PFD Offered by CA, but they won't put it in writing...

[Anonymous]

I have been offered a PFD from CA on an account that is 5 years old.  I told them that was great, and as soon as I could get that in writing, I would make the payment.  The CA then got very agitated and said that they would do no such thing and have never issued a letter stating that they would delete the information from all three CBs.  They will take the payment first and then delete the line.  I said that I would except such an offer without having it in writing, and the guy hung up and said that he will just continue to ruin my credit with the item.

Can anyone give me advice on how to get this in writing to guarantee that the item will be removed upon payment?  Thanks in advance.

[ScoreBooster]

I would suggest that YOU send THEM an offer for PFD and request a written confirmation/agreement. It often depends who you get on the phone. That guy probably wanted his commission for a collection right on the spot and didn't want to take any chances that you could change your mind. Once a CA sees in writing that you are willing to pay, they will consider PFD. Sure, they don't have to agree but they certainly want the money and have NO advantages by blocking a PFD-agreement. In addition, it's totally legal so don't fall for excuses like "the law prohibits PFD etc..."

The law probibits wrong reporting (FCRA) but it doesn't say that a CA or creditor has to report an account.

A verbal agreement (promise) is an agreement that DOESN'T EXIST, so NEVER pay a CA without a PFD-agreement! Never!

Message Edited by ScoreBooster on 01-28-2009 12:51 AM

[Anonymous]

A verbal agreement is a CONTRACT, just a very difficult one to enforce and certainly one I would never enter with a CA.

Send them a PFD letter as found on these forums with the amount they offered. do not change anything in it other than personal information and amount offered.

good luck!

[Anonymous]

What is the debt from and what is the DOFD/DOLA?  Also what is your SOL.

Check your state to see if CAs are required to be licensed and or bonded. Are they?

[ScoreBooster]

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@Anonymous wrote:

A verbal agreement is a CONTRACT

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That's true - however, as you pointed out, not the kind of agreement you want to have with an industry that isn't even able to fulfill WRITTEN agreements..

[Anonymous]

Just tell them "Put it in writing, or I keep on fighting!"

[kimicee]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the myFico forums, and I think I am in the right place for some great help. Here's my dilemma:

I am considering purchasing a home in the near future, and as expected, I would like to get the best rate possible.  I have a Score of 632 (down from 675, I think due to my disputing 2 items that came back validated).  This is a picture of my credit situation:

NEGATIVES: 

* chap 7 BK from 3/2000 due to come off 3/2010.

* 3 Coll accts :

$639(from 2003, due to come off 8/2009)

$94 ( from 2004, due to come off 6/2010)

$80 (shows 2009, due to come off 1/2012 ** I have disputed this acct, i have no knowledge of it!)

 POSITIVES:

* Honda Financial Auto Lease since 2/2007 - no late payments, $5k bal left to pay

* Wamu/Chase CC(since 8/08)   $900 bal, $3000 Cred Limit; pays more than minimum

* Credit Union CC (since 8/07) $200 bal, $1000 cred lim; pays more than minimum

* Cap One CC (since 12/07)  $0 bal, $300 cred lim ; pays more than minimum

* Juniper CC (since 9/08) $0 bal, $300 cred lim; pays more than minimum

** I also have two old/closed accounts from 1996 that show up under 'accts in good standing', but they were from the chap 7 bk in 2000.  they only show up under experian, but they don't seem to be hurting my report.

What do I do to get my credit score up?! 

-Do I wait until 3/2010 to even bother with applying for a mortgage (and miss out on the Obama 8k tax credit)?

-Take my chances and apply now with everything as is?

or

-Send PFD's to the 3 CA's and hope for the best? 

 ****FYI I just received a letter from the coll agency with the $639 bal offering an '80% reduction offer' to pay just $127.83, and get a zero bal, paid acct letter, and report to 3 CRA's.  If I pay this, won't it then just show as paid, but still show negative for even longer than if I just wait for it to fall off in August 09?

Please HELP!  You folks are sooo helpful, and I really need some guidance on what to do.

[Anonymous]

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@kimicee wrote:

Hi everyone,

I am new to the myFico forums, and I think I am in the right place for some great help. Here's my dilemma:

I am considering purchasing a home in the near future, and as expected, I would like to get the best rate possible.  I have a Score of 632 (down from 675, I think due to my disputing 2 items that came back validated).  This is a picture of my credit situation:

NEGATIVES: 

* chap 7 BK from 3/2000 due to come off 3/2010.

