Credit issues

[Farmersfan]

Several years ago I wised up on the credit card thing and cut them all up. I had some very tough times but managed to take care of almost all of my obligations and now have zero debt. But I have one problem showing up on my credit report but it shows up 3 times. I had a big issue with Cingular about 5 years ago and discontinued their service but they hit me with early cancelation fees for 3 phones (almost 600.00). On princliple I refused to even consider paying them for cancelation fees when it was their service that caused the cancelation. Well now I have the original debt showing on my credit report as well as two other companies that have purchased the same debt. One shows it as the same acccount number but the other shows it as a completely different account number. My first question is can Cingular show this debt as a active account if they have sold it to collections? Seems to me they would have to show it as closed or transferred. And the second question is can two collection companies show the debt as current as well and put a different account number on it????? Anyone know the processes here? And any advice on getting it off my report?

[blowfish]

Dispute each of the entires. The company has 30 days to respond to the dispute. If they have sold the debt it is no longer thiers and the entry should ber removed. The purchaser of the debt can keep it on the report under thier acct. #.

[Farmersfan]

Originally posted by blowfish
Dispute each of the entires. The company has 30 days to respond to the dispute. If they have sold the debt it is no longer thiers and the entry should ber removed. The purchaser of the debt can keep it on the report under thier acct. #.



I disputed all 3 and they all came back as validated. So you believe if they sold the debt then their reporting should show it as closed, transferred or sold???? They show it as active as of last month and two collection companies show it as active. If I make contact with the original debtor for whatever reason does it start the process over again. (7 more years on record?). Even if I can't get rid of it now it should drop off in a min of 2 years so I don't want to effect that date in any way.

[waterboy]

Why worry about it if you're not gonna use credit for future purchases? My advise would be to NOT PAY this outstanding debt, NOR should you acknowledge said debt exists. Do not respond to these bill collectors EVER. If you settle with any of these thieves, you will have this on your credit report for an additional seven years AFTER you make any type of payment. As it stands right now, you only have to wait the seven years retroactive to the date the claim was made by the original lien holder. I had a similar situation years ago and my credit is now CLEAR of any bad debts. They still occasionally send me letters saying they will settle with me for a lesser amount, but I ignore them because of the reasons I previously stated. If I were to pay them, that would be admitting I owed them to begin with, and that bad debt would be haunting me for another seven years. NO THANKS on that!

[Farmersfan]

Originally posted by waterboy
Why worry about it if you're not gonna use credit for future purchases? My advise would be to NOT PAY this outstanding debt, NOR should you acknowledge said debt exists. Do not respond to these bill collectors EVER. If you settle with any of these thieves, you will have this on your credit report for an additional seven years AFTER you make any type of payment. As it stands right now, you only have to wait the seven years retroactive to the date the claim was made by the original lien holder. I had a similar situation years ago and my credit is now CLEAR of any bad debts. They still occasionally send me letters saying they will settle with me for a lesser amount, but I ignore them because of the reasons I previously stated. If I were to pay them, that would be admitting I owed them to begin with, and that bad debt would be haunting me for another seven years. NO THANKS on that!



I don't plan on using credit in the future except for a mortgage when we decide to build our house. But you never know when an emergency might show up and I would prefer to not have this on my record.
I have always said the credit industry is nothing but a con game geared towards allowing or even causing people to default. It seems the credit companies make more money when you default than they would if you pay them out.
I went into a local pawn shop yesterday to look for good deals on fishing equipment and the owners were talking about Obama's credit resolutions and they were saying they could not make a living if he limits them to a max of 36% a year max interest earned!!!!!:eek: 36% a year is ridiculous yet they feel they will go broke. Banks offer you overdraft protection and then hit you with a 35.00 fee even if you overdraft just 1.00. That's 3500% interest on the 1.00 overdraft protection. Yet Obama's plan doesn't address this. I think we should ALL stop using credit just long enough for all these collection companies to disappear and Banks to get their stuff together.

[waterboy]

Originally posted by Farmersfan
I don't plan on using credit in the future except for a mortgage when we decide to build our house. But you never know when an emergency might show up and I would prefer to not have this on my record.
I have always said the credit industry is nothing but a con game geared towards allowing or even causing people to default. It seems the credit companies make more money when you default than they would if you pay them out.
I went into a local pawn shop yesterday to look for good deals on fishing equipment and the owners were talking about Obama's credit resolutions and they were saying they could not make a living if he limits them to a max of 36% a year max interest earned!!!!!:eek: 36% a year is ridiculous yet they feel they will go broke. Banks offer you overdraft protection and then hit you with a 35.00 fee even if you overdraft just 1.00. That's 3500% interest on the 1.00 overdraft protection. Yet Obama's plan doesn't address this. I think we should ALL stop using credit just long enough for all these collection companies to disappear and Banks to get their stuff together.
Ridiculous, ain't it?:( I will tell you this, it did bother me for a long time to have an outstanding debt showing up on my credit report, but once it's there, chances are you'll never be able to clear it off of it. It's likely a permanent mark because you signed an agreement, even though they didn't live up to their end of the agreement. My advice is for you to NEVER pay it, and ignore ANY further phone calls or correspondence from the bill collectors. Regardless of whether you pay that money or not, it will not be removed from your report. To me, it was the "principle" of the thing which was worth the most. I actually got a little satisfaction out of it.:D

[ronwx5x]

Originally posted by Farmersfan
Several years ago I wised up on the credit card thing and cut them all up. I had some very tough times but managed to take care of almost all of my obligations and now have zero debt. But I have one problem showing up on my credit report but it shows up 3 times. I had a big issue with Cingular about 5 years ago and discontinued their service but they hit me with early cancelation fees for 3 phones (almost 600.00). On princliple I refused to even consider paying them for cancelation fees when it was their service that caused the cancelation. Well now I have the original debt showing on my credit report as well as two other companies that have purchased the same debt. One shows it as the same acccount number but the other shows it as a completely different account number. My first question is can Cingular show this debt as a active account if they have sold it to collections? Seems to me they would have to show it as closed or transferred. And the second question is can two collection companies show the debt as current as well and put a different account number on it????? Anyone know the processes here? And any advice on getting it off my report?

