Ok here’s another one…..

Mar 152011
 

The last few days I’ve contacted both a gas & electric service and time warner about two overdue bills. …..and I mean wayyyy overdue!  I have received CA letters from two diff companies for each one of the bills.  I have never seen them on my CR.  So, I’m hoping to get it taken care of asap before it does show up there.  Here’s the scenario:  they’re not really that much…the only reason I had the oversight was because we moved and when we moved my hubby took the day off and made all the calls to turn our services on in the new place.  Well, around here they don’t combine, when you move you open a new account and close the other one.  The other ones were in my name and he put the new ones in his name.  Now, after we moved, I found out my mother was seriously ill (she had stage IV cancer) and I was the one who took care of her for the last 6 months of her life.  Now, I just overlooked anything else as all my focus was trying to get her better.  Now, it’s almost been a year.  I’ve recently received letters not from the OC, but from collection agencies.

 

In the last few days, I decided to try and contact the OCs and see if I could pay them personally.  Each one has since responded to my emails.  The electric company is “happy to take my payment.”  It is only $135.  Time Warner is happy to take my money and the equipment back that I’ve had put away since we’ve moved here.  They never said for certain that they still wouldn’t charge me for the equipment….I’m thinking they won’t….in which case it will only be $270. 

 

My question is, how do I make sure that I don’t end up with these CAs on my report?  Do I try to get a receipt or can I use my bank statements as proof of payment, and then send a copy of my proof to the CAs, excluding banking account info, of course?  What would all of you very knowledgeable folks do if it were you?

Thanks!  :)

Trying to rebuild credit…. need advice.

Dec 032010
 

Got my scores recently, they were 725, 690 and 688.    I was thinking of refinancing, but all the lenders here my scores and immediately start telling me I’ll have to pay extra fees for having bad credit scores.  One told me if I could just get the score up 10 points, that should push me over the hump.

 

So I also found out that I suddenly – no letter from any collection agency – have two bad debts appearing on my credit reports.  How much are these debts hurting my score?  Both of them are incorrect.

 

1.  is from the local cable company. In 2009, I had requested a couple free DTV converters.  Never got them. When I moved, I returned all the equipment that I had received. Then they said they had send the DTV’s and I had to return them. Since I never got them, I can’t return them. They researched, turns out their packaging company left them out on my front steps, assuming that no one would steal them!   So I am disputing with the cable company directly, as I never actually received them. Leaving them out in the open on a corner property while I am at work was stupidity on either their part or the delivery company.  They also wanted to charge me for a month’s worth of cable service AFTER I had already disconnected it.  I got on the phone with them about that, and they said they’ll “look into it”.  Supposedly though I owe them $160.

 

2.  The other I already posted the long story about Columbia House, They claim I owe them $146 from the 2004-2005 timeframe, but it just hit my CR in April 2010. And no, I never got a letter from them at all.  I found out about it only after I pulled my credit.

 

Are these two bad debts hurting my score, and by how much?  Would getting these resolved and off my credit report push my scores up by as much as ten points?

 

Thanks,

 

Harriet

Debt Validation Questions

Nov 172010
 

Hi all, I am in the process of rebuilding my credit as I stated in previous post. I sent out 10 letters to CA’s CMRR, out of the 10, I have received all but 1 green card; Ok the letters that I sent to most were DV letters. For a few others I sent out letters advising the CA’s to delete tradeline(s) off of my CR becasue they have deleted them off of one of the other CRA’s files; In regards to the DV letters, I only received 1 response. The CA sent a copy of a “Customer Ledger” which breaks down the the amount that I owe (yes the debt is mine); They also provided me with what they call a “Customer Maintenance” form. This form supposedly shows the work order with the service address (my old address). They also provided the OC (Cox) and the acct number. The CA is reporting twice on my CR, one for the service ($388) and the other for the equipment ($683). When I sent the DV I did not combine the information in one letter, I sent 2 seperate letters however in their response, they bundled all the info. My question is, what can I do about this issue? My goal is to get it removed w/ out paying it :) The CA did not provide a signed agreement as requested neither did the CA provide proof that they are licensed to collect in my state. What should my next move be?

 

 

Judgment Deleted very next day after dispute!

