Hi, folks! First off, a giant thank-you to all. I've been reading (ok, lurking) for a couple weeks and the braintrust here is invaluable. I've been a forum junkie here and there across the 'net for years, and I have never encountered such a helpful and friendly bunch as this. I'm now convinced there really is hope for credit like mine 
OK, submitted for your consideration... I signed up for the myFICO Quarterly Monitoring (hey, I'm cheap!) to start out on this rebuilding journey of mine. The myFICO simulator says the best thing I can do for my score is to bring my util waaaay down from its current 80+%. However, it also shows a CO from 2005 as simply past due--and only by 11 months. And beyond that, I have about a dozen(!) medical bills in collection with dates as recent as November '06 and all but two are with the same CA.
I understand the older the negative, the less impact it has. But I've also read that *any* negative will have an impact, so I don't expect paying on the CO to do much for a machine-read report/score but it's my hope a human reader will take pity in a couple years' time. Ditto for the medical collections.
So the two questions: 1) now that I'm getting back on my feet and can afford to pay, what's the best way to allocate my debt-reducing dollars as far as FICO is concerned? 2) would it be advisable to approach the medical billing CA with a request to consolidate all these accounts into one--and that way make just one payment to them and only have one negative (from them, at least) on the CRs? I do know they're mine, and they're very much within SOL, so I don't want to wake the sue dragon.
OK, submitted for your consideration... I signed up for the myFICO Quarterly Monitoring (hey, I'm cheap!) to start out on this rebuilding journey of mine. The myFICO simulator says the best thing I can do for my score is to bring my util waaaay down from its current 80+%. However, it also shows a CO from 2005 as simply past due--and only by 11 months. And beyond that, I have about a dozen(!) medical bills in collection with dates as recent as November '06 and all but two are with the same CA.
I understand the older the negative, the less impact it has. But I've also read that *any* negative will have an impact, so I don't expect paying on the CO to do much for a machine-read report/score but it's my hope a human reader will take pity in a couple years' time. Ditto for the medical collections.
So the two questions: 1) now that I'm getting back on my feet and can afford to pay, what's the best way to allocate my debt-reducing dollars as far as FICO is concerned? 2) would it be advisable to approach the medical billing CA with a request to consolidate all these accounts into one--and that way make just one payment to them and only have one negative (from them, at least) on the CRs? I do know they're mine, and they're very much within SOL, so I don't want to wake the sue dragon.
Hi TopCat,
I don't have expertise on all areas, but i have dealt with a slew of medical collections recently, so I can offer some advice on those.
I have so far had 8 medical debts removed from my CR, and two removed from DHs. Of course, all after pmt....
For a group of collections with the same creditor, I did not have luck having them all consolidated into one collection. I was told this could not be done because each account had to be addressed individually in their system & it could cause confusion in their reporting to the OC -- because this CA reported to the OC on their pmt successes.
You might want to contact the OC. If the debts are all fairly recent (2-3 yrs) the CA might not yet actually own the debts, they may have just been hired to collect. If the OC still owns, they may be willing to pull the debts back from the CA entirely. Or, as was the case with my one bunch of collections, I was able to pay the OC and then they directed the CA to delete.
Also, I've found it was very helpul to speak to the OC, just to establish a relationship. Many people have advised against ever contacting the OC or CA over the phone, but for my situation it was very helpful to create that.
I had a harder time getting a delete for those that I did not PIF. I settled on a few before I found myfico, and that required a lot more finessing and gw-ing. One CA actually told me they would be willing to delete without second thought if I had PIF, but since I had settled on the account, they would not even consider my request!
So, my course of action would be:
1. Grease the skids. Call the OC and the CA (or write, if you prefer) and inquire as to their policy for PFD... my story was one of extreme hardship and even starred my ex as part of a bank robbery that was VERY big news in the area where my med collections were.. so I think that helped a lot. It is unfortunate, but my misfortune back then definitely played into my fortune in having things deleted now.
2. Try to pay the OC if at all possible, if they haven't been bought yet. Always speak to a supervisor. Every success I've had has been with talking directly to a super. Not the CSR consulting with her super, but ME talking directly on the phone w/ a super.
3. If the OC says no, talk to the CA. If the CA says no, talk to the OC. Both seem to have their own policies on these things, and both hold sway over the other. Go with the one that is willing to help you.
4. In leiu of grouping them all into one account, see if they will accept your pmt each month, applying them to the smallest med collections first, and delete as you go along. This was what I worked out with one creditor. That way, I would get more collections off my report faster, as opposed to applying a pp to the BIGGEST med collection first, which would take even longer to pay off and get off your reports.
5. Work with the ones that are gonna work with you, first.
Major congrats on being in a position to pay them off! I know how it feels.. every time I picked up the phone to pay something off I would actually get excited. If you knew where I was four years ago, you'd understand 