Re: This is what happen to me....

Once I had the money to pay the account in full I paid the account in full and it started the credit bureau reporting the account again for 7 more years. When I asked about this I was told that it goes from the last date of activity--- which was the date I paid the account in full.

My advise is to obtain all 3 copies of your credit report because there are three credit bureaus and correct any negative reports.

I am not a lawyer and I do not pretend to be. This is to be used only as information to help with your own research.

no time limit- unpaid tax liens

favorable or neutral information

credit problems of $50,000 or more

job information if the salary is $20,000 or more

10 year items - bankruptcies

7 year items- unpaid bills and slow payment

information from creditors

Chapter 13 bankruptcies

paid tax liens

lawsuits

civil judgements but varies by state

bills collected through a collection agency

criminal arrests and indictments if you were convicted

I learned that with a judgement your wages may be garnished. The way to get around having your wages garnished is to work the type of work that requires filing a 1099 with the IRS. Such jobs are handyman, house painter, babysitter, any type of independant employee with companies. This will give you some money that the credits can not garnish.

"If you have the money to pay off your debt all at one time approach your original creditor and make your offer, in return for your credit being cleared. If for some reason you cannot get the creditor to cooperate with you, send the check to the collection agency, but with a letter stating that acceptance and cashing of the check is acknowledgement that your debt is paid and that they will clear your record. Enclose the statement:

Your acceptance of my check signifies that the account for [list your account and account number] is clear of all delinquent payments, and that you will contact all credit bureaus to whom this account status has been reported with the instruction to remove all derogatory and collection account records.

If a credit collection agency does not accept your check under the conditions which you have given it to them, they will probably use one of two arguments... They may call and inform you that only the creditor who turned the account over to them can delete complaints on your credit report, or they may tell you that such statements cannot be deleted in any case. Do not accept these arguments. Just as statements can be added to your credit report because of delinquencies, they can be deleted when those delinquencies are repaired.

If they take this attitude raise the issue that you consider the original complaint against you as an error. You can state that notices were sent to the wrong address, or that you have paid but do not have the cancelled checks for some reason. In any such case offer to pay the account, in return for getting your record cleared, and you will seek further redress when you have found your records. You are trying to raise doubt in their minds that what has been done to you is entirely fair or legal, and then offer to fix it anyway. This should take them off the hook as far as clearing your credit, and seems to leave you with the responsibility cleaning up any further problems. They have done their job, satisfied the creditor, and gotten you out of their hair all at one time.

If they hesitate, and by now you will probably be talking to the manager of the agency, then demand that they return your billing to the orginal creditor and that you will work out your differences at that level. This is a threat to their operation since they are paid only if they collect money, not if you agree only to pay money to the creditor.

The next step in raising the heat is to call in a lawyer. This is a big threat to a collection agency since lawyers are expensive, and bring one in can tie up an account for months or years. This will probably only be useful to you if the billing runs into the thousands of dollars. Of course all that may be required is a letter from a lawyer outlining the steps that will be taken if they refuse to negotiate a payback plan that allows you to clear your credit.

When they do agree to take your offer and clear your credit, get it in writing, and keep everything you get from them in a file. That way if they do not take care of your credit problems with this account you can go back and sue for damages. They know this, an dit willspur them on to prompt action. Once you get the collection agency to agree to clear your credit, wait 30 days, and then check your credit records with the credit bureaus. If there is still a problem you can go back to the collection agency, although they may well have forgotten about you by now, or you can go to the credit bureau and dispute the negative record. If the credit agency has cleared you on their records they will not confirm the negative statement they put into your bureau records, and those should then be cleared with out further action on your part.

As a check list here are the 4 general guidelines to follow when dealing with a credit collection agency:

1. They are in business to make money, and they do that by taking a porton of the money they collect. If you offer to pay them for something you want they will have a definite incentive to work with you on clearing your record;

2. The law controls the forms of contact they can use in prompting you to pay your bills. They can write you or call you at home, but they can't threaten you, harass you (say with calls in the middle of the night), or threaten your livehood by calling you at work to the point that it disturbs you ability to earn a living. Credit agencies are limited by the laws of the "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act," which you can consult at a public library if you should have questions about what they say, or what they seem to be trying to do;

3. You can treaten them yourself by telling them you refuse to deal with them, an dyou will work only with the original creditor. Of course if you do this they will lose any commission they might have earned. This should prompt them to work with youo, an dif it doesn't you can carry through an dgo back to the orginal creditor to work out a payment that will clear your credit record;

4. Extra collection fees for the use of a collection agency cannot be charged against you unless your original financing agreement allowed them. To determine whether or not this applies to you it is necessary that you read all of the fine print in any credit papers you signed. If you see anything about the borrower or debtor being liable for debt collection charges, should they be used, then they have you. But if there is no language of this sort you ought to be free and clear, at least on that score."

this information can from a softcover book I purchased a few years ago titled
24 Hours To Credit Power page 78-81.

Copyright MM American Publishing

I purchased this book for the publisher $25.95 plus $3 postage and handling.

24 Hours To Credit Power
Post Office Box 15196
Montclair, CA 91763-9945

Printed in the United States of America
0987654321

The only thing I would add to this is to type the statement on the back of your check before they sign it. and on the front of the check I would make a comment about the statement so they can not dispute "didn't see it"

Just remember you now have the money they want and you must use it to get your credit report cleaned up or what happen to me may happen to you.

I am not a lawyer and I am not pretending to be one so you must make your decisions based on your own research.