I had a debt listed on my credit report several years ago that was a fraudulent use of my name and credit. I tried and tried to have it removed, the lender agreed it was fraudulent, but before it was removed the lender went bankrupt and closed. There was no way I could have it removed, so it stayed for the seven year period. I bought and sold a home at least three times and just explained it each time. Never had any problem. Lenders tend to listen to legitimate stories.

[TexasHSFB]

Oh well, it should be gone in 2 years anyway right?

[CHS_CG]

My babysitter had an outstanding debt with American Express and it finally just dropped off her credit at 10 years.. she never paid them a dime... After it dropped off her credit went back up.

[waterboy]

My credit never got below 675, even while that debt was on the report. After about seven years, it went up over 750. Now, it is over 800.:thumbsup:

[Farmersfan]

Originally posted by waterboy
My credit never got below 675, even while that debt was on the report. After about seven years, it went up over 750. Now, it is over 800.:thumbsup:


Will you co-sign a loan for a friend???????:D :D :D

[waterboy]

Originally posted by Farmersfan
Will you co-sign a loan for a friend???????:D :D :D
Just because I have a good credit score doesn't mean I have MONEY!!:doh: :D

[jason]

Originally posted by waterboy
Just because I have a good credit score doesn't mean I have MONEY!!:doh: :D x2

[jason]

Originally posted by CHS_CG
My babysitter had an outstanding debt with American Express and it finally just dropped off her credit at 10 years.. she never paid them a dime... After it dropped off her credit went back up. thats why interest rates are so high - people decide they dont want to pay their bills so the companies have to make up the losses somewhere...

same thing with medical insurance, all the 'free' care that people get has to be paid for by somebody, might as well be the people who actually pay their own way......

[sinton66]

The original debt that was sold should say "written off" or "sold". Even then, it can legally stay on the credit report for 7 years. Same can be said for the buyer if they held it a year or so and then in turn sold it to a third. What you aren't realizing is the original will disappear after 7. The second started when they bought it, so will go past the original 7 and so on. Each time it's sold, it's a NEW debt and interest, late fees, etc. are added. Unless you do something, it will spiral out of control one day.

What I suggest is you should contact the current debt holder and see what they will "settle" for. If that is unacceptable, your only option may be to hire a lawyer.

[rockdale80]

Originally posted by sinton66
The original debt that was sold should say "written off" or "sold". Even then, it can legally stay on the credit report for 7 years. Same can be said for the buyer if they held it a year or so and then in turn sold it to a third. What you aren't realizing is the original will disappear after 7. The second started when they bought it, so will go past the original 7 and so on. Each time it's sold, it's a NEW debt and interest, late fees, etc. are added. Unless you do something, it will spiral out of control one day.

What I suggest is you should contact the current debt holder and see what they will "settle" for. If that is unacceptable, your only option may be to hire a lawyer.

That is inaccurate. It ONLY starts over the 7 year count if you do anything with the account...like make a payment. The 7 years ends after last activity, but them selling the debt does not count.

[Farmersfan]

Originally posted by rockdale80
That is inaccurate. It ONLY starts over the 7 year count if you do anything with the account...like make a payment. The 7 years ends after last activity, but them selling the debt does not count.


This is what I understood which really makes no sense at all. It is kind of a built in incentive to NOT settle the debt. I have obtained a legal letter from my lawyer to send certified which expresses the requirements of 15 USC 1692 and requests a lot of validation from the collection company. Apparently if requested they have to be able to show the actual signed contract, all past activities, and all the fees and penalties attached to the debt. They also must show proof of their authorization to do business in Texas and all their authority to collect this debt. They have 30 days to respond or the debt must be removed from the credit reporting companies. If anyone wants a copy of the letter just PM me with a email address and I will send it. I was told that even if it is a valid debt and they prove it in court they will still lose if they don't respond to the request within 30 days as required by law. We will see!

[Farmersfan]

Originally posted by rockdale80
That is inaccurate. It ONLY starts over the 7 year count if you do anything with the account...like make a payment. The 7 years ends after last activity, but them selling the debt does not count.



My lawyer told me yesterday it was 7 years from the FIRST reported delinquency that resulted in the current condition. If you continue to make payments on an account that is delinquent for a long time before you default the 7 year countdown starts at the first reported delinguency. As long as you never bring it into current status the 7 year period does not restart. She said most people think it is the last payment date but that's not true according to her. Just FYI.

[rockdale80]

Originally posted by Farmersfan
My lawyer told me yesterday it was 7 years from the FIRST reported delinquency that resulted in the current condition. If you continue to make payments on an account that is delinquent for a long time before you default the 7 year countdown starts at the first reported delinguency. As long as you never bring it into current status the 7 year period does not restart. She said most people think it is the last payment date but that's not true according to her. Just FYI.

I am not saying I know more than a lawyer but when I was cleaning up my credit that is what I was told. Perhaps it has changed, or maybe credit companies do it that way and ignore the law and play the people that know as the exception....