topic A few more updates in Rebuilding Your Credit

My story so far, and request for advice moving forward

Miscellamy — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 04:38:03 GMT

I have been stalking this forum and learning a ton from everyone's advice and personal stories. Figured that it may help inspire others to post about my successes and failures so far . . . and of course I can't resist asking for advice on the baddies that are left.

For a smart, educated woman, I've been plenty dumb about money and credit throughout adulthood. Not only have I made several of the same mistakes over and over again, I also suffer from ostrich syndrome: like, ignore my credit issues and they'll go away (which I suppose is true, eventually, but not if I keep making new mistakes). But thanks to my fear of facing and fully owning my money/credit shortcomings, I've perpetuated them. Issues that I could easily have resolved years ago are still haunting me well into my 30s. I always had the attitude that, well, I just have bad credit and I don't have the money or resources to deal with it, and that's how it is. Mistake!

I don't mean to beat myself up too much: there's also plenty I've done right. After a million years in school and spending most of my 20s in fulfilling but loooow-paying jobs, I have a very secure job with a good income and little consumer debt (I don't carry a credit card balance on any of my cards, still owe on my car). I do have a staggering 6-figure student debt load, but it's manageable with income-based repayment and is on track to be forgiven in another 5 1/2 years). The good has helped to balance the bad enough that I'm approved for a mortgage and was recently under contract on my first house, when I had what I'll call my "come to Jesus" moment. Realized that my low credit score was making the house *significantly* more expensive than it would be with even a marginally-better score (for example: over $300/mo. in PMI on a $300K house. !!!). I killed the deal a few weeks ago and came here to face the music.

Shockingly, it was a relief. First of all, bad as it is, it's not as bad as I feared. Plus, it's crazy empowering to actual DO something about it. So, without further ado . . .

The Collections

~~3 separate collection accounts with the same company for DC parking tickets~~ -- GONE. I'd already paid them in full, so I contacted the CA with the info. They immediately deleted all three lines from my CRs. I didn't do anything special here, other than make the call; turns out that DC's contract with the CA requires them to delete the line once the tickets are paid. Don't know why mine had fallen through the cracks, don't care now that they're off my reports.
~~A medical collection from December 2012, reporting as unpaid~~ -- GONE. I went through my files and saw that I'd paid the CA. So I called them, they confirmed that my account had no balance, told me to call the OC. I did, they also confirmed zero balance, said they'd instruct the CA to update. Within days, they'd deleted the line instead of updating it. Hooray!
~~A medical collection from 2007, reporting as unpaid~~ -- GONE. This was due to drop off in mid-2014, but I didn't want to wait. I called the CA 2 weeks ago and offered to PFD. The rep. told me that they don't PFD, particularly not in writing. She then looked up the account, saw that they'd never spoken to me (and in fact had an address that is 5 years old), and said that they could *probably* delete the line with payment in full. I took the gamble, paid over the phone that day, and just received two letters: one confirming the payment in full and one saying that they've deleted the trade line!
~~2 separate medical collection accounts with the same company, from the same OC, reported as paid~~ -- GONE! (update below). I faxed a GW letter to the Chairperson of the CA this past Friday. Waiting to see if that yields results. Found the contact info by googling the company, which appears to be a small, family-run CA.
~~Another medical collection account, reporting as paid~~ -- GONE! (update below). Also sent a GW to this one on Friday, this one to the President via email. Got his contact info through Lead411.com, thanks to a tip on the forums.

The Lates

Shell/Citi: 30 days, 5/2013 (d'oh!) and 8/2012. Use regularly but pay in full monthly.
Comenity/NY&Co.: 30 days, 8/2012. No balance, last used a year ago.
Comenity/Buckle -- GW Success!: 90 days, 2/2010. No balance, account closed by Comenity last week (presumably for lack of use).
Comenity/Ann Taylor: 30 days, 7/2010 and 2/2009. Account closed (by me) 11/2011
Comenity/Ann Taylor (yes, a second account. No idea how that happened): 90 days, 2/2010. Account open, no balance, haven't used in years.
Comenity/Limited: 30 days, 1/2009. Account open, no balance, haven't used in years.
Sallie Mae -- GW Success!: 60 days, 7/2007. I hadn't realized this came off forbearance between semesters. Annoying, but at least it's old.

