A couple of questions before I get started..

thejessulator · ‎12-27-2010

First off, I hope everyone had a good holiday

This weekend I made a beautiful Excel spreadsheet with all the debt that is showing on my report, with dates, amt reporting, acct numbers, etc. I have a few questions though before I start PFDing my little heart out--

1) Why are some of my debts not showing on my report? I have a stack of collection letters, and some of them aren't matching up? Actually, MOST of them are not reporting?! Should I consider myself lucky, or are these little turds eventually going to show up if I'm not careful? My current plan of attack is to go after all the ones showing on my report, then start paying the rest... HOWEVER... if they're not showing, how do I make sure they don't report even after I pay? (Can they do that?)

2) Why are some of the amts not matching? They're just not reporting correctly or something? For example, on my report it will say XXX collections reporting $140... but on my collection letter it shows $161. When sending the PFD, what do I say I'm going to pay?? How do I get a CURRENT amount?

3) Just to make sure... all of these debts are within the SOL, but I plan to pay in full (PIF?)... so it's all gravy, correct?

4) Who would I call to verify this situation... (and I know I've asked this before, but still lost...) I had a repo back in 2008, and it went to auction etc etc... I owed approx 5K on it, with an option to settle for 3K. I received a letter around Thanksgiving saying that due to a recent settlement, I get 1500 back from Honda Fin. and now the Honda repo is no longer on my credit? Anyone have any idea what to do here?? Who do I call to find out if I still owe something?

5) I have some debts showing on my credit report that I don't have the letters to. How do I figure out the account numbers and such?

Thanks everyone... I'm so excited I found this site and am on my way to repairing my credit woo hoo!!

Jess

RobertEG · ‎12-27-2010

WOW! Great work!!..... some observations.....

A suggested plan for maybe reformatting your spreadsheet into a format that looks at it from a delinquency viewpoint, rather than an account viewpoint. Delinquency focus is the key, in my opinion, to credit repair.

I have a similar spreadsheet, and here is how I format it for credit repair considerations:

First, each OC account:

Col 1 type/severity of each and every indiv delinquency reported by an OC (e,g., 30/60/90+ late, or CO)

Separate line for each.

Col 2 date of its individual delinquency (date of its reporting to the CRA)

Col 3 really not necessary, but the name of the OC, for later use in addressing disputes, PIFs, PFDs, etc.

Col 4 if you know it, the DOFD on the OC account

Col 5 for any listing that is a monthly delinquency on the OC account (not a CO)

Take the Col 2 date, and add 7 years to it. That is its CR deletion date

Col 6 If the OC reporting was a CO, take the Col 4 date, and add 7 1/2 years to it

That is the CR approx. deletion date for the CO.

Col 7 The expiration, if you know it, under your state SOL, for legal action on the debt

Second, for each debt collector (CA) account:

Col 1 the DOFD on the OC account upon which the debt collector is attempting collection

Col 2 the name of the OC

Col 3 the expected normal drop=off date of the CA

Simply Col 1 plus 7 1/2 years

Col 4 The expiration, if you know it, under your state SOL, for legal action on the debt

As to why things in your CR are not matching, that is common. They rarely do.

No creditor or debt collector is ever required to report each status to the CRA.

Yes, they can later report, as long as their reporting correctly reflects their status to report it at the time the item was a derog.

So you are not relieved of future future reporting by what is currently in your CR

PFD letters are tricky. You can PFD to either an OC or a CA if the OC still owns the debt. But if the OC sold, rather than assigned, the debt to the debt collector, then you can only offer PFD to the debt collector.

