The Season to Not Worry About Your Credit!

Well, the Christmas season is here and I imagine many people are out using their credit cards to purchase gifts for loved ones.  It is wonderful to be able to have the credit available to be able to do so.  But many people are not so fortunate, and when I say many, I mean the majority of people.  Credit card companies are being very tight with giving credit, giving decent credit limits, and boy do they love to pack on the fees.

I'm not trying to be a downer, so I apologize if it comes across that way.  What I am actually getting at though, is that it is best to have good credit so when you do use those cards, you are getting the best rates and the highest credit limit possible.  Lower rates save you money and high credit limits are great for improving your credit, if you don't max out the cards. The better the debt ratio, the higher the fico score.

Now, if you have used cards or credit and are struggling to pay the bill, don't fret.  If you are behind on your payments, or you've stopped paying altogether and they have charged off or are getting ready to charge off, more power to you.  I'm not advocating not paying bills, but when the burden is too much and you have more important liabilities that need your hard earned money, credit cards are the last thing you should be paying.  Its much more responsible to pay car payments and rents or mortgage payments than credit card bills.

If you are still paying the bills but are struggling, call them up. Most will give you an extension, and many will actually work out payment plans with you, if even just for a temporary amount of time.  If they have charged off and you are starting to get harassing telephone calls and letters from collectors, you hold the power in your hands.  By the way, what I mean by "harassing", is any call or letter that you just don't care to get. You will need to respond, but only respond in writing.  Don't talk to them on the phone more than you have to.  In other words, tell them that you don't talk business on the phone so they will need to put down in writing and mail something to you.  If they want your address, tell them that since they seem to think you owe them something, they should have your address on some contract you supposedly signed with them.  That's it.  Don't give them any information other than to tell them to put whatever they had to say to you in writing and throw it in the mail.

For those who are now dealing with collectors, or you're pretty sure that you're going to be real soon, you need to know what I'm about to tell you.  If they are not the original creditor, YOU HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO PAY THEM!!  Yes, it looks like I'm shouting but I want you to take notice of what I'm saying.  You DID NOT sign any contract with them.  They are not on your original contract.  They bought an alleged debt that they were not a party to.  They did so voluntarily and they did it on their own behalf, not yours.  The law is very clear about this.  It calls them "Voluntary Payees" when they pay a debt (purchase it) when not asked to do so by you (think Refinance).  

When you are in the above situation, please don't just ignore them, that is hazardous to your wallet, your paycheck, your bank account, and your credit report.  Immediately send them a letter demanding validation. What this means is you need to demand that they prove that they have documentation that shows you entered into an agreement with them.  They don't have it and they can't produce it.  They will try to send you some stuff maybe, like paperwork from the original creditor.  Fine, but that shows a contract between you and the original creditor - NOT THEM!  Usually though, they will send a bill.  When you demand validation, a bill does not meet the criteria.  They have now violated the law. Why? Because, until they provide full, legal validation (which they are incapable of actually doing), they are prohibited from continuing or resuming collection activity.  You have also just given yourself a level of protection against being successfully sued by them,

So, that's my little tidbit for today. Now, go enjoy your shopping, breathe a sigh of relief about trying to pay illegitimate and financially overwhelming obligations.  And, remember the true reason for the season, the real purpose for gift giving - to symbolize God's gift of his Son Jesus, who died to save us.  That's what Christmas is really all about!

Feel free to contact me if you need more information or help with your credit repair.  My contact info is above.

You Have Rights When It Comes To Your Credit Report

You do know you have the right to repair your credit don't you?  Well, the bureaus and many creditors would love for you to believe that what is put on your report has to stay there for 7-10 years. That is absolutely not true! In fact, there are tons of laws written to protect YOU, not them!

You have the right to challenge and dispute Anything on your credit reports that you don't agree with. It doesn't matter if it is basically true or not, you have that right. Just because you once signed a contract with a creditor, doesn't mean you can't dispute that item, especially if it has been sold to a 3rd party collection agency. Further, if anything is not correct, and I mean ANYTHING, that they put on your credit report, you can get it removed.  The law says that they have to report Only 100% Accurate information. I have seen enough credit reports over the last 2 decades to know that if you have negative credit, then you have some mistakes on your credit report.  

Think bad credit has to stay for 7-10 years? Nope, it doesn't. What the law actually says is that it cannot stay on longer than 7-10 years. It does not say anything Has to be reported at all. The limit is for the provider of the information and the credit bureaus, not you! But, all states have statutes of limitations. Your state may be less than the 7-10 years. Mine is. Mine is 4 years. What is significant about that is collectors/creditors cannot report you after the statute of limitations because it is time barred and one of the actions considered as collection activity, which is prohibited after it is time barred, is reporting on your credit report. If you dispute a time barred credit line and the reporting party verifies with the bureaus, that is also considered collection activity and it is not allowed, by law!

You have a right to a free credit report from every bureau every single year. You can use these free reports to start cleaning your credit.  You can challenge bad credit based on wrong dates, wrong amounts, wrong types of accounts, heck, many times what you need to dispute is with a collector or collection agency.  You had better dispute those. You never signed a contract with them, you signed with an original creditor. You by law, don't owe them a dime!

3rd party collectors are considered "strangers to the transaction" and the law goes on to say that they are mere volunteers who paid an alleged debt, but not with your permission or a request from you to do so. AmJur states that "the right of subrogation [the right to substitute] does not exist for a stranger to the transaction. This means not only do they not have the right to collect from you, they really don't have the right to report on you. They have NO CONTRACT with you.

Start cleaning your credit - its Your Right!  Start by getting your credit reports from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Send letters to every collector demanding validation and make sure you remind them that they have no contract with you. Make sure you keep a copy and make sure you mail it certified with return receipt. That is important because it is your proof that you have put them on notice. When you do, you further protect yourself from them because the law says that until they validate the alleged debt, they must cease all collection activity. Remember, verifying with credit bureaus is considered collection activity, so it is against the law if they do it.

Once you get your green cards [return receipts from the post office] back, send off letters to the bureaus disputing the validity and accuracy of each of the collectors you just sent the validation demands to. Warn the bureaus that you have demanded validation from each one and none have provided validation. Let them know that if any of them verify and they update the report to show anything was verified, they are now liable for damages as well. They knowingly let information that is barred by law onto your credit report.

You can improve your credit. You can remove negative entries from your report. You don't have to wait 7-10 years, so don't. Do it now or get someone to help you do it. It does take commitment and consistent effort, but it is your right and so much better than paying off alleged debts to some grimy collection companies that have no legal right to demand anything from you. Play the game and beat them - that's your right too!