I made a few GW phone calls to Shell before I knew that that's what I was doing. They reversed a late charge (without my asking) but wouldn't delete the reporting. I haven't tried any other repairs on the lates, so advice is welcome. I'm assuming that it's just GW all the way, but I'm wondering if I should strategize or just blanket them with letters and hope something sticks.

The Truly Bizarre

~~DTE (utility co.) charge-off: 1/2011~~ -- GONE.

When I was in grad school in Michigan, I had an account with DTE. After I moved away in July 2009, they erroneously continued to charge my account for months after my end-of-service date. But (see above about being a bonehead), I just let the issue drop after a few phone calls didn't resolve the issue. Fast-forward to 2011, when I got a CA letter about the account. I freaked and paid it in full because I didn't want any more credit damage (see again about being a bonehead; I thought paying would make it go away). The CA never reported it, but DTE continued to. And (according to my mortgage guy, who is a friend of a friend, knows what he's talking about, and is someone I trust) something about the way they were reporting this gave it the negative weight of an unpaid mortgage. He said it was the single biggest drag on my credit, and heaven knows there was plenty else to compete for that title.

This one took a number of phone calls before I finally found the right contact at DTE. I left a lot of messages that went unreturned, and the first person I spoke to just said "we don't do credit adjustments" before giving me the credit dispute phone number. But once I reached the credit dispute department, it was resolved with a very pleasant phone call. I explained the story (without getting into a lot of "waaaah, you guys screwed up," because, honestly, that ship has sailed), she pulled my file, put me on hold for 2 minutes, came back and said that because it was fully paid and was old, she had deleted the entire trade line. Poof! I nearly started crying.

So to summarize: a little over 2 weeks ago I had 8 collection items and 1 weirdo charged-off utility on my CR (plus all the lates that I haven't tackled yet). Through nothing more creative or taxing than a few hours of work, a few phone calls, and a few slices of humble pie, I'm down to 3 collection items. 6 negative lines: gone! Cautiously optimistic that I can get the remaining 3 removed, since they're all paid medicals, but I welcome any advice or input.

The moral of this very, very long story is to just hold your nose and plunge in. Don't let the shame or the fear of what you find hold you back.

Re: My story so far, and request for advice moving forward

Miscellamy — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:05:08 GMT

Woohoo, more good news! I have a CapOne cc that's been sitting at a $1250 limit for nearly two years. I had taken a chance and requested an increase about two weeks ago. Got a letter a few days later denying the request. No new hard pull, fortunately.

Tonight I got an alert from CreditKarma, so I signed on to CapOne. . . and they've increased me to $2250! I have no idea what led them to change their mind, but I'm grateful!

To celebrate, I sat down and cranked out a bunch of GW letters, one for each account with a late. Can't hurt, right?

Re: My story so far, and request for advice moving forward

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 14:36:15 GMT

I found one on mine recently (should have looked a lot sooner) its a "failure to pay" been reporting every month that way for 3.5 years thanks ex husband! Could you send me the contact info you have for DTE credit people? I would appreciate it! If we can get this crap off a house is in my future! Good job, keep it up!

Re: My story so far, and request for advice moving forward

Miscellamy — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:01:24 GMT

Absolutely. Their Credit Dispute Department is 877-200-0438, option 2.

The woman I spoke to was very friendly. I hope that they're able to point you in the right direction and (fingers crossed) you can get this taken care of. Good luck! It's amazing how the desire to become a homeowner helps us focus on cleaning up the credit.