Finally, any PIF you make without prior PFD agreement wont commit any deletion of anything from your CR, and thus wont help your FICO score

thejessulator · ‎12-28-2010

@RobertEG wrote:
WOW! Great work!!..... some observations.....
A suggested plan for maybe reformatting your spreadsheet into a format that looks at it from a delinquency viewpoint, rather than an account viewpoint.  Delinquency focus is the key, in my opinion, to credit repair.
I have a similar spreadsheet, and here is how I format it for credit repair considerations:
First, each OC account:
Col 1     type/severity of each and every indiv delinquency reported by an OC (e,g., 30/60/90+ late, or CO)
             Separate line for each.
Col 2     date of its individual delinquency (date of its reporting to the CRA)
Col 3     really not necessary, but the name of the OC, for later use in addressing disputes, PIFs, PFDs, etc.
Col 4     if you know it, the DOFD on the OC account
Col 5     for any listing that is a monthly delinquency on the OC account (not a CO)
             Take the Col 2 date, and add 7 years to it. That is its CR deletion date
Col 6     If the OC reporting was a CO, take the Col 4 date, and add 7 1/2 years to it
             That is the CR approx. deletion date for the CO.
Col 7     The expiration, if you know it, under your state SOL, for legal action on the debt
Second, for each debt collector (CA) account:
Col 1     the DOFD on the OC account upon which the debt collector is attempting collection
Col 2     the name of the OC
Col 3     the expected normal drop=off date of the CA
             Simply Col 1 plus 7 1/2 years
Col 4     The expiration, if you know it, under your state SOL, for legal action on the debt
As to why things in your CR are not matching, that is common. They rarely do.
No creditor or debt collector is ever required to report each status to the CRA.
Yes, they can later report, as long as their reporting correctly reflects their status to report it at the time the item was a derog.
So you are not relieved of future future reporting by what is currently in your CR
PFD letters are tricky. You can PFD to either an OC or a CA if the OC still owns the debt. But if the OC sold, rather than assigned, the debt to the debt collector, then you can only offer PFD to the debt collector.
Finally, any PIF you make without prior PFD agreement wont commit any deletion of anything from your CR, and thus wont help your FICO score

Thanks

If none of the OCs are reporting, do they still need to be on there? I only have CAs on mine... I have the names of the OCs, so those can definitely go on there so I can keep track! None of my debts are close to falling off, unfortunately, so I'm just going to pay them instead of waiting it out. Too impatient for that!!

None of my accounts have 30/60/90... they're all in collections, or they're good paying accts (OK across the board). So I guess that's a positive! They're either one extreme or the other haha...

So which dollar amount should I be giving them on the PFD? Of course, I'd rather give them what they're reporting, but don't want them to come back and keep reporting a small $ amt. If I put the incorrect $ amt on the PFD, will they write back with the correct amt they need?

Now I'm confused... who do I PFD?! I don't have any OC's on my reports... actually, I'm going to pull all 3 here this week... so that may change... but will it state if it's assigned/sold? Who's easier to work with, the OC or CA?

Right... Got that one That's why I'm at a standstill right now until I get these PFD's together!

RobertEG · ‎12-28-2010

My reaction is that if the OC referred it for collection, you almost certainly had lates on the account prior to their collection referral. For what ever reason, the OC has chosen not to report d any of these to the CRAs. Maybe they simply dont have a reporting contract with any of the collection agencies.

The spreadsheet I proposed relates only to items of information in your credit report, so I would not include OC reporting. However, there is nothing to prevent the OC to report those derogs at some later time, but it does not appear they will do so. Just keep this possibility in mind.

As for a PFD, no, you cant PFD the OC, simply because you would be asking them to delete credit reporting that they never made, so they have nothing to delete.

If you want to PIF, from what you have reported, I cannot tell whether you can pay the OC, or only the CA. That depends on whether the OC sold the debt to the debt collector, or just assigned them collection authority. In either case, the CA will report the debt being collected. You can usually tell from your CR whether they are just collecting or whether they acually own the debt by looking at the OC account reporting, If the OC is still posting a balance, then that means they still own i, and either the OC or CA could legally accept payment of the debt. However, if the OC account has been updated to show a $0 balance, that means the debt was sold, and thus you can no longer pay to the OC. Unfortunately, you cant make this determination from your CR.

