Credit Bureaus Break The Law And Fight Your Credit Repair Efforts

I've been wanting to talk about this for a long time now.  I have been very successful in my efforts to help people clean up their credit reports for many, many years now.  I tell people that it used to be fairly easy.  I would examine the credit reports, find the errors, find the information that was negative, write letters to the collectors, creditors, and bureaus, and within a couple months, most of the items would be removed.  I could look at a credit report and tell the client, this will easily come off, this will take a few letters, this might give you some trouble, and this might not ever come off. I knew how to remove pretty much anything negative on credit reports, and any inquiries or personal information that the client wanted off.  You see, I know for a fact that no company has to leave any information on anyone's credit report for 7-10 years.  In fact, none of it has to ever be reported at all.  There's no law that requires any company furnish information about a consumer to any credit bureau.  But, that's not what they will tell you!  And its not so easy to get good results all the time anymore.

When I say "they", I mean the credit bureaus, creditors, collectors, the FTC, and plenty of website owners, bloggers, article and editorial writers, any of them that just regurgitate the lie that bad credit has to stay on your credit  report for years and years and only time will heal.  They love to say if it belongs to you, even if its negative, it has to stay on.  Now, I can give a pass to the writers that are just incompetent egomaniacs striving to justify their self acclaimed "expert" status.  They're lazy and haven't bothered to really research the laws on the subject, but the rest of them "in the business", they are flat out, just BIG FAT LIARS!  They know full well or should know full well, that these claims are a load of crap.

In recent years, the industry folks that we must communicate with, have made it so much more difficult to clean up the credit reports.  There is a push back against obeying the law by these lawbreakers. They don't seem to care that they have no proof, they've committed fraud, they've allowed errors or false information to make their way onto consumer credit reports and stay there.  They have found that they can make so much money even while breaking the law, its more profitable to keep breaking the law and hope that the consumer gives up.  In fact, they are so twisted in their games, that collectors and creditors are coming out of the woodwork and suing consumers a lot more often now and issuing 1099-C's without proving squat, that my mind is boggled.  They sue just because most people won't or don't know how to respond and they get default judgments.

Credit repair is not as simple anymore as just writing letters and stuff comes off the credit report.  Credit bureaus are in flagrant opposition of the law and they know it, but they seem to think that if they keep spewing lies, and bloggers and self proclaimed "experts" keep repeating it enough, the consumer is stupid enough to believe it and accept that their reports are just going to have to stay bad for 7-10 years.  Consumers aren't stupid!  Some may be lazy. Some may not have very good research skills or access to a computer to study and learn, or a library with relevant information, but my readers aren't stupid and they're consumers.  You aren't stupid because you kept looking for answers. You're on this blog learning the truth. You didn't just accept their lies. You knew in your gut that what you've been told is not the truth. You kept looking till you found someone who would confirm it to you.

I want to share a segment that 60 Minutes did on credit bureaus. After the video, I've got a link to Experian's response.  What a crock!  I'll make a few comments after the video about the video and about their response.

First I have a comment about some claims made in the video.  There is No Way I believe only 40% of consumers have errors on their reports. Maybe more like 94% would be closer to the truth. I find it funny that the FTC claims there is only 1 out of 5 consumers with "an" "error" on their report.  I think the operative words in his statement are "an" and "error".  He could have dropped the word "an" and said "errors" instead of "error" and then it would have been more than his claimed "1 out of 5".  This is complete spin.  He could have also used the phrase "obvious errors" and been more accurate, because without actual investigations, they cannot "accurately" determine how many errors there actually are.

Now, here is a rebuttal by Experian. (Read my comments before you click on the link so you can see what I'm talking about). http://www.experian.com/blogs/news/2013/02/11/60-minutes/

This is comical.  They falsely claim they are 100% in compliance with the FCRA. What a big load of BS! Even worse, I think every single person and company doing credit repair should join together and file a huge class action lawsuit for their slander.  They have the gall to insinuate that we are all scammers and commit fraud with their statement, "...the result of dispute requests from fraudulent credit repair companies who attempt to scam consumers into disputing accurate data..." which clearly shows how much they hate consumers who attempt to clean up their credit and anyone who attempts to help them or hold the bureaus accountable and compliant with the law.