For FHA this is not a problem. They require 2-3 years from discharge to qualify at maximum.

* 3 Coll accts :

$639(from 2003, due to come off 8/2009)

Wait it out. No lender will ask you to pay this off since 1) it's about to fall off anyway, and 2) likely, the statute of limitations has run out and there's little to no chance that a judgment would be filed.

$94 ( from 2004, due to come off 6/2010)

Don't pay these unless the lender tells you to. If you pay them, and they update the accounts with the CRAs, you're looking at a score drop. Bad juju.

$80 (shows 2009, due to come off 1/2012 ** I have disputed this acct, i have no knowledge of it!)

Be careful. Lenders don't like to see disputes. In fact, I'm 99% sure that FHA has a rule against them. Instead, send the CA reporting a DV letter. If they can't prove it's yours (and you say it isn't), it must be removed.

 POSITIVES:

* Honda Financial Auto Lease since 2/2007 - no late payments, $5k bal left to pay

* Wamu/Chase CC(since 8/08)   $900 bal, $3000 Cred Limit; pays more than minimum

* Credit Union CC (since 8/07) $200 bal, $1000 cred lim; pays more than minimum

* Cap One CC (since 12/07)  $0 bal, $300 cred lim ; pays more than minimum

* Juniper CC (since 9/08) $0 bal, $300 cred lim; pays more than minimum

** I also have two old/closed accounts from 1996 that show up under 'accts in good standing', but they were from the chap 7 bk in 2000.  they only show up under experian, but they don't seem to be hurting my report.

What do I do to get my credit score up?! 

Lower your utilization. Pay your cards down to less than 10% utilization (figure it this way: add up your balances and then divide that number by the total amount of credit lines. That equals your utilization). FICO *LOVES* low utilization.

Going from say, 50% utilization to less than 10% should give you about 30 points or so.

-Do I wait until 3/2010 to even bother with applying for a mortgage (and miss out on the Obama 8k tax credit)?

Nope. If you have adequate down payment, you should apply now. If your lowest of the two you can still purchase is still above 620, and you have no recent lates (within the past 12 months), you should be easily approved.

-Take my chances and apply now with everything as is?

Yup. *IF* you're ready otherwise. Personally, just for cushion, I'd pay down those CCs to less than 10-20% first and THEN apply. But that's just me. If you DO pay them down, likely you'll qualify for more house (since your debt-to-income ratio would be lower).

or

-Send PFD's to the 3 CA's and hope for the best? 

You could do that, too, if you want. But I don't think you need to. And I certainly would NOT pay a single collection prior to applying for that loan.

 ****FYI I just received a letter from the coll agency with the $639 bal offering an '80% reduction offer' to pay just $127.83, and get a zero bal, paid acct letter, and report to 3 CRA's.  If I pay this, won't it then just show as paid, but still show negative for even longer than if I just wait for it to fall off in August 09?

And then your score will drop since FICO will see that collection as a new ugly on your CRs (when they update that you've paid, they change the "report date" making it look shiny and new -- and uglier -- to FICO. No touchy, okay?

AKA, they can go pound sand.

Please HELP!  You folks are sooo helpful, and I really need some guidance on what to do.

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[tray]

Hi, for the thread on fha mortgage approval is there any problem when a ca updates the reporting date monthly in which most ca do. wonderin please reply.  thanks

[Anonymous]

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@tray wrote:
Hi, for the thread on fha mortgage approval is there any problem when a ca updates the reporting date monthly in which most ca do. wonderin please reply.  thanks

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As far as I know, yes. For the most part. Simply because FICO will continue to see those collections as new ones.

But I don't think that means a drop, really, as much as I think it means that your FICOs won't rise as quickly. I think that the effect of the CA updating every month kinda wears out over time, though.

Are your CA accounts being updated *every* month? I don't think that's common ... mine haven't updated for about a year now (last time was when I foolishly disputed them -- a BIG no-no -- I didn't know at the time that that is VERY bad juju).

I could be wrong though. Hopefully, someone like SideWinder or HappyDays or Ilecs (my main man!) will chime in.