Where should I began?

Anonymous · ‎06-08-2008

HI, I have been reading and researching repairing my credit for almost a year now and I have gotten a few things taken care of but I am really far from where I want to be. I was hoping I could get some help in where I should began and what are some of the rules with things that are old on my credit report. I know that things come off after 7 years and a few things are scheduled to come off in 2009 and 2010. i read somewhere on the forums that it was a good idea to lay out absolutely everything on my credit report for the forum to review and to give advice. So I hope all the details below are okay.

Right now, I am okay as far as the necessities of life. I have a vehicle and I am renting a big apartment and I don't plan on leaving anytime in the near future. I am supporting a family of four- 2 kids and my husband who is looking for work. I think we will stay put for at least 2 full years in our new place because we just moved here in April (and it was difficult to get approved but I had an angel on my side helping me). my goal is simply to get my report cleared up because for years I have had a bad credit history and it would just feel really good to change this one caveat of my life and also I would like to be able to puchase my own home before I am 40. I am 31 now going on 32. But plans of buying a home are really far in the future for me right now. Financially I have over extended myself. I recently obtained several credit cards in my quest to increase my score but the only thing i have done is given myself way too many bills to pay each month. I am not in default on any of my accounts but overall I pay out about $200 a month in financial debt on CC, an old car loan that was not fully taken care of in a car accident and state and federal taxes. I have a plan to have all of this stuff paid down by the end of the year so I can stop living check to check.

Here's what my EQ report currently shows:

5 Items in collections:

2 of them I have paid and I didn't know until recently that they were ever reported to the CRA yet alone reported as a collection item. One was a medical bill from an ambulance ride. For over a year I thought my insurance had taken care of it. when the CA called I didn't realize it was an actual CA because the name seemed to be something that was associated with the state. I gave them my insurance info but they never processed it... they never even gave it back to the OC- the ambulance service. When I finally realized the issue I promptly looked up the info to the ambulance place and they filed the claim with my insurance company and the bill was paid in no time. But it still shows on my CR as a collection item. The other item just baffles the heck out of me. it was a internet provider and i cancelled my service and had some issues with getting a final bill. when I got a the final bill I promptly paid it- so it shows on my report as a collection item as well. Neither of these two bills did I ever realize where turned over to a CA and upon paying them I didn't even know they had reported negatively to my CR.

The remaining 3 items are bills that I didn't take care of when I was ill and out of work. Directv with a DOFD 7/2005; medical bill w/DOFD 3/04; and another medical bill w/DOFD 7/03.

I figured with the DOFD on these items that I would just wait out the time for them to fall off. The Directv bill has a much longer time but their service sucked and I don't plan on ever using them again.

Recently I was able to get one re-aged collection item removed simply by calling EQ and telling them that I had argued extensively over the phone with the CA about the DOFD and that they refused over the phone several times to send me any information regarding the original debt. This was a check that i wrote back in 2004 (when I was ill and fell on hard times) for $16 that bounced. I remember getting a call from a lawyer back in 2004 demanding $400 for a $16 check and he threatened to take me to court over it. I told him that I would never pay $400 for a $16 check and I never heard anything from him again. I moved to another state and basically never got any correspondence from the lawyer or the company about the check. I forgot about it and all of a sudden it appeared on my EQ report as a collection item with a DOFD 2/2008. they reported all the info as if I had just written the bad check in 2/2008. the SOL in my state had passed for collecting or suing for this item as well. So I got lucky and the person I spoke with removed it.

With that said- Is there anything I can do about the 2 items that I paid and I never even realized they were with a collection agency? Especially the one that was COMPLETELY covered by my insurance and they simply never submitted a claim. That one seems totally unfair. Is it wise to leave the remaining three items on there and just wait until they fall off instead of paying them?

