Could I have some thoughts please?

[nicole]

I'm just starting to clean up my credit in hopes of getting a mortgage later this year. I had a few CCs early in college, and of course I was very irresponsible and stopped paying. The DOLA on all of them is the end of '99 and beginning of '00, so I know they're all past the SOL...I'm in PA, and it's 4 years. Currently, I am left with 4 of the original accounts on my CR, and only 2 collections. The latest that any of the OCs reported was early '03, but the CAs (Arrow and Sherman) are still reporting.

I'm wondering what the best approach is to all of this. If I dispute my old addresses and get them removed, then will the OCs most likely fall off? Is it even worth it to try that, or should I just dispute them and hope they don't verify? I'm wondering if it would be better to send out my DVs to the CAs first, and then work on getting rid of the OCs after that. Also, does anyone have any thoughts on whether it's better to send a "dumb blonde" kind of DV or one that lets them know I'm fully aware of my rights under the law?

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions!

[ggluvbug]

i had 2 cards like that. one was first consumer national bank. they never verified and were removed. the other was capital one. they suck majorly. i still haven't figured out how to get that one removed.

[GreatGadsby]

i like the first letter to sound like it's from an unsophisticated consumer. 'But how can an account with a 0 balance be 120+ days late?' they seem more likely to screw up that way, b/c they dont think you have any idea what your doing. In the 2nd letter, I tell them that they screwed up the first time, and some of the laws they broke. That way, when they screw up again, and you sue them, you can show that their disregard for collection laws was willfull, since they did it twice & even after you had told them they were doing it wrong.

just my .02