts next week, would that count as new activity and therefor extend the reporting period another 7-10 years? Or would it still be considered from the original date of delinquency like mentioned, so everything still go away in 3 years - 2018?

---

Once a DoFD is set it can never be legally changed. CRTP is calculated from the DoFD.

---

Well thank you for clarifying that. I went to search for what the acronym DoFD meant ( I missed the earlier post that mentioned it), and came across this thread, which reaffirms what you said.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/DOLA-DOFD-SOL-AHHHH/td-p/13384

I really appreciate the information from a senior member of the board. Not to say that people with less time/posts know less, it just seems to be more clear answers come from people who have been answering much more, for a while longer.

If you don't mind me asking your opinion, would I be better served just waiting these things out until 2018? Or would I see any increase from settling the accounts for minimal in the interim. I know it is a long shot, but I would like to begin to repair my credit sooner than later, and I realize that is not as likely with all these bad things showing that I paid absolutely nothing. I guess I figure I may be more likely to be extended an offer of credit for rebuilding if it looks like I at least tried to make things right with previous creditors.

---

If they are updating on a monthly basis you want to get them settled preferrably with the PFD but if they wont go for it I would still settle to stop the updating and switch to GW letters asking for removal of the TL. The sooner you get them to stop updating the sooner your Fico score can begin to recover.

If they are not updating monthly then I might wait for them to be past SOL before making an offer to settle unless you can get the PFD right off the bat.

---

So I guess I need to confirm the Statute of Limitations and find out when they are no longer collectible. The majority of them are still reporting sporadically. Not every month, but all withing the last few months.

As for pay for delete, I doubt they will go for that at 10% of original balance. I'm not even sure they'd be interested in a Good Will offer. But I have no experience with those.

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An offer of 10% is when its a Zombie (past SOL and cannot be on your report) I seriously doubt they would accept as long as it can be reported. You do need to verify SOL before you proceed

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I say 10% because I've received offers in the mail from the collection agencies for between 15-20%. If I were to have something "Zombie" and it couldn't even be on my report, why would I offer to pay at all?

[Anonymous]

Special situations apparently require no outstanding debt with CAs regardless of it not being on your CR such as mortgages or some jobs (I understand you're self-employed I believe) – from what I've learned. Others I'm sure will chime in.

[Skrewed]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Special situations apparently require no outstanding debt with CAs regardless of it not being on your CR such as mortgages or some jobs (I understand you're self-employed I believe) – from what I've learned. Others I'm sure will chime in.

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Yes, I'm self employed. I'm just wondering how an employer or lender would have any idea of past debt if it wasn't on the credit report?

[Anonymous]

There are different types of credit pulls that are more comprehensive. I also have been told that you may be asked to disclosed any debt owed to a CA that's not on a credit report. So I wouldn't advise lying and saying "nothing." Especially if a more comprehensive pull uncovers the debt. The mortgage application would get stopped in its tracks.

[Skrewed]

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@Anonymous wrote:

There are different types of credit pulls that are more comprehensive. I also have been told that you may be asked to disclosed any debt owed to a CA that's not on a credit report. So I wouldn't advise lying and saying "nothing." Especially if a more comprehensive pull uncovers the debt. The mortgage application would get stopped in its tracks.

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Interesting. I'd be curious to know what is more comprehensive than the credit report? Where is all this information kept besides there? I mean sure, each individual creditor has access to it in their files, but would a prospective employer or lender really attempt to contact every single company that may or may not have loaned you money for one thing or another in an attempt to find something that may no longer be on the credit report? I don't know much of anything about all of this obviously, but to me, that seems like a scare tactic used to make people tell the truth. I can't imagine there actually being a more comprehensive report than the ones we all have access to and worry about now.

[Anonymous]

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@Skrewed wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

" At that point I'll be 37 years old, signing for a 30 year mortgage, just doesn't really make sense to me."

How does it make sense to put all that rent money toward someone elses mortgage?

Think about this - Right now I'm paying close to $1K per month ($900) for a 1 bedroom apartment, and right now rents are rising here 10% EVERY YEAR. 30 years ago rent on a one bedroom apartment was typically about $200-$300. Thats a three to four-fold increase. OTOH, when you BUY a home, the costs are typically less than renting, and you effectively lock that cost in for 30 years - and once its paid off that cost goes WAY down. So if I buy a home now, instead of paying $2500+ a month rent in my retirement years, I'll be paying $1000 or less. Lots of better things I can think of to do with $1500 a month.

Don't assume you'll have 'no one to leave a house to' either. Circumstances often change. I met my wife when I was 36, and I now have a dozen grandchildren at the age of 52 (funny how that worked out). You never know what the future holds for you.

I *wish* I had purchased a home at the age of 37....

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You are right, circumstances can change, but I don't intend to have children. My family has a history of mental and physical health issues, so I don't know that I want to bring someone else into the world who is likely to catch my unfortunate genes. I've never been interested in adoption either. Frankly, I don't care for children. I'm not even responsible enough to take care of myself correctly, so I don't like my odds with another human being.

I don't mean to offend or prod in any way, but I'm assuming you married your wife and she had kids already? Because if you met at 36 and have a dozen grandchildren only 16 years later, your kids would have definitely started having kids early and you or your kin happen to carry some rare genes yourself - octuplets and quadruplets? Yup, she had three daughters when we met. Youngest was 15. I've always been "socially awkward", so I was pretty much resigned to a single life much like you. But life seldom adheres to our expectations, I have found, and sometimes drops unexpected things into our laps, both negative and positive.

As for paying someone else's rent, I understand the concept of people wanting to own something and have it paid off. But to me, the idea of staying in one place for 30+ years sounds like a special kind of hell. I hate where I live now. I've been to a couple other countries and about 35 other states, and I've yet to find anywhere that just ignites some passion in me. They are all the same. Miserable people, miserable jobs, miserable quality of life for the vast majority of the people. Hell even in Hawaii. Paradise. You can find meth houses, extreme poverty, minimum wage jobs galore, struggling, etc. Sure there are certain things that draw you in, that are awesome the first few times you do them, but you can't be a tourist forever. Not unless you've got a money tree. Even then, the same exciting things don't stay exciting when you've done them 100 times. So really, to me, owning a home may be a cheaper decision over 50 years time, but not a fulfilling one. Ending up in that daily routine/rut that has become the norm is something that gives me chills just thinking about.  Fair enough, I can understand that. Just realize that what you feel and how you view the world in your mid-20's may be quite different from the way things look when you're 50. I came from a very poor background, so I get what you're saying. My family never owned much more than the clothes on our backs, always rented, moved around alot, never financed a car, just purchased klunkers for whatever cash could be scraped up -  credit was an unimaginable luxury I was simply never exposed to at all. Even most of my adult life I never pursued anything credit-wise, until the last 15 years - and I screwed that up royally at the beginning. I'm only now starting to get a 'real' handle on it.

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[Anonymous]

I wouldn't hold what I said to 100%. It's only what I've gleaned from others. It's just some thoughts to consider. I think morally, the debt should be resolved if it's outside of SOL. Just offer them pennies on the dollar if they can't report / sue anymore. If you have to wait for that time to have, just hope something like a mortgage can wait. Or you may even still qualify for a mortgage down the road with those on your credit. A lot of factors to consider. I am by no means an expert.