The remainder of my credit report is a hodge-podge of CC that I recently got and have always paid on time but they balances are really high (completely maxxed out). Of these CC 2 of them have an annual fee of $48 plus a $6 montlhy maintenance fee. The balances are small because these were the first two cards I got when I first began trying to clear up my credit report. They were opened in 4/06 and 12/07. I want to close these cards because it will lower my monthly maintenance fee to $3 a month and I owe $300 on one and $350 on the other. The fees are too much and now that I have other credit cards I don't feel I should continue to pay the annual fee. Each card without my purchases and the interest rate cost me $120 per year for a total of $240 per year going to just fees. my interest rate is 9.9%. Of the remaining cards one is a department store card with two separate accounts listed under one number. They report each account separately and one is being paid down without further use (because if it is not paid in full by Dec. 08 they go back and add all the deferred interest back onto the card from Dec 07 thru Dec 08). the other I pay on for a while and then may use to purchase some items and then pay it down a bit. But the interest rate is high on both- they charge me separately 24.9% on each account. I called and tried to get my interest rate down but was unsuccessful. The remaining card is a HSBC with a 0% interest rate until Feb. 09. I got all the details of this card and they said that the do not add the interest back on at the end of the intro rate and my APR is prime + 5.5% never to be less than 12%. there is no monthly maintenance fee on the card and i feel like its a pretty good card to keep and help build my credit.

None of my payments have ever been late but they are all at the limit.

Should I close the 2 cards with high fees associated with them even though one of these cards is helping with my credit history length?

Now, the remaining items are a big mixture of stuff so bare with me as I lay this all out:

I filed bankruptcy back in 2000 and converted it to a chapter 7 in 2002 and was discharged 2003. the actual bankruptcies no longer report on any of my reports but many of the accounts that I included in my bankruptcy still do. when and how do I get these remaining items off? if the bankruptcy itself is no longer actually reporting then why do the accounts that were included in my bankruptcy still show?

There are a total of 5 accounts still showing as IIB. 4 of them based on the DOFD will come off in 2009 and 2010. one of them is a secured CC I had with BoA reporting a DOFD as 12/2006 and I believe it is reporting this date because for a long time I continued to pay them after I was discharged from bankruptcy. then i went to go open an account with them and offered to pay off the remaining monies owed to an old checking account and the bank rep told me that i had filed bankruptcy and that those items would have been included based on the dates of the account. she updated my file in there system as owing no monies and I was able to open my account free and clear. But the BoA CC claimed that they were a different division and that my CC was not included in my bankruptcy. I made payments to it while I tried to figure it all out and finally I got my bankruptcy lawyer to fax them a letter saying it was included in my bankruptcy and they ceased contacting me. it now reports as IIB but with a much later date then the other items.

Next, I have a jewerly account that sued me and LOST. My judgement says that I owe them $0 and they did not appeal. But I can't get it removed from my report. EQ is absolutely no help. I faxed them my judgement papers and everything but they said the state cannot govern what they report and the creditor still reports it as monies owed. when i contacted the creditor they just kept saying they lost the right to pursue collections of the monies (even though they initially had a CA call me and I promptly told him this had been settled in court). they pulled the file back from the CA but refuse to remove it from my credit report. they said it is still monies owed but they legally cannot collect and that is all my judgement meant. I know this is a lie bc the courts said that they did not have any documentation proving that I had not paid the monies, no payment history was given during the court proceedings and they could not explain why my insurance was not honored even though it showed I had insurance. they claimed that i had cancelled my insurance and furthermore said that the insurancre really didn't mean anything and that they sell that to all there customers. others have told me to sue- but financially this isn't a feasible option for me. the DOFD is 5/2004. Any other suggestions of what i can do about this? or is it just a loss cause? my aunt instructed me to always keep a copy of my judgement and provide it when I apply for credit. I had to do this recently when i was denied an apartment because of this item. i got the apartment after providing the documentation so it clearly can be a hinderance.

