new2this Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 I finally got the courage to do an actual FICO score on myself even splurged and bought all three. My question now isI have : TU 645, EQ 687 and EX 735There is an unpaid collection on TU that is not anywhere else and I am really getting discouraged trying to think of ways to rid myself of it because I do not have anything else to dispute. So, aside from paying my balances down, I can only wait on the 1-2 increase I get every couple of months.Since paying the collection will not help at all, Should I even expend all this energy on TU or should I just work on getting my middle score up to the 700's ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisflomi Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 Awesome scores!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!! What have you done so far to get rid of this collection? Who is it from? How much do you owe? When did you last pay the OC on this, who is the OC? Do you live at a different place now than you did when you opened this account or when it was sent to the CA? How about your name, the same now or different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2this Posted July 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 What have you done so far to get rid of this collection? Validation--only received copy of contract signed by me, no proof of CA ability to collectGood Will/Pay for deletion - said I'd allowed someone to use my credit info and they had not paid but I was willing to pay so that all parties would be happyWho is it from? A gym membershipHow much do you owe? 121.00When did you last pay the OC on this?I think like 12/99 or 1/2000 - account was placed in june 2000Who is the OC?A one branch gym location - not nationwide like BallysDo you live at a different place now than you did when you opened this account or when it was sent to the CA? Yes but I still use the old address for some credit cards - If I deleted the addresses, they'd just reappear the next time these card updated.How about your name, the same now or different.I use the my maiden name but I am now married Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisflomi Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 <blockquote>Originally posted by new2thisValidation--only received copy of contract signed by me, no proof of CA ability to collectGood Will/Pay for deletion - said I'd allowed someone to use my credit info and they had not paid but I was willing to pay so that all parties would be happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creditfix Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 <blockquote>Originally posted by new2thisI have : TU 645, EQ 687 and EX 735Since paying the collection will not help at all, </blockquote>Wow! Love those scores! Because they have validated this debt with a signed contract, it looks like they have you. However, if it is past the SOL then you still have a little bit of leverage.If you have the $121.00, maybe you should just pay the bill - try to pay the OC instead of the CA. I had always heard that a PAID COLLECTION is just as bad as a collection account. Recently, I paid one of them and it shot my score up 21 points. Then, I disputed the account and it came right off.Sometimes things boil down to "how much is my time worth?" I absolutely HATE to pay a collection agency and most times I have not, but if you want to expedite things without expending a lot more energy paying the bill may be the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADSOFT Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 <blockquote>Originally posted by new2thisI finally got the courage to do an actual FICO score on myself even splurged and bought all three. My question now isI have : TU 645, EQ 687 and EX 735There is an unpaid collection on TU that is not anywhere else and I am really getting discouraged trying to think of ways to rid myself of it because I do not have anything else to dispute. So, aside from paying my balances down, I can only wait on the 1-2 increase I get every couple of months.Since paying the collection will not help at all, Should I even expend all this energy on TU or should I just work on getting my middle score up to the 700's ?</blockquote>A good way to fight a collection is to try to make them prove every penny and in the meanwhile try to make them slip on violation: Text book case.#1. Don't call the CA#2. Send a dv letter claiming you want full validation: Contract and signature, also that you are disputing the bill and all future contact is to be done by mail. All done by CMRR#3. As soon as you get the reciept. dispute with CRA, at the end of the 30 DAYS there should be a "DISPUTE" marked on your CR by the CA for that account.#4 If they validate try to get them on erronous charges, if they forget to mark in dispute you can sue them for violations and settle.... Get a DV letter going and be ready to dispute via CRA, ... it can take any where between 10 -90 days to get it off!!! If you have to go to court longer, but if you pay, it may not come off for 7 yrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlytop Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 Yes but I still use the old address for some credit cards - If I deleted the addresses, they'd just reappear the next time these card updated.This is what you do, go open a PO BOX with a post office a city or two away from you, or even a Mail Boxes Etc. and call your cc's that go to that address and change it to the PO BOX. If you can't get PO BOX, try to send it to a freinds house for a few months. Once you are getting the mail from these cc's at the "new" address or po box, then call the cra and delete the old stuff off your reports. I use the my maiden name but I am now married</blockquote>This is good, when you call the creditors that you are worried about and change your address, change your name with them too. Then you call cra and delete old name off the reports as well as your old addresses. You will have to prob send them a drivers liscense with your current address and your name on it. Don't say I got married, just say thats not my name. Its easier to do this in a letter, that way you don't feel bad or what have you on the phone with them when you try to get them deleted. You will also want to opt-out your credit reports from promotional purposes. You can get this info at experian.com read where it says alerts.