Re: My story so far, and request for advice moving forward

Anonymous — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:18:59 GMT

Thanks a billion!

Partial Update on Sallie Mae

Miscellamy — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 22:42:06 GMT

Yesterday I sat down and cranked out a bunch of GW letters, including one that I emailed to Sallie Mae's Customer Advocate. (I don't have any super-secret contact info, just the general advocate address that's floating around on the interwebs). I'm not terribly optimistic because they sound like a tough nut to crack, but it cost me nothing but a little time.

This evening I got a call from a representative in the customer advocate's office. He was extremely friendly and kind. He wanted to know if I knew when the late would age off my CR, since it's from 2007. I explained that I had another year before it aged off but that I'm mortgage-shopping now. He said that he'll talk to the credit dispute team on my behalf and will get back to me as soon as he has an answer.

So all-in-all, I'm impressed. I'm still not overly optimistic that they'll remove the late, but I can't believe I got a personalized, human response in less than 24 hours and am glad I tried.

Text of my GW below:

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to humbly request your understanding and assistance. I hope that you will be willing to make a one-time “goodwill” adjustment to your reporting to the three credit bureaus.

According to my credit report, my student loan was 60 days delinquent in July 2007. This was the summer following my first year of grad school and, at the time, I understood that this account was in student forbearance. The moment I learned that the forbearance had been lifted, I brought the account current and have maintained a flawless payment record since.

I understand that you are required to report to the credit bureaus truthfully and in good faith, and I would never ask you to compromise that duty. I also do not believe that this blemish on my account is an indication of my ability and intention to pay on time, every time—based as it was on a misunderstanding. I sincerely hope that, after reviewing my account and considering the context, you will remove this reported delinquency. I am hoping to buy my first home this fall, and this is one of the few black marks on my credit report.

Thank you for your consideration.

Warm regards,

Miscellamy

A few more updates

Miscellamy — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:50:44 GMT

I just pulled my reports, and there are some updates. First, the ones I expected:

The DTE account is gone from all three reports!
The medical collection that I PFD'd is off my EQ and EX. Now TU just needs to update.

Then there's the happy surprise:

One of the paid medical collections that I GW'd last week is suddenly gone from EX. It's still on the other two, but it was on all three as of yesterday. Have to assume that the GW worked!! I never heard anything back, but I'm not complaining.

This means that, assuming these two medical collections come off the remaining reports without incident (big assumption, but I'm gonna run with it), I'm down to just one collection from nine a few weeks ago!!! And the one that's left is only on EX. Hope they'll send some GW love my way.

Re: A few more updates

Miscellamy — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 19:39:38 GMT

Okay, officially crying tears of joy in my office. I just got a phone call from a rep with the other medical collection agency (the one that held 2 different accounts). She said that my letter "was a breath of fresh air" compared to the way people usually treat them, and that she just wanted to let me know that she's deleted both trade lines.

!!!!!!!

Which means, unless I'm mistaken, that once this all updates, there will be NO collection accounts or charge-offs off of my report! Still plenty of lates, but what a difference a few weeks makes!

Re: A few more updates

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 19:41:36 GMT

Nice. Congrats!

Re: A few more updates

Miscellamy — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 23:39:43 GMT

Time for another quick update.

Sallie Mae GW success! I heard back from the Sallie Mae consumer advocate rep and, to my shock, they've deleted the 60-day late! He said that, based on their investigation, my account should have been in forbearance at the time that it was reported late. I don't think I'll see a score bump from this, since the lates were from 2007, but it's still fantastic to see another tradeline go positive.

All quiet on the GW front Shell/Citi, on the other hand, told me to go pound sand. They responded to my GW letter by reporting the account as disputed to the CRAs and sent me a letter to that effect. So I sent them another letter emphasizing that I do not dispute the information they've reported, asking them to remove the dispute from my account, and (why not?) renewing my GW request. Worst case scenario is they get sick of me and close the account, but it's just about my newest card and has a toy limit. So it's worth pressing on.

