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minonda wrote:Brammy, if I can prove that I paid this bill in August 2006, will they take it off my credit report? Also, why, if I had a score of 762, would an amount of $46 have that profound an impact on my score? If I proved that I was trustworthy enough to pay many times greater amounts, why would $46 be so important? I didn't even know I owed them that money until I received a notice from them last August (I don't remember when I stopped being a member of the Columbia House DVD club, but it had to be years ago. I never got notices or reminders). Also, I paid the bill, so it should never have ended up in collections.Years ago I had paid off a $1000 account, and somehow forgot to pay $5 of it. This was an account with MBNA. They never notified me that I still owed them $5, and then they posted it on my credit report as over 90 days past due. I got it removed on the grounds that it was ridiculous to penalize me for $5 when I had paid them their $1000. I guess when it comes to credit scores there is nothing too ridiculous or absurd. It's almost as though they're trying to make it impossible to have a good score.Thanks for your help and advice.You just made thep point, if you have been mostly pristine in your payment history and suddenly a collection shows up, it will hurt your score more. Why else would someone who is basically on time with their payment stop paying unless they were in financial trouble? The FICO score is used to predict just that, who's in financial trouble and may be at risk on non repayment. For me, because my scores were so low at the time, I only took a fifty point hit for you, the penalty is greater.Contact the original creditor and let them know have proof of payment, forward it to them certified mail. Let them know if it is not removed within 30 days (you have to give them that long to respond) you will contact the FTC. If its not removed, contact the FTC with a copy of your payment. Do it as soon as possible and make sure you certify with return receipt requested.I'm not sure if its a case of trying to make it impossible to have a good credit score but throwing every possible obstacle in your way to prevent you from obtaining additional credit and basically make your life a nightmare until they get paid.
@Anonymous wrote:I didn't know I owed them $46 -- that's why the debt went upaid for so long, not because I was in financial trouble and couldn't pay it, jsut like the $5 I neglected to pay MBNA in 2000, that they decided was worth reporting to the credit bureau. Columbia reported it because their collection agency didn't record the fact that I had paid it. If I could pay over $3000 on my bills in February of 2007, why would I have trouble coming up with $46? My credit score has been over 700 for years -- how is that an indicator of financial troubles?If Columbia House's intention is to make my life difficult for $46 and FICO supports them in this, then this credit score game has truly reached absurd heights. Especially since I paid the money once they brought it to my attention that I owed them. This is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.
@Anonymous wrote:I don't think the analogy of speeding with default on credit is a good one. For one thing, the credit score depends on history. Therefore, past behavior is a factor in the score. With driving, past history can never predict what will happen the next time one drives, because there are too many uncontrollable variables.Sorry, but if we're to be judged and our capabilities are to be determined by these numbers, then they must be arrived at by the most specific and sophisticated formulas possible. I don't buy the idea that we should just accept this ridiculous across-the-board way of arriving at our evaluations.