May 242010
 

I have a judgment on my credit report that I have been trying to pay for. I called the court house last week trying to find out who I pay, they gave me the number to to (collection agency) lawfirm that sued me I suppose. That lawfirm has no records of my case… They can’t even lead me in the right direction to pay it, so… Here are my questions. How the heck do I pay this? Should I pay this? Should I dispute it since they have no records, and can’t lead me in the right direction? I was never served that I can remember either, it was for 2006.

 

Ok about directv and Oxford Collection company.

 

I was given an alert via Myfico that my credit score dropped a little over 50 points… I was like WTH? So I check it out and it was from Oxford collection agency (directv bill I had). I called Oxford and they told me to pay them, I said nope… So I called Directv once a day for a week. I told them the truth, I requested my address and phone number be changed 3 times since I stopped using Directv, but everytime I called them it was the old address, so I was never getting my damn equipment return box. So finally I got ahold of a Supervisor (supposedly) I got her employee ID number as well as her name. After changing my address and phone number yet again I started telling her about how I have been trying to return this equipment but they keep sending the box to the wrong place, at which time I found out I could have just mailed it out myself. She started telling me how this was all my responsibility (which she was prob right), and that’s when I told her I was recording the conversation… She hung up.

 

I found the President of the Directv email address and emailed him. I got a phone call back within 2 hours. I believe it was a collector type person in his area or office. I proceeded to tell him how I have been trying to take care of this, and how I am not responsible for the damn 300. Early disconnection fee after 3 years of service. He told me yes I am, that when I upgraded to a HDTV box I was under a new 2 year contract, so I was responsible for 940. if I didn’t return the equipment which I have been TRYING to return for months. I asked him if he could please find where I signed that I agreed with this so called contract and send me the copies so I could present it to my attorney with the Fraternal order of Police (my union attorney), and that I was going to call the State Attorney General, BBB and let them know how malicious Directv is with adding sneaky fraudulent charges to peoples bills. He asked me if I could hold so he could gather those papers, I said sure… about 4minutes later he returned on the line and said “Ma’am if you send the equipment back then we will contact the credit bureaus and have the Directv reports removed by Directv, and I will not owe them anything else, to include my late payment, 300. Disconnect fee.

 

By the way I did give them the lady that hung up on me’s employee ID# letting them know how she claimed to be a Sup. even though she wasn’t and how she hung up on me.

 

Interesting. I did get his Employee ID# for verification and am sending the equipment out with a verification of delivery.

 

In case anyone needs this, it’s the list of Presidents and Vices for Directv (emails)

http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/officers.cfm

Cable Paid but CA on Reports

Apr 232010
 

Hello everyone.  I’d like some input on how I should approach a problem that is really affecting my credit.  I moved into the current basement apartment I live in with my daughter over 3 years ago.  I didn’t have any help and towards the end of packing, was putting things that didn’t go together in the same box.  As a result, I put my cable box in a box with photo albums. 

 

Because my cable TV and Internet is included in the homeowner’s WiFi, I had no need for my own cable account and totally forgot about the cable box. At least until the day I went to find my photo albums.  Guess what I found?  The very next day I drove the cable box to Cox Cable, explained what happened, turned in the box, and paid about $92 they said I still owed.  There was also a bill for $36 for the equipment but since I returned it, that bill was deleted (or so I was told).  When settling this with Cox Cable, the rep that day told me no adverse action had been taken and everything was fine.  I didn’t think any differently because I had not received any sort of collection notice or even a bill for that matter.

 

Well, guess what’s on my credit reports… all three of them?!  TWO collections for a CA for Cox Cable (one for the equipment… which was moot) and another for the $92 bill.  : ( 

 

I’ve managed to find the bio of the Northern VA Cox Cable CEO/Manager… and his contact information. 

 

Would it be a bad move to send the CEO a GW letter/e-mail?  Or should I dispute with the CRAs?  Or DV the CA?  The CA only reports for one month (and I believe it’s for a time AFTER I actually paid the account).  The accounts are marked as paid collection.

 

My goal is to have these deleted… either at the request of the OC or as a result of a successful dispute with the CRAs.

 

I’ve read the “which do I do” thread, but I’m still not sure.  I’m nervous about making the wrong move.

 

I did notice that the Cox CEO for N. VA is prior Army (8 years as an Army ranger).  I work for the Army (civilian).  I wonder if that might work against me or in my favor.

 

Any thoughts?  What would you do?  I’m sure my scores would greatly improve.  This snafu = 2 paid collections on my CRs.

 

* The account was paid off 4 years ago.