With the credit reporting scenario you have outlined, I would very skeptical of the DOFD that is recorded in your credit file. The normal and legally required method for getting the DOFD in your credit file is FCRA 623(a)(5)(A), which requires the OC to provide this date to the CRAs if they have previously reported the account to the CRA. Since your OC never reported to the CRA, a more convulated process is used to get the DOFD from the debt collector, FCRA 623(a)(5)(B)(ii). This is a process fraught with inaccurate reporting, since the DOFD did not occur under the CA account, and is not part of records that they have any first hand evidence of. This process requires the CA to follow "reasonable procedures" to contact the OC, and attempt to get this date. The OC is not required to cooperate. If those attempts by the CA are unsuccessful, then they have the authoriity under FCRA 623(a)(5)(B)(iii) to then report as your DOFD any date that is prior to date the collection was referred/sold to them by the OC. That proably wont be your actual DOFD.

You have a very messy credit report to deal with! I hope you have retained your past monthly statements from the OC, You may need them, particularly if DOFD becomes a date of contention at some future time.

Anonymous · ‎12-29-2010

@RobertEG wrote:
WOW! Great work!!..... some observations.....
A suggested plan for maybe reformatting your spreadsheet into a format that looks at it from a delinquency viewpoint, rather than an account viewpoint.  Delinquency focus is the key, in my opinion, to credit repair.
I have a similar spreadsheet, and here is how I format it for credit repair considerations:
First, each OC account:
Col 1     type/severity of each and every indiv delinquency reported by an OC (e,g., 30/60/90+ late, or CO)
             Separate line for each.
Col 2     date of its individual delinquency (date of its reporting to the CRA)
Col 3     really not necessary, but the name of the OC, for later use in addressing disputes, PIFs, PFDs, etc.
Col 4     if you know it, the DOFD on the OC account
Col 5     for any listing that is a monthly delinquency on the OC account (not a CO)
             Take the Col 2 date, and add 7 years to it. That is its CR deletion date
Col 6     If the OC reporting was a CO, take the Col 4 date, and add 7 1/2 years to it
             That is the CR approx. deletion date for the CO.
Col 7     The expiration, if you know it, under your state SOL, for legal action on the debt
Second, for each debt collector (CA) account:
Col 1     the DOFD on the OC account upon which the debt collector is attempting collection
Col 2     the name of the OC
Col 3     the expected normal drop=off date of the CA
             Simply Col 1 plus 7 1/2 years
Col 4     The expiration, if you know it, under your state SOL, for legal action on the debt
As to why things in your CR are not matching, that is common. They rarely do.
No creditor or debt collector is ever required to report each status to the CRA.
Yes, they can later report, as long as their reporting correctly reflects their status to report it at the time the item was a derog.
So you are not relieved of future future reporting by what is currently in your CR
PFD letters are tricky. You can PFD to either an OC or a CA if the OC still owns the debt. But if the OC sold, rather than assigned, the debt to the debt collector, then you can only offer PFD to the debt collector.
Finally, any PIF you make without prior PFD agreement wont commit any deletion of anything from your CR, and thus wont help your FICO score

RobertEG - I took your advise on how to create the spreadsheet and I can officially see why my credit score it so low. Before viewing this I thought ok ayI am current or have paid as agreed without realizing each 30, 60, 90 day etc. was taking a hit to my score and I have quite a few of them.

I am going to try some GW letters to see if my creditors will be willing to remove them since I have been paying on time for a while now.

Creating the spreadsheet the right way sure did create some clarity for me.

thejessulator · ‎01-15-2011

@RobertEG wrote:
My reaction is that if the OC referred it for collection, you almost certainly had lates on the account prior to their collection referral. For what ever reason, the OC has chosen not to report d any of these to the CRAs. Maybe they simply dont have a reporting contract with any of the collection agencies.
The spreadsheet I proposed relates only to items of information in your credit report, so I would not include OC reporting. However, there is nothing to prevent the OC to report those derogs at some later time, but it does not appear they will do so. Just keep this possibility in mind.
As for a PFD, no, you cant PFD the OC, simply because you would be asking them to delete credit reporting that they never made, so they have nothing to delete.
If you want to PIF, from what you have reported, I cannot tell whether you can pay the OC, or only the CA. That depends on whether the OC sold the debt to the debt collector, or just assigned them collection authority. In either case, the CA will report the debt being collected. You can usually tell from your CR whether they are just collecting or whether they acually own the debt by looking at the OC account reporting, If the OC is still posting a balance, then that means they still own i, and either the OC or CA could legally accept payment of the debt. However, if the OC account has been updated to show a $0 balance, that means the debt was sold, and thus you can no longer pay to the OC. Unfortunately, you cant make this determination from your CR.

