topic Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back in Rebuilding Your Credit

Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:17:35 GMT

Long story short, I took care of a couple of things with my credit a while back, improved it a little. Got a new card, charged small amounts and paid it off, yadda yadda. I just got my free reports today, and the card I thought was paid and hiding in my wallet is charged off. I called the oc, and they said they just sold the debt last month. Have not been contacted by the new CA yet. I moved about 6 months ago and i'm guessing that any correspondence that the oc sent and possibly the new ca is sending currently all is going to the old address. The old house happens to be a vacant foreclosed property in the city of Detroit. Needless to say mail service is not stellar. I have the name and number of the ca. What do I do? I want to just pay it. Im so embarrassed.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

NikJ4 — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:05:44 GMT

If u paid it off then why would it get charged off?

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:08:54 GMT

I made a mistake. The past due balance is $15. Now I owe $240. I just found out today when I checked my credit reports. I had it in my mind that it was paid in full.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:10:34 GMT

Not that it matters, but it was not my home that was foreclosed on, it was a rental and they stopped paying when i moved out, perhaps before.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Booner72 — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:32:05 GMT

Many collection agencies offer you 30 days to pay a debt before they report. Watch your mail carefully and hopefully they will. If not, PFD when you finally hear from them, or find out from OC who the CA is and reach out to them.

Good Luck!

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:37:59 GMT

I spoke with the oc today immediatly after i realized what the dilly was, and have the name and phone number of the ca. It's sherman financial. My first thought was to give them a jingle, and kind of let them know my situation, but then i thought twice. Like i said I would gladly pay in full. This whole ordeal reminds of paying $300 for a coney dog, but that's another story for another day.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Middleswarth — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:42:44 GMT

I suggest a service like Pageonce or an app like Quicken for future care of your credit. Never rely on someone else (the US Mail in this case) to tell you when you have bills due.

Just my $0.02 (as I learn to take responsibility of my own mess).

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:48:39 GMT

Yeah, adult ADD is a ____. I actually try very hard to keep up on things and I do for the most part. This will be the first new ding in years. It kind of makes me a bit emotional to think it is over $15.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 01:33:58 GMT

Regardless of the back and forth. Since the debt is now with a CA, you should try to do a PFD. In the PFD, I'd explain the situation that led to them acquiring that account and ask for the PFD. That seems the only recourse here. On another note, I have my bills written down in my daily diary that I keep in my pocket book at all times. I have a wall calendar in my kitchen that I write the same information on, and lastly, I have reminders on my cell phone. Nothing worse than missing a payment and having to beg for forgiveness. So I don't anymore.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 01:37:03 GMT

Also, I have text alerts and e-mail notifications for everything regarding all of my accounts. I've incorporated checking my daily balances into my daily routine. I do this as soon as I wake up in the morning and do my business. If something ain't right, I'm correcting it before I leave the house to go to work (provided the entity is open at that hour). If they are not, I'm setting calendar and phone reminders to call them and resolve that issue that day. I've come to learn to leave nothing to chance.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Booner72 — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:27:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Also, I have text alerts and e-mail notifications for everything regarding all of my accounts. I've incorporated checking my daily balances into my daily routine. I do this as soon as I wake up in the morning and do my business. If something ain't right, I'm correcting it before I leave the house to go to work (provided the entity is open at that hour). If they are not, I'm setting calendar and phone reminders to call them and resolve that issue that day. I've come to learn to leave nothing to chance.

Hi jasimae - If only we had taken the time and care to do this BEFORE we got into this mess! I'm doing the same thing. Spreadsheets, daily checks of all accounts, 3-5 time a week pulls on my CMS. OCD has developed.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:49:35 GMT

I spoke with Sherman financial a few minutes ago. Actually it was ressurgent? They told me the account was sold by HSBC to LVNV? on 8/29/11. They told me if I want to find out more I should call assets acceptance. I asked it they had reported yet, and she said she didn't know. I don't want to pay it now and later find it on my credit report and be left with no leverage.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

RW771 — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:54:16 GMT

Be VERY careful when dealing with Asset Acceptance. They are a bunch of snakes. Avoid dealing with them by phone if at all possible as well. You can check my past posts on dealings with this company. Needless to say I paid it off after battling with them forever and it killed my credit. Thankfully it will fall off of my credit next year, but may end up keeping me from buying a house this fall like I had originally planned. I sent them a GW letter as a last resort and nothing. They don't care so keep this in mind when dealing with them at all costs.

