Credit score dropped nearly 100 points! :(

[JoyJoy]

Wonderful thing about credit scores....they will RISE again! Welcome to the "I AM NOT PERFECT CLUB". Relax, breathe and kiss your hubby!

[Elgin526]

I'm just thinking "out loud" here, but it may be something you can look into.

Since the amount is so low, why not try a "pay for removal" letter? You contact whoever owns the debt (the insurance company may have sold it to a debt collection agency) by mail, stating you'll be happy to pay the debt if they'll remove the negative line from your credit report. Request they corrispond with you by mail only. Whatever you do, DO NOT TALK TO THEM OVER THE PHONE!!! Ever! Under any circumstance. Do it all by mail. The worst they can say is "no". If you go to creditboards.com you can find samle pay for removal letters to help get you started, and they can give you other credit advice too.

[BCHGRL]

I know you must be frustrated, but I can't stress how important it is for you to check your credit on a regular basis (once every six months). You can obtain a free credit report annually.

Take it from someone who's identity was stolen and I didn't find out until a year later when the person ruined my credit, you want to know what is being reported on your credit. None of my legitimate accounts were compromised so I would not have known any other way. My credit went from 520 to 770 once I cleared the id theft. Big difference, huh?

[Coleroo]

Elgin - Thanks!! I haven't heard of pay for removal letters... I didnt know we could do that! If the proof of validation gets..uh..validated.. that will be my next course of action.


BCHGirl - Unfortunately once every 6 months is not enough sometimes. I have always been on top of my credit, checking as often as I can - I just checked my reports and my FICO back at the end of January and nothing negative was on there.

[baking23]

I think what happened to you really sucks. But I wonder if maybe the rental loan folks looking into your score is what caused the company to remember to bill you?

[Coleroo]

UPDATE!

I sent in my validation letter on May 2. Got the return receipt back with the signature... and then waited.

30 days is the limit they have to validate what you owe - 30 days came and went and i still heard nothing from them. No mailing, no nothing...

SOOOO... a few days ago I took a deep breath and checked my free credit reports on the annualcreditreport.com website.

NOTHING IS ON THERE!!!! :-) It appears that the negative mark has been removed from all of my reports. I am back to normal again! One of my friends (a former debt collector) said they probably looked at the puny amount and figured it wasnt worth their effort since they only get a certain percentage of it anyway. WHOOHOO!!

So with the short time it took to write the letter up, then the cost of the stamp and certified mailing, I now have cleared my name and returned my good credit. WOOT WOOT!!!

[JoyJoy]

Well WTG!!! A hard lesson to learn, but well worth the ending!

Good luck to you.

[Marc Chase]

Removing the collection

You should go to creditboards.com and research how to approach this. You may be past the statute of limitations for this debt, in which case you are no longer responsible for it. They have a lot of advice on how to dispute negative items and have them removed from your credit reports.

She is not past the statute of limitations, Its 7 years. There is a second statute which covers the length of time they can take legal action and is usually shorter (state to state)

Send a dispute to the reporting credit bureau. If it comes back verified, send them a method of verification letter which basically asks who, when, where they talked to them.

if that fails, send a validation of debt to the collection company. That states they have to prove its your debt. ie signed contracts, accounting, how they came up with 91.00 etc etc.

They have 30 days (plus mail time) to respond, or they have to remove it from your report.

Finally; if all that fails, since it may be past the statute in which they can sue, they know they are probably not getting a dime.

Offer to pay them 50% IF THEY DELETE THE TRADE LINE. Works like a charm for older debts like this

[Coleroo]

She is not past the statute of limitations, Its 7 years. There is a second statute which covers the length of time they can take legal action and is usually shorter (state to state)

Send a dispute to the reporting credit bureau. If it comes back verified, send them a method of verification letter which basically asks who, when, where they talked to them.

if that fails, send a validation of debt to the collection company. That states they have to prove its your debt. ie signed contracts, accounting, how they came up with 91.00 etc etc.

They have 30 days (plus mail time) to respond, or they have to remove it from your report.

Finally; if all that fails, since it may be past the statute in which they can sue, they know they are probably not getting a dime.

Offer to pay them 50% IF THEY DELETE THE TRADE LINE. Works like a charm for older debts like this

Hi Marc,

I have already done these steps (see my success post just above yours). It worked great - the collection was removed without a hassle and without me having to pay a dime to them.

Thanks!