Is it possible to fix credit score without paying off debt?

[mattymo]

Thanks for the reply dczech. Your first statement is contradictory to everything else I have heard regarding debt collections. Do you have anything to substantiate this?

I will keep in mind the taxes part, thanks.

Does anyone have experience with debt validation? Is this something worth pursuing or will it be a waste of time?

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

Does anyone have experience with debt validation? Is this something worth pursuing or will it be a waste of time?

Debt validation protects your rights under the FDCPA when dealing with collection agencies. Plus, you want to make sure you're paying the party that actually has the right to collect your debt, so it's a wise move to request debt validation from any collection agency that contacts you.

[mattymo]

Ok, now if I can corroborate a letter to a remark on my credit report, is it even worth of verifying with debt validation? I mean, if it's on my credit report, I know I'm paying the right creditor, correct?

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

Ok, now if I can corroborate a letter to a remark on my credit report, is it even worth of verifying with debt validation? I mean, if it's on my credit report, I know I'm paying the right creditor, correct?

If you're confident that you're dealing with the right CA (debts get passed around/sold all the time) and the amount due is correct, then you may want to pass on the DV letter. I would still send it regardless of the situation. It's not like it takes a lot of extra effort.

[dczech09]

What do you mean "substantiate" what I said? What I said is factual. You CANNOT have something removed from your credit report unless it is inaccurate. If you owe the debt, were delinquent, and the creditor has reported it to the bureau, it cannot be removed.

By paying the debt, you acknowledge that you owe the debt. A delinquency is reported in order to warn potential creditors that there is a risk that you will be delinquent again; past behavior is indicative of future behavior when it comes to credit. You are responsible for the delinquency, it is an accurate remark, thus it cannot be removed unless you lie. Lying in order to get money or improve credit is a felony, so don't do it.

I'm sorry if I don't understand your question, but there is nothing I can say to substantiate what I said because what I said is the truth. The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.

Btw, yes you can put a remark yourself on the report explaining your side of the story regarding the delinquency that forced the bank to write off and send the debt to collections. However, you can explain to creditors until you are blue in the face, your credit rating will still reflect the delinquency. Its a mathematical algorithm that does not take "conditions" into consideration.

[dczech09]

Kevin Trudeau wrote a book called "Debt Cures They Don't Want You To Know About." He mentions in his book that if you disagree with a remark on your credit that you can dispute it as identity theft. This is his "Magic Cure" as he calls it. There are other methods (scams) he mentions in his book on top of this. Keep in mind that Kevin Trudeau was convicted of credit card fraud and larceny.

I hope I am not coming off as rude or mean. I am trying to make sure you understand that there is nothing you can do about this remark since it is true. I also want to make sure you do not try doing something that you later regret. Even if you pay off the debt, the fact remains that the bank wrote it off and sold it to collections. This remark is on your report, so learn to live with it. Hope this helps.

[mattymo]

Hey dczech, what I meant by substantiate was perhaps a legal judgement in a case where someone did have a remark removed and was convicted, or maybe some form of penal code, at the very least someone else to coo berate this "fact." I'm not saying you're wrong and I appreciate your input, but like I said, what you're saying is contradictory to ALL of the online literature available on credit repair. I highly doubt this information would still be floating around unchecked if what you're saying is true. Thats why I'm skepticle.

[dczech09]

Here is a link from one of the bureaus:
Your Credit Rights

Here is a piece from the link that I feel is important:
Correct or delete inaccurate information. A credit reporting company must correct or, as the case may be, delete from your credit file the information that is found to be inaccurate or can no longer be verified from your credit file. The credit reporting company is not required to remove accurate data from your file unless it is outdated or cannot be verified.

Here is another link from the FTC:
Credit Repair: How to Help Yourself

Here is a little piece from that page:
No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report. The law allows you to ask for an investigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no charge for this. Some people hire a company to investigate on their behalf, but anything a credit repair clinic can do legally, you can do for yourself at little or no cost. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA):

As to why my information is contridictory to what others say may result from not a lot of people actually understanding this stuff. Also, media today advertises a lot of illconceived information that is really only partially true or not true at all. Afterall, how many scams are shown on infomercials? How many times do you hear a radio advertisement that talk about the secrets of credit card debt relief?

The truth is hidden behind fog in todays media. This goes for just about anything, not just personal finance. Hope this helps mattymo

[dczech09]

Here is another bit:
When negative information in your report is accurate, only the passage of time can assure its removal. A consumer reporting company can report most accurate negative information for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years.

Hey dczech, what I meant by substantiate was perhaps a legal judgement in a case where someone did have a remark removed and was convicted, or maybe some form of penal code, at the very least someone else to coo berate this "fact." I'm not saying you're wrong and I appreciate your input, but like I said, what you're saying is contradictory to ALL of the online literature available on credit repair. I highly doubt this information would still be floating around unchecked if what you're saying is true. Thats why I'm skepticle.

When researching credit repair online, you must make sure your source is credible. I've given you info from Experian and the FTC, not some con-artist who has credit repair secrets. Faulty information is everywhere; especially on the web where people can post anything about anything.

[disneysteve]

what you're saying is contradictory to ALL of the online literature available on credit repair. I highly doubt this information would still be floating around unchecked if what you're saying is true. Thats why I'm skepticle.

As you are finding, 99.9%, if not 100%, of the so-called "credit repair" schemes are scams. There is no such thing as credit repair. There is nothing a third party can do to improve your credit score if the information that lowered your score is legitimate and accurate. If there is inaccurate information, you can get that taken care of on your own without paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to some credit repair company.

