Newbie Needs Help

[Anonymous]

I'm about to graduate from college, and I want to get my financials in order because I have credit card issues. I had 4 credit cards in college that all went sour and I've put them off for too long. I got a little overwhelmed by all the information thrown around in this forum that I didn't know where I should START. I have a CR from freecreditscore, but I don't know if that's enough to get me started.

The current statuses of my 4 accounts are as follows:

1. Capital One - $723.00 - it says this account has been CO but they still send letters about paying it off. The limit was $200 and I'm pretty sure half of this amount is from interest, etc. Is it possible to send them a letter and only pay half or so?

2. GE Card - $794 - this account was CO but they are still reporting and Asset Recovery Solutions is trying to collect my debt now. Are they the ones I would contact about this? And if so, could I settle with them as well?

3. Chase - $2874 - this one doesnt say it has been CO and they last reported in January and Midland Funding is trying to collect. I'm assuming I can settle the debt with them?

4. Bank of America - $4,768.00 - this is the big one. It says it has been CO but theyve little to no correspondence with me. I heard from a debt collector by the name of Harvest last fall but never heard from them again. They haven't reported anything since November 2011 but they are the only agency that reports that debt. This account was opened 5 years ago so I was wondering if it might have gone to court and I just haven't heard. I did call them once last fall and that's when they referred me to Harvest. Harvest then came up with a settlement amount and were supposed to send a letter and never did.

I understand this is a lot but I'm trying to get on the right track. The time is now!! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[annielorie]

First off what state are you in and what is the SOL? Also when did the accoutns default date  THe original creditor and the CA may report at the same time. OC saying CO and the CA will report collection/chargeoff

[Anonymous]

I live in alabama so 3 years for CC debt. It looks like my DOLA is Ocotber 2010. Here's what it looks like froom the website

Account Name	BANK OF AMERICA
Account #	3XXX
Account Type	Credit Card
Balance	$4,768.00
Date Opened	1/1/2007
Account Status Closed         Mo. Payment         Close Account Details Past Due $770.00         Payment Status Charge-off         High Balance           Limit $5,500.00         Terms Revolving         Comments Credit line closed-consumer request-reported by subscriber
24-Month Payment History       2009 2010                       2011                     Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK OK 30

[Anonymous]

You want to stop this collection activity because if one CA doesn't get results the account is passed on to another CA and then you have two CAs reporting the same account on your report.   The best method for doing this is to write the CRA and ask for validation while writing the CAs and askign for validation.

The only purpose in this is to shut down collections, because you really want to deal with the OCs. 

Presuming the validations hows these are legit debts (And it sounds like the numbers they are reporting are wrong, so you need an accounting) then working with the OCs is the best bet.

Write the OCs.  Tell them you'd like an accounting of the amount.  Tell them you think the debt might be invalid but you are investigating.  Tell them you're willin to discuss payment plans and what kind of terms they'd like to offer.  You don't need to do a PFD at this point... you can bring up that later.  You just want the OCs to know you're serious about resolving the issue. 

Also in these letters, tell them that you are not interested in dealing with CAs, and that you recognize only the OC as having a legitimate interest in this matter. (Even if this isn't legally true, that would then cause the OC to prove to you that they aren't the ones you legally owe.)

So, shut down the CAs and the reporting with DVs.  Write the OCs and get an accounting and start talking about a payment plan.

An OC would rather have full payment over the next 12 months than $0 ever, or only %25 of the money after you paid off a CA!