chabirpd Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 I have looked all over the net for information concerning credit repair and where to start and I think I may have found a reliable trusting site. I looked at DSI trying to decide if they were legit but just could not sign up with them. I hope that through this site I can start the road to repairing my credit. My first intent was to try and pay all of my debt off after negotiating with creditors, but after reading several things on the net I'm not sure this is my best route! Several of my accounts have been charge-offs and are appearing on all three reporting agencies. My total debt probably is under $10,000 at most. I just need direction on where to start. At this point I have a copy of my credit reports that I bought on line...are these complete reports or do I need to obtain from other source? Could you please clarify the terms you use in you postings...TL, DV..etc...you had said you start with calling these creditors to dispute the debt..if this is true, do you call the company that extended credit or the agency that tried collecting...what exactly is discussed if you feel this is the way I need to go...although I read as much as I can on credit repair, it still seems german to me!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated...I don't want to pay these things off if it does not increase my credit rating...my scores are killing me...520-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breathing_easier Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 Welcome to the CIC. First rule...only post your question/comment in one thread. You have a lot of reading to do. To get a list of the commonly used acronyms/abbreviations go to the "Please Read Before Posting..." thread in the Announcements forum. Then read everything under the links at the top of this page as well as the stickies (permanent posts) at the top of the forums that best suit your situation (the Credit Repair forum stickies would seem to be the first you should read since you are focusing on credit repair and increasing your FICO score). Then come back and post your questions.Deciding who to negotiate a settlement with depends on who current owns the debt. If the OC still owns it then it is an entirely different story than if a CA/JDB now owns it. You will want to pay a CA/JDB much less than you would pay an OC. Also, it will do your FICO score no good to settle on a debt and have the notation "Paid After Chargeoff," "Paid Collection," "Settled for Less Than Full Balance," etc. Those TLs might be helpful if a potential lender is doing a manual review of your reports (which often happens with mortgage lenders, auto lenders, etc.), but they do absolutely nothing to improve your FICO. All communications with a CA should be in writing, no exceptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elyse449 Posted January 15, 2007 Report Share Posted January 15, 2007 I have looked all over the net for information concerning credit repair and where to start and I think I may have found a reliable trusting site. I looked at DSI trying to decide if they were legit but just could not sign up with them. I hope that through this site I can start the road to repairing my credit. My first intent was to try and pay all of my debt off after negotiating with creditors, but after reading several things on the net I'm not sure this is my best route! Several of my accounts have been charge-offs and are appearing on all three reporting agencies. My total debt probably is under $10,000 at most. I just need direction on where to start. At this point I have a copy of my credit reports that I bought on line...are these complete reports or do I need to obtain from other source? Could you please clarify the terms you use in you postings...TL, DV..etc...you had said you start with calling these creditors to dispute the debt..if this is true, do you call the company that extended credit or the agency that tried collecting...what exactly is discussed if you feel this is the way I need to go...although I read as much as I can on credit repair, it still seems german to me!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated...I don't want to pay these things off if it does not increase my credit rating...my scores are killing me...520-560First of all, welcome-welcome-welcome! You've truly struck a GOLD mine when you found this place, because it's truly chalk full of fabulous info. All you need is some time to research and read this site as much as possible. If there are specific things you want to know about, try entering the subject into the search section (located on upper right of site under "private messages" link) and see what all conversations have taken place on that topic. I can't iterate that enough, read-read-read! Having said that...my personal stance is to NEVER call collectors. If you want to dispute your debts, do so via the collection agency currently holding the account. Locate a sample letter from here at the site, change it to suit your need and send it to them via CMRRR (Certified mail, return receipt requested) and see what happens. When/if you receive NOTHING back (within 30 days) go ahead and dispute with the credit bureaus. If you receive validation items back--than you may need to go the debt settlement route unless the debt truly is not yours.Also, you're right to not want to pay them off because it absolutely does NOTHING for your credit score and in fact, I've seen peoples scores go DOWN when they've paid a collection. That's part of debt settlement though--you negotiate the amounts and credit reporting w/ the creditor.Anyway...welcome again!!! Elyse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts