New member....Can someone please help me with PFD, Goodwill, etc

[Anonymous]

Hello, I'm new to these forums and have read numerous threads and learned a lot of new things.

There are so many things to take in and new terms I was never familiar with prior to joining these message boards.

I'm in my mid twenties, had amazing credit in the past, but had some screw ups that I finally decided I need to take care of.

I have one account thru WFFNB/Cosmetic Credit that I opened back in 07 when I needed to go thru surgery for a medical problem. I have had many problems keeping up with the payments nad have numerous 30, 60, 90, and 120 marks that are affecting real bad. However, I am currently up to date with my payments and I'm not behind. THey recently put me on a "hardship" program and lowered my monthly payment. What I didn't know is that when I'm on this program, it will continue to show 30 day late marks eventhough I'm making my minimum payments on time and I was never told that. So here I am making my new minimum payment on this program but its still hurting my credit.

I need any advice anyone can give me to deal with this account. How do I get all these late marks removed or how do I settle this account?

I was thinking maybe stop paying altogether have it be sent to a collection agency, then PFD the collection agency, pay in full if I have to and have them delete. I owe about 3,000 on it. I got my tax returns and have some money saved up so how do I go about dealing with this account?

Since it's still with the original creditor, Am I able to PFD them directly and offer to pay them in full or in discount if they remove the account?

 Also, I have two bank of  America credit cards (still open) that I have one 30 day late mark back in June 08 and one capital one credit card (still open) that I have one 30 day mark back in Feb 08. When I check my credit reports on line, it looks like the marks fall off after 2 years. Is this true or do they stay on for 7 years. What's the best way to take care of this late payment mark. I have had good payment history ever since and these account are in good status.

Next, I have two accounts that were closed by the creditors. I have paid them off in full. However there are two late marks almost 2 years ago. Since they were paid, do you think the creditor will remove these late payment marks if I asked them to?

In general, is bad to have a closed account on your file eventhough you have paid it in full or should you try to remove the whole account in general?

Sorry for the large message. I would appreciate any help and direction that could help me. I know many people on these forums have a lot of knowledge and I will take anything into consideration.

Thank You 

[Jazzzy]

Hi...and welcome. Let me see if I can help a bit...

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, I'm new to these forums and have read numerous threads and learned a lot of new things.

There are so many things to take in and new terms I was never familiar with prior to joining these message boards.

I'm in my mid twenties, had amazing credit in the past, but had some screw ups that I finally decided I need to take care of.

I have one account thru WFFNB/Cosmetic Credit that I opened back in 07 when I needed to go thru surgery for a medical problem. I have had many problems keeping up with the payments nad have numerous 30, 60, 90, and 120 marks that are affecting real bad. However, I am currently up to date with my payments and I'm not behind. THey recently put me on a "hardship" program and lowered my monthly payment. What I didn't know is that when I'm on this program, it will continue to show 30 day late marks eventhough I'm making my minimum payments on time and I was never told that. So here I am making my new minimum payment on this program but its still hurting my credit.

I need any advice anyone can give me to deal with this account. How do I get all these late marks removed or how do I settle this account?

I was thinking maybe stop paying altogether have it be sent to a collection agency, then PFD the collection agency, pay in full if I have to and have them delete. I owe about 3,000 on it. I got my tax returns and have some money saved up so how do I go about dealing with this account?

Since it's still with the original creditor, Am I able to PFD them directly and offer to pay them in full or in discount if they remove the account? How much could you pay on this? How close to the $3k that is owed? You DO NOT want to let this go into collections. Then you will have two bad accounts showing...the original creditor and the collection account. Even if you got the collection agency to PFD, the original account would still be there. Don't do that. You can call them and ask if they would settle the account and remove it from your reports. Basically, you need to scrape and save to get this paid off.

 Also, I have two bank of  America credit cards (still open) that I have one 30 day late mark back in June 08 and one capital one credit card (still open) that I have one 30 day mark back in Feb 08. When I check my credit reports on line, it looks like the marks fall off after 2 years. Is this true or do they stay on for 7 years. They stay on your reports for 7 years.

What's the best way to take care of this late payment mark. I have had good payment history ever since and these account are in good status. You can send them Goodwill (GW) letters to see if they will take them off of your credit reports.

Next, I have two accounts that were closed by the creditors. I have paid them off in full. However there are two late marks almost 2 years ago. Since they were paid, do you think the creditor will remove these late payment marks if I asked them to? Same thing...try sending them GW letters.

In general, is bad to have a closed account on your file eventhough you have paid it in full or should you try to remove the whole account in general? Paid accounts are good. They will help your history and your average age of accounts. Late payments aren't good...but paid accounts are good. Eventually the late payments don't hurt you much...then they fall off after 7 years...and then the paid accounts help you for 10 years after they are closed.

Sorry for the large message. I would appreciate any help and direction that could help me. I know many people on these forums have a lot of knowledge and I will take anything into consideration.

Thank You 

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Credit rebuilding takes time. And it takes patience. Writing GW letters takes persistence. It can be a long road, but it's a good one.

[Anonymous]

Thank You for responding Lynette, its highly appreciated.

As far as the late remarks on my open and closed accounts I will send goodwill letters and hope for the best. Do you have any goodwill formats?

It would greatly help me.

As far as the main account. I owe 3,000 on it. Although I'm paying regularly on this account, I don't think it will get me anywhere because of the 30,60,90, and 120  marks. I won't let it go to collections but how can I settle directly with a creditor? Can I still send a regular PFD to a creditor and try to negotiate if I pay it for them to remove it. Any chance to settle for a little lower then the regular amount if it's still with a creditor?

Thank You  

[Anonymous]

I don't think you can PFD an OC. You could try to negotiate a paid in full with them if they could adjust their updating, most especially from the date they set you up on the hardship program and the thirty day lates that ensued on account of being on that program without your knowledge of their reporting practices for that particular program. Since it is closed and it's just a balance, see about paying that one first with the condition they adjust the lates. Good luck!