GL!

Edited to correct typo

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:59:33 GMT

Aaaahhh! i was thinking of calling them and asking if i could pay it before they report. Im gathering you think this is a BAD idea. Ugh. I feel like giving up. I have payed with cash for everything for years. The one time I try to give it another shot and rebuild i f$&* that up too.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

RW771 — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:21:28 GMT

Don't give up! Where there's a will there's a way! I understand you needing to contact them asap to find out if they've reported or not....that's totally your call. Just keep in mind they're like any other typical CA..they will hound and threaten you as much as they can to get you to pay anything. So it's probably not a bad idea to have a plan of action in mind before picking up the phone.

Just from my experience, everytime I called or contacted them, they updated my CR. There would be periods of time where they didn't report for months at a time and sure enough, as soon as I called, they'd play catch up and report it and update the amount they claimed I owed. So since I've been trying to clean up my credit in order to buy a house I worked out a low settlement with them knowing it would hurt at first, but eventually start going away. My credit did take a beating, but my LO told me she couldn't advise me whether to pay it or not (knowing it would hurt my credit score) but told me that it could definitely hinder me from getting approved. I thought I could settle with them, take a moderate hit and in a few months time be back on track or even get them to delete it. I sent a GW letter to the CEO last week and received a reply that they would look into it. Later that day I received a Scorewatch alert that changes had been made to that account and really nothing had changed (see posts from last week). The damage has already been done, but once I settled with them it dropped. I'm pretty much just sitting and waiting on my score to get back up where a lender would even look at me. I'm basically debt free, with the exception of my student loan payment that I've never been late on and owe 8K on.

Hopefully you can find out where it's at with them and work something out before any further damage is done. Hang in there and whatever you do DON'T give up!!

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:00:07 GMT

Well, I guess I have a decision to make. The last thing that will affect my decision is avoiding collection activity. I literally could not care less if they harass me. So, do I call, write a pfd, or perhaps it would be a pay for not reporting at all in my case. It's extra frustrating because most of the problems I have had in my life (not just credit) stem from procrastinating and forgetfulness. I have been doing great with fighting my procrastination but I still forget everything. I write something down, I lose the note..... OR I get distracted and forget to write the note. My smartphone has been a huge help, but I still have to tell it to remind me.

Also, Thanks so much for your advice and support! It helps to keep me from bashing my head against the wall.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

NikJ4 — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:19:14 GMT

Thank God I am not the only one....I cant sleep at night because of my mess.....Thank you for validating and letting me know I am not alone.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

RW771 — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:29:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Well, I guess I have a decision to make. The last thing that will affect my decision is avoiding collection activity. I literally could not care less if they harass me. So, do I call, write a pfd, or perhaps it would be a pay for not reporting at all in my case. It's extra frustrating because most of the problems I have had in my life (not just credit) stem from procrastinating and forgetfulness. I have been doing great with fighting my procrastination but I still forget everything. I write something down, I lose the note..... OR I get distracted and forget to write the note. My smartphone has been a huge help, but I still have to tell it to remind me.

Also, Thanks so much for your advice and support! It helps to keep me from bashing my head against the wall.

I know what you mean. I'm the most forgetful person in the world! I'd do everything in writing when dealing with AA, however, I understand your time restraint. Good luck with getting them to agree to a pfd. I haven't had any luck with them so far, but maybe you will be one of the lucky ones that can pull it off with these guys.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:41:32 GMT

You are far from alone. The kicker is, all of the things that I pay every month faithfully dont help me AT ALL! I think I should be given a little credit for not using any credit.

Re: Embarrassed- One step forward, 5 steps back

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:53:11 GMT

@RW771 wrote:
I know what you mean. I'm the most forgetful person in the world! I'd do everything in writing when dealing with AA, however, I understand your time restraint. Good luck with getting them to agree to a pfd. I haven't had any luck with them so far, but maybe you will be one of the lucky ones that can pull it off with these guys.

If I did call, what's the worst case scenario? I'm not paying them over the phone. Infact, I believe they are located a few miles from me. Perhaps I could call and ask them to write something up for me (if they have not already reported and agree to not report if i pay) and I'll bring cash.