So you are right to be skeptical, but don't be skeptical of what dczech09 has said. Be skeptical of what the scammers are saying.

[skruggie]

Creditboards.com helped me greatly in understanding the law, when collection agencies take advantage of ignorant consumers, and how to use the law in my favor.

Although the best thing that helped me was time, I was very successful in cleaning up and re-establishing my credit over the course of several years.

This is a huge investment in time and understanding your rights.

[mattymo]

Thanks guys, maybe there was a mixup in communication somewhere? None of the material I have read are claims about what a third party "credit repair" company could do for me. All of it was self-help advice about how best to tackle your credit report. If a settlement offer is agreed to by a collection agency in which one of the terms is that all remarks placed on your report fmust be removed, it has to be honored.

"No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report. The law allows you to ask for an investigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no charge for this."

So obviously, information can be removed, so long as it is "inaccurate". If the collection agency has their money, I'm assuming they would be willing to remove this due to "innacuracy". This is what is advocated as a "pay-for-delete" method. I've also heard of people disputing remarks after a settlement was agreed on, and after the collection agency fails to respond, it is removed. So it would appear to me that there definitely is a possibility o getting it off your report. None of you guys have been exposed to such experiences?

[skruggie]

i strongly, strongly suggest that you ask these questions on creditboards.com. The laws are very complex and while it is possible and not particularly difficult to get negatives removed, you need to know exactly what you are doing before you start contacting the credit bureaus.

I would not talk to collection agencies at all before you have a clear understanding of your rights, or you run the risk of making matters much more difficult for yourself.

Do everything in writing. Do not trust anything a bill collector says to you on the phone.

[dczech09]

mattymo, I do not think you will have much success in setting up a condition of payment with the collection agency whereas you pay if they remove a remark on your credit report. The reason why is simple: the collection agency is NOT the one who put the remark on your credit report.

The bank who originally had the debt wrote it off as a loss before selling the contract to the collection agency. The bank (original creditor) is the only one who has the ability to remove this remark; the collection agency does not have this power because they did not put it on there in the first place.

The bank will not remove it because it is an accurate remark based on what had happened. You could in theory contest the remark with the bureau, but they will find the remark to be accurate and thus keep it on your credit report.

Bottom line mattymo: there is not much you can do. You can try fighting with the collection agency if you want, but it won't do any good. Even if they agree to remove the remark, there won't be an actual agreement because they can't remove the remark; they were not the ones who posted it. Am I making myself clear? There is nothing you can do.

[catatonico]

Ok, Mattymo... credit reporting can get confusing, so let me see if I can explain it in laymans terms....

What your goal is: Improve your credit rating and spend as little money as possible in doing so. Get the derogatory marks removed from your credit report, as if they never happened. Does that pretty much cover it?

Ok... First off, Yes.... it IS possible to get derogatory marks removed from your credit report. However, it is COMPLETELY up to the creditor or collection agency (whoever you are dealing with) to remove them. They are NOT obligated to remove them... all they are OBLIGATED to do is to report factual information, which is that the account was paid or settled. Leaving the account on the credit report is not, in and of itself, an inaccuracy, since the debt DID exist and DID go delinquent. The inaccuracy would happen if the debt was paid/settled and the creditor/collection agency failed to mark it as paid/settled (there are a lot of other ways that reports can be inaccurate, but this is not the time nor place for discussions).

Secondly... if you are dealing with a collection agency and they agree to remove the mark from your credit, they can ONLY remove the mark that they, themselves, put on it. They cannot remove the account that the original creditor placed on there. You would have to contact the original creditor to, essentially, beg forgiveness and hope they are feeling charitable.

Thirdly... by assuming that the collection agencies would be willing to remove the derogatory mark is giving them waaaayyyy to much credit (I apologize if I offend, but I'm not fond of collection agencies, though I know they serve a purpose). If they are not willing to provide that in writing, then their verbal assurances DO NOT COUNT. You would actually have better luck getting the original creditors to do that... but typically only if you are willing to pay the debt in full.

As mentioned earlier, there are some underhanded methods to attempt to get the derogatory marks removed (continuously disputing them with the credit reporting bureaus and hoping the creditor/collection agency doesn't respond in time; claiming identity theft - though this won't aways work, since they usually want a copy of a police report), but, I'm assuming that you want to do the honorable thing here and actually take care of your obligations as best you are able.

I typically don't believe that "Pay for Deletes" should even be allowed, except rare occassions and one-time occurences. Why SHOULD a creditor delete an account simply because you finally decided to man-up and pay it? It should have never been allowed to go late in the first place.

I know... that sounds as if it was being said by someone who has perfect credit and no debt... its not. I have a lot of debt (most of it due to my own financial irresponsibility) and my credit is terrible. Its not something I'm proud of, but I have made my bed and now I must lie in it. The only thing that I can do is what I have been doing... busting my tail to slowly pay things off - in FULL, I might add (though I don't pay for all of the stupid extra charges that the collection agencies tend to tack on, if I can get away with it). Its difficult... but the sense of pride I feel when I can send in that money order, with a copy of their statement, is well worth it. Sure... I could take the easy way out and file bankruptcy (which... I am eligible to do, and have done in the past), but what would that teach me about responsibility?

Pay the accounts in full, if you are able... Settle them, if you are not able to pay them in full. You can ASK for the pay-for-deletes, but don't expect them.

Again... I apologize if I sound a little harsh. I wish you luck in what you decide to do.