With the credit reporting scenario you have outlined, I would very skeptical of the DOFD that is recorded in your credit file. The normal and legally required method for getting the DOFD in your credit file is FCRA 623(a)(5)(A), which requires the OC to provide this date to the CRAs if they have previously reported the account to the CRA. Since your OC never reported to the CRA, a more convulated process is used to get the DOFD from the debt collector, FCRA 623(a)(5)(B)(ii). This is a process fraught with inaccurate reporting, since the DOFD did not occur under the CA account, and is not part of records that they have any first hand evidence of. This process requires the CA to follow "reasonable procedures" to contact the OC, and attempt to get this date. The OC is not required to cooperate. If those attempts by the CA are unsuccessful, then they have the authoriity under FCRA 623(a)(5)(B)(iii) to then report as your DOFD any date that is prior to date the collection was referred/sold to them by the OC. That proably wont be your actual DOFD.
You have a very messy credit report to deal with! I hope you have retained your past monthly statements from the OC, You may need them, particularly if DOFD becomes a date of contention at some future time.

Wow... OK, I've been away for a bit due to holidays and the sickness bug going through the family...but this whole post seriously boggles my mind!! LOL...I understand the top half, but then the DOFD and why it's so important is driving me crazy.

So... do I need to find out the DOFD if I just plan on paying all of the CA's in full? I just want this to be over with... I'm ready to send out letters, or something. Get the ball rollin'! I have some statements... I've been matching them up with what's on my credit report... hopefully it helps?!

RobertEG · ‎01-16-2011

There is only one, single sigificance of your DOFD regarding credit scoring on debt evolving from an OC account.

It is a date-certain, as specified under FCRA 605(c), to which you can first add 180-days to, then add 7 years to that DOFD plus the 180-days,, and then arrive at a date under FCRA 605(a)(4). that thereafter compels the CRA to, normaly cease any inclusiion of a charge-off or collection on that debt in any subsequent credit report that is requested from the CRA......

DOFD ONLY has any significance when it comes to how long a CRA can continue a CO or CA in a credit report that they issue. FCRA 605(a)(4), as modified by FCRA 605(c).

The DOFD may alxo establish other dates, such as possibily the commencement of you state SOL, but those are not credit reporting issues.

If a future creditor is inquriing about your appliation for credit or life insurance involving as principal balance of $150.000 or more, the CR exclusions of FCRA 605(a) disappear

See FCRA 60b(b).

thejessulator · ‎01-16-2011

@RobertEG wrote:
There is only one, single sigificance of your DOFD regarding credit scoring on debt evolving from an OC account.
It is a date-certain, as specified under FCRA 605(c), to which you can first add 180-days to, then add 7 years to that DOFD plus the 180-days,, and then arrive at a date under FCRA 605(a)(4). that thereafter compels the CRA to, normaly cease any inclusiion of a charge-off or collection on that debt in any subsequent credit report that is requested from the CRA......

If a future creditor is inquriing about your appliation for credit or life insurance involving as principal balance of $150.000 or more, the CR exclusions of FCRA 605(a) disappear
See FCRA 60b(b).

Thank you for putting up with all of my questions, I really appreciate it!!

Considering none of my debts are close to the 7+ yr mark/close to being deleted themselves, I think it's better to just PFD and pay 'em off?

I definitely need to do some more reading... someone should really teach a class on this lol

RobertEG · ‎01-16-2011

PFD offers still contain some peril unless you are outside of yOur state SOL

Then offer them the $$$!

thejessulator · ‎01-16-2011

@RobertEG wrote:
PFD offers still contain some peril unless you are outside of yOur state SOL
Then offer them the $$$!

It might be because it's a little late... but this made me lol... maybe it's the thought of *dun dun dun... doom*

I'm offering the $$$, so they better not bitch or try to sue me :-P

Thanks again!! You're awesome!