Ok, so I got a letter offering to settle an account with an original balance of over 5K for $1,300. Can I do this on all my negative marks? I don't want it to show up on my credit as settled, I want it removed. Do I need a credit repair company or is it a DIY fix? How do I do this?
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Credit counseling services have a sliding scale. I would go to one of them for personalized advice.
Be sure to check the BBB on such places! You have to make sure that these companies have your best interest at had.If they are legit and want to give you a settlement that a great idea! WE ARE ALL NUMBERS ON PAPER when it comes to CREDIT!
There are non profit credit counseling services, but I personally, would avoid any service or offer and work with each company and creditor on your own.
Many of those services (even the non-profit ones) cost a lot of money and they are doing things you can do on your own if you put your mind to it.
This is what I did when my now ex-husband, ruined my credit when I was young.
I assessed my income, I figured out exactly how much I could pay each entity (and there were a lot of them). Then I called every single company and asked to speak to supervisor or manager until I got someone who would hear me and help me.
To each person, I explained what happened to me and I laid out my plan for how I was going to solve the problem. During each plea I asked if they could forgo some of the debt, if the answer was no, then I asked if they could cut me a break on the interest. While most said, no to both, some did work with me as long as I worked with them and kept to my word of paying X amount by the X of each month for X number of months.
If I had to miss a payment, I called and asked for help. I tried not to do that more than once per company, so I had to keep very good records of what I was doing when.
It took almost 5 years, but I got everything paid and got my credit back to where I wanted it.
It was not easy.
At one point I had 3 jobs (I was much younger than I am now) and I had to totally change my lifestyle...I had a strict budget and cut every single thing out of it that was not a basic.
I learned to make every penny squeak. It was not fun or easy, but it was very satisfying because I was not letting a really shi**y situation win. I was going to win and I did!
Today I don't even think about my frugal life style and when I got myself back together, I vowed to keep my life as simple as possible.
Sending prayers and blessings!
I'm assuming you are behind in payments if the company is sending you this type of letter so it may not be possible to remove all negative remarks as your report will show several months of late or nonpayment for each company involved.
There is a way to remove most of the bad reports and this explains how to do it. I believe this may be something you can do yourself - if you have the cash to pay the amounts the company states they will settle for.
Read the following statement:
"Do NOT just pay a collection. A paid collection usually doesn't help improve your credit score! Instead, negotiate a "pay for delete" IN WRITING with the collector. Only when you have a written agreement should you pay a collection account, and then work on getting the account deleted."
I will supply this information (most people are not aware of this):
The collector - by law - has to report to the IRS the difference in the original amount and whatever amount you paid and the IRS considers this as 'money made' and you have to report it as income when you file your income tax return.
If you wish to check out a credit repair company here is what the government site suggest:
"Before you do business with any debt relief service, check it out with your state Attorney General and local consumer protection agency. They can tell you if any consumer complaints are on file about the firm you're considering doing business with. Ask your state Attorney General if the company is required to be licensed to work in your state and, if so, whether it is."
www.consumer.ftc.gov/
This all depends on the credit card companies and who you owe the debt to. I know when my dad got sick they could not pay off the debt on some of their credit cards and the credit card companies worked with them to settle for a lower price. This still went on their credit history if I recall correctly.
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