Still haven't heard anything from my other GWs.

(Pretty Much) No More Collections All collections/COs are officially off my TU and EQ report. For whatever reason, the final 2 medical collections (with the agency that gave me such a nice phone call, as reported above) still haven't fallen off EX. But this has moved with lightning speed so far, so I have to just be patient.

The work is paying off, too. Just got a credit union Signature Visa with a HUGE ($25K) limit, when a month ago I was afraid to app for any kind of card. And my scores are up nearly 100 points in just over a month -- mortgage pulls in late August were around 600, and this week my MyFico scores were EQ 684, TU 702, EX 705.

What a relief!

Anyway, I hope that this is of use to someone, even if just as encouragement. My original goal with this thread was to get some advice on all my baddies and to share any potentially useful info gleaned. I worry somewhat that it's just turned into a place for me to engage in some chest-thumping.

Re: My story so far, and request for advice moving forward

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 03:50:01 GMT

Amazing work!

Re: My story so far, and request for advice moving forward

Miscellamy — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 13:49:16 GMT

Thanks!

Re: My story so far, and request for advice moving forward

KoolDev — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 18:40:44 GMT

You give me HOPE ! Great Job !

Re: A few more updates

newmomnewme — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 19:36:10 GMT

Anyway, I hope that this is of use to someone, even if just as encouragement. My original goal with this thread was to get some advice on all my baddies and to share any potentially useful info gleaned. I worry somewhat that it's just turned into a place for me to engage in some chest-thumping.

Chest Thump away!!!! Awesome progress. I was starting to get a little weary of my GW letter writing until I read your posts....I am going to get back on it now. I will continue sending them until they ask me to stop; ESPECIALLY the ones that are still open. Again, GREAT work. You are an inspiration.

Re: A few more updates

Miscellamy — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 04:36:54 GMT

Just wanted to check in with my rebuilding crew. I continue to be amazed by the difference in my financial life after getting my credit file cleaned up. Perhaps someday I'll take my position as a good financial citizen for granted, but for now it's still so exhilarating.

One more GW success to report. Comenity agreed to delete my Buckle trade line. They had recently closed it for inactivity, and it had a 90-day late, so I was happy to see it go.

I decided to close the Shell-Citi gas card and all but one of the remaining Comenity accounts (even that one may be on the chopping block) . The limits were infinitesimal relative to my overall available credit and closing them won't hurt my AAoA for quite a while, so it was worth it to me to get rid of the toy limit cards. I'm hoping that I'll have more GW success with them deleting the closed trade lines, although it's probably a long shot.

On Credit Sesame's recommendation, I searched for new auto insurance with my new, higher credit score. I was able to get exactly the same coverage for less than half of what I'd been paying (and from an insurance company I'd used in the past).

I recently apped for and was instantly approved for my two "reach" credit cards: the Amex BCP for gas and groceries and Chase Sapphire Preferred for most other spending. Put those together with my NFCU high-limit card for backup, and I'm set in the revolving credit department. All of my other major credit cards have given me soft-pull CLIs, save for one terribly annoying Capital One that'd been sitting at the same $400 limit for 7.5 years. I finally told them, ever so politely, where they could put that card. So now all but one of my credit cards has > $1000 CL. Afteryearsandyearsandyearsofhavingtouse an AU card foranypurchaseoverafewhundredbucks . . . let'sjustsayit'sarelieftohavemyveryownprimecardswithreallimits. I'mbeingmeticulouswithusage: runningallofmyday-to-dayspendingthroughthecards, butpayinginfull (earlyandoften).

For anyone just starting to rebuild: keep up the good work, and keep at it! In early September, I had 8 collection accounts, 1 horrible charged-off utility, 5 30-day, 1 60-day, and 2 90-day lates. In mid-November, I still have 5 30-day and 1 90-day lates (), but no other baddies. So I still have some work to do, but oh! what a difference it makes.