Debt Consolidation/ Credit Repair Question?
What would be a good place to contact to help repair my credit and pay off debt? I have many really old debts and a judgement that adds up to about around $15,000+ and none of them want to accept payments really - only the full balances (which I cannot come up with). Pretty much everything is way overdue - except for a few accounts. I've heard that there are services that can consolidate, elimiante/settle these accounts and get you back going again ... anyone know of such a thing?
Public Comments
- I tried credit counseling, credit settlement, and all that. I ended up in worse condition then I started. So if they wont' work with you directly. See a bankruptcy lawyer who specializes in bankruptcy AND settlement. See if the lawyer can settle things for you without declaring bankruptcy if you have the funds available to do so. That way at least you know it is legally being done and legit. Avoid all those debt settlement places you see on the internet and online..they take too hefty of fees and don't help much. I learned the hard way and lost tons of money trying debt settlement through one of the top two places. I had to file bankruptcy recently.
- First off, let me tell you this....there is no such thing as "credit repair". What you are paying these companies to do is to dispute the items on your credit report with the three credit bureaus (Trans-Union, Equinox and Equinox) over and over again on a monthly basis. Eventually, what happens is that a company may not follow-up on the dispute and the bureau takes it off your account. Now, you can do this yourself, or have a company do it for you. But, there is no guarantee that it will work if you do it, or somebody else does it for you. Negative information will stay on your credit report for 7 years...however, if it is sold to a collection agency, it will remain 7 years from the time THAT agency first reported it. This, however is disputable, because technically, the debt is suppose to be taken off your credit after 7 years, regardless of who owns it at that time. So, if you have a debt older than 7 years, you can definitely get that off. Are you trying to clean up your credit to buy a house? If you are, you definitely have to get the judgment off. The others a loan program such as FHA may work if you make payments on time for at least 12 months. (And a good letter of explanation) Good luck.
- As Taylor previously stated...credit repair companies is not all that effective. You are paying someone to do what you can easily do yourself. What you really need is to find someone who can sit down, look over your situation, and advise you of what to do. There are a few (very few) good non-profit companies that will actually sit down and discuss it with you. If you need more help they can assist. Check your local area for non-profit credit counseling. For now, here are a few things to think about... Every state has a "statute of limitations". After a certain amount of time (4-6 years in most cases) you no longer have an obligation to pay the debt. You state in your question that you have "many really old debts". How old? If they are beyond the SOL you can safely ignore them and concentrate on your other debts. The judgment is really hurting you. There is no way to get it removed from your credit report, but you must get it paid and changed to show it was paid/settled. Concentrate on that next. Next, work on trying to remove the other debts through the dispute process. See the links below. What you want to do is send a dispute letter to the credit bureau and each creditor, demanding that the debt be "validated". That means they must supply you with copies of all contracts, bills, receipts, and everything they used to calculate what they claim you owe. Since these are old debts, it's not likely they have the records, or may not wish to spend the time to find them. Without proper validation, these debts must be deleted from your credit history. If they properly validate them, then negotiate a payment plan. Basically tell them that: 1) You only have $x.xx amount of money to invest in repairing your debt. 2) If they agree to accept $x.xx a month you will pay them back over a period time. 3). Demand that in exchange for paying off the debt, they MUST delete the entry from your credit history. Get this IN WRITING before you pay them a dime. Just because a debt is paid does NOT mean it will be removed from your credit report. It will show paid, but still has negative information about late fees, charge-offs or collections. It makes no sense to pay a bill and still end up with bad credit. 4) If they won't agree to this, then don't pay. Keep a copy of the letters you wrote to them, and if it winds up in court show the judge. In most states, the judge has the ability to order installment payments, and if you demonstrated that you wanted to pay and the creditor would not cooperate that may swing in your favor. This plan will, of course, depend on how much money you have available in "disposable income" to place toward paying off your debt. It will depend on you making a very strict budget and sticking to it, no more additional credit, and possibly getting a second job. The success of getting out of debt lies completely on making a plan and sticking it. It makes no difference if you do it yourself, have a credit counselor do it, or end up filing bankruptcy and having a trustee do it. All the steps are the same. Good luck, contact me if you need more help or advice.
- If you are serious about getting rid of your debt, prepare for it to be a sacrifice but one that will pay off in the long run. Planning and discipline are key elements to getting yourself out of debt. The steps necessary to effectively get out of debt are much too involved to post them here. I would advise to check out the link below. You will find plenty of information there to get you started and some businesses that can assist you in getting your financial trouble under control and eventually behind you.
* Some answers may have been provided by Yahoo! Answers.