the remaining items are student loans that are in deferrment; my car loan which is in good standing a paid furniture account that was paid after it was charged off and 2 extremely old loans that were paid off back in 1994 and 1999 without any negative reporting. Should I ask that these two old accounts be removed since they are so old so that my report will appear to be cleaner?? Or just continue to leave them on since they were good accounts? I also have a bill from an online school i tried out that i wasn't able to pay in full. I contacted the school who had sent it to a collection agency but the collection agency never put it on my credit report. the school said the bill is too small for them to seriously pursue it and that it was scheduled to come back to there office soon and that I could just send some money to them monthly to pay it down. he said he couldn't do an official payment arrangement bc his office only collects in full but any monies i sent to them would be accepted and would take the balance down. he stated they had no intentions of suing. and last but not least I am paying on an old car that was totalled in an accident that was not my fault. insurance paid on the car but it didn't cover the full balance of the loan. I am making $50 payment to a CA for the OC but it has not been reported to my report as an CA item. it is on there as charge off from the OC and the balance goes down with each payment I make. Someone told me that the shear amount of accounts that i had on my report alone says I am huge credit risk and that I should try to get as much as I could removed so it won't be so many accounts- good or bad- they said it didn't matter.

so that's everything.

Can anyone give me any help on the matters or suggestions of how i should tackle clearing up some of the issues? My score is currently 550 for EQ. I want to actively work on this until I get a score of at least 700. I am not trying to buy anything right now and I have no immediate plans in the future to buy any major purchases. The only things that I can think of that i may want within the next year is possibly furniture in my new home. If i don't buy it piece by piece with cash, it would be nice to be able to finance it... but I have gotten a bit wiser about financing things and the interest rates alone are just not worth it. they only way I would ever finance furniture is if I got a separate loan of some sort with a really low APR... with my credit score I don't see that happenign anytime soon so I am not really fretting it.

will you guys help me and stir me in the right direction?

It would be appreciated so much.

BungalowMo · ‎06-08-2008

Greetings A1....well, that was a mouthful! hehe

But seriously, a couple items to start with:

"When I finally realized the issue I promptly looked up the info to the ambulance place and they filed the claim with my insurance company and the bill was paid in no time. But it still shows on my CR as a collection item."

Did the Ins Co pay the ambulance service or the CA? If they paid the OC, I'd call them & ask they contact the CA & have them remove. Is the old bill from the amb. ser. showing on your CRA's too? I'd do what I could to get the entire lot removed! Being emergency related, you might have a better shot at it, esp since Ins. covered it.

"The remaining 3 items are bills that I didn't take care of when I was ill and out of work. Directv with a DOFD 7/2005; medical bill w/DOFD 3/04; and another medical bill w/DOFD 7/03."

Do you still owe on these? If so, can you pay them off, even if it's over a few months? I'd write some PFD letters & see what you get in response. Make sure you add in the part that you were ill, out of work, yadda yadda yadda. You might come across a sympathetic person willing to do the right thing.

For the $16. check that mushroomed into $400...that DOFD is illegal. I believe that you can contact the 3 CRA's & dispute as re-aged. I've never had that situation myself, but I've read others here that had. I'm sure someone will chime in with good advice.

Finally, the 2 cards you have...with the fees. LOCK THEM UP! I wouldn't close them just yet. I know the fees suck, but their age, for now, is doing you a big favor.

Lastly...there is a thread in this section about a phone # for Equifax (678.795.7820) this is a real-english-speaking-human! Not one of their overseas operators. Get your duckies in a row & call that # with your equifax issues. Find that thread, it's in this same section & you might get a lot of info on what they can do for you!

Good luck & keep us posted!!

BK 7 discharge 06.24.2020 No Fico score at all.

Anonymous · ‎06-08-2008

I think you've missed the insurance filing date for the ambulance ride ... I most insurance companies will only pay on claims two years old (so MY insurance has told us), but see what YOUR insurance company says.

Try HIPPA lettering the OC. Start here:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/crawl_message?board.id=rebuildingcredit&message.id=5845

For the collections, if you have the $$ negotiate a pay-for-delete. If you don't have the money to pay in FULL (in case settling with them doesn't work), then just let them fall off. You said you want to buy a house in a few YEARS, so by then, they should just fall off!

Pay off the cards!! Bring your UTIL to around 10% if you can ... you didn't specify what the balances are compared to the limits, so we can't figure out your UTIL. I'm assuming it's high, though, since you said "completely maxxed out."