<blockquote>Originally posted by sisflomiJust curious why you would do all this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisflomi Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 Well curly, what this does is help to make it harder for the ca or oc to verify sometimes. In this case New2this is having trouble getting this one thing off the report. See quote below for ops question.There is an unpaid collection on TU that is not anywhere else and I am really getting discouraged trying to think of ways to rid myself of it because I do not have anything else to dispute.So, if they get rid of the old address and names and what have you from their reports, and use a different address such as a friend or a po box, it will give them a new shot at getting the co deleted from the reports. For some reason this person has left their address for their current credit cards listed at their old address, so they need to find somewhere to send the current cc's to that won't keep updating their credit report with the address they need to get deleted. See when you have a credit card, when they report it to your credit report each month, they send in your address as well as other information about you and your credit with them.So, using the po box will allow them to still get their current cards in the mail, and by changing the address to the po box, the current credit cards won't keep reporting the address that they are associated with right now, which is the address the old charge off is also associated with. Getting rid of names pretty much works the same way, if you were married and you took your spouse's name, and you have old bad credit on your report from that time you would want to get that name deleted off your report. It gives you the same advantage as deleting old addresses, makes it harder for oc or ca to verifiy an account with the cras.Hope I didn't confuse you even more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlytop Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 Thanks for the explanation, Sis! I get it. But, won't the score go down if you have no history/stability?For instance, most of my bad accts go to my parents address. I still use that address for all of my new credit, etc., so the CAs can't track me down. The one positive thing is that I have been using that address since 1988.How much is that worth?I could change my addresses with my current CCs, but 1) I'm afraid some CA might find me and 2) I would have no address history.What do you think?Thanks, as always! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascadesss Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 I went to a Mail-Boxes place and got a box. The neat thing is that it is a street address and looks like an apartment address. I then changed all of my accounts to that address. I waited a while and then got my current address deleted from the CRAs.I then challenged a CA trade line as "not mine" and they took it off. I now have one $39 paid collection to go. I just sent them a fax offering to pay the $39 if they deleted the entire trade line. If they go for it, they won't get paid since it's past the SOL, and will drop of the CRAs this January anyway. Of course I pointed this out to the CA. If anyone is interested, here's the letter I sent:"On our Experian credit reports, you are listing a very old (1997) collection item from GTE Paging for $39. Although legally you can not collect this debt from us (past the statute of limitations in Calif and Oregon), I am willing to pay this off if you, putting it in writing, agree to remove this line item off of both of our Experian credit reports. I’m talking about a complete removal, not just showing it as a collection account paid. You also agree not to put anything on our credit reports with any credit reporting agency in the future.This will be automatically removed in 7 months because of aging. However, I am prepared to settle this to get it off now, and overnight you a cashier’s check if you agree to remove this entry within 5 days of receiving the cashier’s check. If you fax your response to me, be sure to add a cover sheet.Thank you,"I'll be curious to see if they bite on this.Cas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2this Posted July 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2003 Creditfix,How old was the collection that you paid. 21 points sounds nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisflomi Posted July 5, 2003 Report Share Posted July 5, 2003 Curly you address does not affect your fico score at all when it comes to the reports. Your address only comes into effect when you apply with a lender. That lender would then calculate your time at your residence into the score factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisflomi Posted July 5, 2003 Report Share Posted July 5, 2003 FICO Scores are calculated from a lot of different credit data in your credit report. This data can be grouped into five categories as outlined below. The percentages in the chart reflect how important each of the categories is in determining your score. These percentages are based on the importance of the five categories for the general population. For particular groups - for example, people who have not been using credit long - the importance of these categories may be somewhat different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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