topic Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here… in Recovering from Medical Debt

I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:19:03 GMT

I applied for a loan in January and was told that my credit score was 655. This came as a surprise so I requested a copy of the credit report they pulled, which contained 3 collection accounts (2 medical, 1 from AT&T). Being naïve and not understanding how FICO scoring worked I contacted the 3 collection agencies and paid the accounts in full.

I assumed that all was well until a few weeks back when I pulled my credit score. I was planning on seeing a much higher score being I paid the collection accounts along with $3500 in credit card debt, which brought my credit card utilization to around 10%. Again, I ended up with a shock when I learned my credit score was 635! The reasons for the lower score listed “collection accounts” and “recent collection accounts.” From the looks of things the date paid, date closed, and date updated were changed to 02/2009 on all of the collection accounts making them look like recent collections.

After seeing that my score had plummeted, and reading up on how scoring works, I called and started working with the CA’s. One of them agreed to remove the account completely last week. When I called them today they told me, “it was sent over to the bureau’s on Friday’s tape.” My first question is, how long will this take to come off my report if it was indeed sent on Friday? I pay for a credit score monitoring service through Equifax and it’s still showing 635. Also, I got AT&T to agree to remove the other collection. They said they’d notify West Asset Management requesting it be removed. So, my second question is could this actually backfire and lower my score further? I noticed from reading the forums that you shouldn’t attempt to repair things when applying for credit, and I’m in the process of purchasing a car.

Message Edited by mgobluester on 04-20-2009 06:49 PM

Message Edited by mgobluester on 04-20-2009 08:19 PM

Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

fused — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:05:21 GMT

Welcome to the forums!

I suppose the CAs that said they will delete might do so, but don't hold your breath if you don't have an agreement in writing. Have you read the HIPAA process and med collections link in my siggy?

Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:14:37 GMT

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I read the articles in your signature and found them to be very helpful and informative. I plan on going through the HIPAA letter process for the 3rd medical collection account, however I’m wondering if I should wait until after purchasing the vehicle?

From reading past posts I noticed that the process can actually lower your score, although I believe I have already done most of the immediate damage when I called and PIF? Also, how long should I wait on the other two accounts to see if they CAs really lived up to their word? Once the information is passed on to the bureaus how long would it take to show up on my report?

Message Edited by mgobluester on 04-20-2009 08:14 PM

Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

fused — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:37:01 GMT

mgobluester wrote:

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I read the articles in your signature and found them to be very helpful and informative. I plan on going through the HIPAA letter process for the 3rd medical collection account, however I’m wondering if I should wait until after purchasing the vehicle? If your FICO scores are good enough to get a rate that you're comfortable with, I would wait to work on your baddies, both the med collections and the the AT&T collection.

From reading past posts I noticed that the process can actually lower your score, although I believe I have already done most of the immediate damage when I called and PIF? Also, how long should I wait on the other two accounts to see if they CAs really lived up to their word? Up to 45 days.

Once the information is passed on to the bureaus how long would it take to show up on my report? Usually the changes will update within ten days, with EX first, then TU, then EQ.
Message Edited by mgobluester on 04-20-2009 08:14 PM

Message Edited by fused on 04-20-2009 05:37 PM

Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:33:57 GMT

Thanks Fused!

I’m going to go ahead and take the increased rate with my credit union on the auto loan being it’s only 1.5% ($10 a month).

Afterwards I’m going to start the HIPAA letter process.

Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

fused — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:37:22 GMT

Sounds like a good plan, let us know what you buy.

Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:58:00 GMT

Thanks to the wonderful help I received in these forums, I raised my TransUnion score from 635 to 695 in less than a month! We ended up getting a 2008 Chrysler Town Country Touring on Friday @ 4.99%.

Now, I currently have 2 blemishes on my reports, both PAID medical collections. The first was from April of 2003, so I believe it should be falling off anytime now. I’m not sure if this one is worth the battle, but I know the second one is. I have followed the HIPAA Letter Process through step 3 and got generic letters back stating that the accounts were verified. From what I can gather this must have been done electronically? Anyways, I’m confused as to what the next step is. Both collections were paid to the CA. I do not see anything on my credit reports indicating that they are verified, but I did receive generic letters from the CRA’s stating such. Do I jump to scenario #3 now since they’re paid?

Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:08:33 GMT

If you did not receive anything from the CA this would be your next step

Scenario #3: If the CRA “verifies" your paid collection but the CA does not provide an accurate and complete validation, send this letter to the CA.

ALTERNATIVE MED DV LETTER TO THE CA

After you receive the green card for the Alt Med DV letter to the CA, mail this follow-up dispute letter along with a copy of the green card from the ALT DV letter to the CRA(s) CMRRR.

FOLLOW-UP DISPUTE LETTER (2) TO THE CRA'S

Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

Anonymous — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:20:13 GMT

I have yet to receive anything from the CAs. In regards to step 3, do I need to wait the full 35 days even though I got a response from the CRA’ already?

Re: I’m wondering if I shot myself in the foot here…

fused — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:24:46 GMT

Yes! Also, be sure to make hard copies of your reports directly from the CRAs showing that the med collections were not properly marked as "dispute and/or verified".