Keep the 2 high fee cards!!!! The payments/fees may stink, but the credit history is probably propping up your score (though the high UTIL is probably pulling it down a LOT). But once you get them paid off, the length of history will help you buy your dream home!

As for the $16-then, $400-now, check, sad to say, but they were probably within their rights to demand that much. I don't know what state you're in, but most states allow for return fees, "interest" and, more devastating, LAWYER'S fees ... if this went to judgment, you're not only paying the original $16, but the court costs, filing costs, and lawyer's fees for the plaintiff.

But, obviously, that doesn't give them the right to change the DOFD.

HOWEVER, a judgment is still a judgment .. they can still get you later. They can still sneak that entry back on your reports (keep your CR to prove they lied) ... most states allow judgments to either: remain against you until paid in full, or 20-30 years. But remember, if they lied ONCE, they might lie again.

Trust me, if we can gain 70 points in three weeks, you can get YOUR credit back to a happy place!! Listen to the folks here ... they'll get you put to rights!!

Edited: Cause I forgot to include the HIPPA letter ink!!

BEST of luck!!!

Message Edited by Wonderin on 06-08-2008 08:21 AM

Message Edited by Wonderin on 06-08-2008 08:21 AM

Anonymous · ‎06-09-2008

thanks guys for taking the time to read my long explanation. I am not good at condensing things at all so I apologize and I appreciate you reading it.

I feel overwhelmed and to be honest with you I think this may be why I have given up countless times when it comes to my credit, credit reporting and otherwise. I just did a test with American General... they claim that they use your current payment history as a factor in there loan process but I was denied flat out so i asked them why so I could see exactly which things were affecting my credit from a lenders perspective. It was the charge-offs and the two accounts in collections that were not paid that she said stood out the most. Especially the Jewelry account that I do not owe.

As far as the ambulance collection item- my insurance took care of it without a problem once the claim was submitted. It took less than a week for them to pay it to the OC. I am not sure who to contact regarding removing it- the OC who actually took care of the issue properly or the CA who put it on my CR.

I am Sooo tired of even trying to get stuff removed or updated correctly... I just feel like waiting it all out and saying forget it.

Even for my old collection items- I am so afraid to pay them bc I have gotten so many different responses on whether or not paying them starts the 7 year waiting period over. I have heard many different answers regarding this. Heck- the DOFD is wrong as it is! I didn't have DIRECTV in 2005. I had it back in 2003 possibly 2002. Fighting with them gets so tiredsome.

Anonymous · ‎06-09-2008

@Anonymous wrote:
thanks guys for taking the time to read my long explanation. I am not good at condensing things at all so I apologize and I appreciate you reading it.
I feel overwhelmed and to be honest with you I think this may be why I have given up countless times when it comes to my credit, credit reporting and otherwise. I just did a test with American General... they claim that they use your current payment history as a factor in there loan process but I was denied flat out so i asked them why so I could see exactly which things were affecting my credit from a lenders perspective. It was the charge-offs and the two accounts in collections that were not paid that she said stood out the most. Especially the Jewelry account that I do not owe.
As far as the ambulance collection item- my insurance took care of it without a problem once the claim was submitted. It took less than a week for them to pay it to the OC. I am not sure who to contact regarding removing it- the OC who actually took care of the issue properly or the CA who put it on my CR.
I am Sooo tired of even trying to get stuff removed or updated correctly... I just feel like waiting it all out and saying forget it.
Even for my old collection items- I am so afraid to pay them bc I have gotten so many different responses on whether or not paying them starts the 7 year waiting period over. I have heard many different answers regarding this. Heck- the DOFD is wrong as it is! I didn't have DIRECTV in 2005. I had it back in 2003 possibly 2002. Fighting with them gets so tiredsome.

As to the ambulance ride that was paid, HIPPA letter (insert a) the OC. By LAW, the OC will have to pull the account from the CA. That means the CA can't report it any longer.

As for the SoL and whether making a payment will reset it, we'd need to know what state you're in. FTR, most states DO have that provision.

As far as "to pay or not to pay" that depends on a few factors. Can you PFD them? Can you afford to let them age a bit so a PFD offer will be more attractive to the CA?

If you can wait a bit, I would. But that's just me. If they're close to SoL, look for the CA to sue (meaning, pay attention to the mail and what they send you). If the debt's less than $500, I don't see the average CA spending the $$ on a piddly debt like that.

(Not to say your debt's piddly, but compared with the over $2K debts I've seen here ... )

I wouldn't really worry so much about establishing NEW credit as much as I would repairing your credit. Send GW letters to whomever you can to remove lates, CO status, etc.

Trying for new credit (and being denied, especially) really dings your FICO. So if you want your score to go UP, play it safe. If you REALLY must have a new CC, go for a secured BoA. If you pay on time for 6 months -9 months, they'll more than likely graduate you to a NONsecured card. And boost your credit limit (which would help in utilization).

Anonymous · ‎06-09-2008

okay thanks for the tips and I will be reviewing the HIPPA information tonight.

thanks so much for following up on this- I didn't understand the first time you mentioned HIPPA but I see how it relates now.

Anonymous · ‎06-09-2008

@Anonymous wrote:
okay thanks for the tips and I will be reviewing the HIPPA information tonight.
thanks so much for following up on this- I didn't understand the first time you mentioned HIPPA but I see how it relates now.

To be honest, I don't understand the HIPPA letter! But if it works ... why question it? And it HAS worked for several people in your boat!!

Good luck!!

(Get to writing those GWs!!!)

Anonymous · ‎06-09-2008

well out of curiousity I called the CA regarding the item on my credit report just to see what there logic was on it. the girl says that - yes, the person who contacted me should have given me an 800 number to call regarding the fact that I had insurance but she can't verify that she did or didn't. I asked them out of Good Faith and all the information that they had and the fact that insurance did pay out on it would they remove it. Of course they said no, but i read somewhere in here that it is worth a shot to try and call when the collection item has been paid.

she did also say that they didn't have the medical file, that they only get a name and account number and the amount owed. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing when it comes to GW letters and/or DV to try and get it off. I am not sure if a GW letter will do any good for this CA since I have spoken directly to them countless times about this matter.

Well I am sleepy... but I feel obsessive with getting my report cleared up so I am heading off to read up on the HIPPA stuff.

Oh by the way, I did get at least 1 victory today- I got a collection account removed and the company admitted that it shouldn't have ever been sent to collections bc they were in contact with me the whole time and it was a billing issue that they were adjusting. I spoke to a girl in there finance department regarding a different account I have with them and then I asked her about why that was reported as a charge off when I was waiting on them to adjust my billing and send me a final bill. Well low and behold she agreed that everything seemed completely backwards and that it shouldn't have occurred and she said she was emailing the "back office" to have it removed and that it should be removed immediatley. she said she would call me if she needed more information but that I could expect it to be removed. So I hope it happens...

Anonymous · ‎06-09-2008

ok i read the information provided in the link and followed up by going to the HIPAA website for further information. I am confused because this is the information that I found on the HIPAA website regarding my situation:

Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit a covered entity or its collection agency to communicate with parties other than the patient (e.g., spouses or guardians) regarding payment of a bill?

Answer Yes. The Privacy Rule permits a covered entity, or a business associate acting on behalf of a covered entity (e.g., a collection agency), to disclose protected health information as necessary to obtain payment for health care, and does not limit to whom such a disclosure may be made. Therefore, a covered entity, or its business associate, may contact persons other than the individual as necessary to obtain payment for health care services. See 45 CFR 164.506(c) and the definition of “payment” at 45 CFR 164.501. However, the Privacy Rule requires a covered entity, or its business associate, to reasonably limit the amount of information disclosed for such purposes to the minimum necessary, as well as to abide by any reasonable requests for confidential communications and any agreed-to restrictions on the use or disclosure of protected health information. See 45 CFR 164.502(b), 164.514(d), and 164.522.

So with the informtion that whychat provided how does this approach work? Is this just a way to try and trick them to remove it? And being that this was paid by insurance after it was added to my credit file as a collection item- despite my confusion on who i was dealing with- would this still apply to me?