You can also see by their statement, the itty bitty section I quoted, that they continue to spew the lie about negative information if accurate, needing to remain on the credit reports.  Well, I'm no dummy and I don't think any of you are either. They're not going to fool us by trying to phrase their false claims into a sentence that has the potential to sound factual. I'd rather research the law and rely on what that says, any day, over what any bureau rep or one of their lobbyists, tries to force me to believe.

So, though its harder now and takes longer, credit repair does work. We need to use laws against them. We must continue to hold their feet to the fire. They tell the truth that you can repair your credit yourself but that's about the extent of their honesty. Sometimes people don't want to handle that burden all by themselves.  Most of us who help others fix their credit do so with a good heart and a desire to help others.  If you would like help with your credit, I would love to help you. You will see that I do have a heart for helping others.  You can call me and talk to me or email me and I'll respond.  My contact info is up on the top right corner under my picture.  You can also leave a comment below if you like this post or I've helped you with your credit.  If you have questions, please email me as well as posting a comment.  That way, others with the same question will get the benefit of my answer but in your email, I can be a lot more specific for your needs.

If you have found this blog helpful to you, please consider donating as a sign of your appreciation for information I have freely given to you.  The "Donate" button is on the right side bar.  Thank you for your generosity.

How To Deal With Collection Agencies ~ Part 3 (State Statute Of Limitations For Credit Cards)

A lot of the bad credit that is on credit reports is from collection agencies.  But, there are original creditors too that report, so you may have 2 or more negative entries on your report for the same alleged debt.  This tool, the State Statute of Limitations (SOL) is great for both.  Now, most states have reasonable SOL's but there are a few that are absolutely insane!  When an alleged debt is outside of the SOL it is considered Time-Barred and non-collectible.  But, that doesn't stop many of these collection agencies, and some creditors, from still going after you.  What is completely ridiculous, is that they legally can!  Well, that is, unless you put a stop to them.

How do you put a stop to them, through a demand for validation and then a follow up with a Cease & Desist (C&D) letter.  Some are arrogant and greedy enough though to file a civil claim against you.  That can easily be defeated by taking their lame attempt at validation (usually some printout or a copy of the last bill from the original creditor) that clearly shows a date from years ago.   I have actually seen them dummy up a new statement with a current date on it, supposedly from the original creditor, to try to re-age and trick the alleged debtor into giving up and just paying them.

I'm going to shout now, and bang my head against a wall - DON'T DO IT!!! DON'T PAY THEM!!!

Dig around for a true old bill or contact the original creditor for a copy of the statement.  Ask them to send you back a copy of the last bill that you paid or better yet, check your credit report. Usually, the original creditor will put a somewhat accurate date on the credit report, and Equifax has a little chart that shows when you did and didn't make payments.  That is proof of the Date of Last Activity (DLA), which is when the SOL starts tolling.  If you're sued, then that will be one of your exhibits in your answer to the complaint, proving that it is time barred and they have no recourse.  Don't forget, you want to keep copies of your letters demanding validation and their responses.  It is just more proof that they didn't validate, so they are in violation of the FDCPA (continuing collection activity without validating or verifying the alleged debt).

So, let's get to it. Here are the Statute of Limitations for Open Accounts, which represent credit card accounts, which are the main type of negative credit that annoys most of us, for every US state and several territories. 

STATE	NUMBER OF YEARS	ANY COMMENTS
Alabama	3 Yrs	Actions based on fraud - 2 yrs
Alaska	3 Yrs	Used to be 6 yrs
Arizona	6 Yrs  or  4 years On July 20, 2011 AZ changed its statutes to include credit cards as written contracts. If the default/DLA is prior to 7/20/11 then the prior 3 year statute of limitations (SOL) applies. If the DLA is after 7/20/11 then the new SOL applies.  Now, the new 4 year SOL is for credit card accounts obtained outside the state of AZ and the 6 year SOL applies to credit cards obtained in the state of AZ.  So check the billing address of your credit card account to see whether your credit card is inside or outside of AZ.	Judgments have to be renewed w/in 5 yrs. Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Arkansas	3 Yrs	Medical 2yrs from service or last payment, whichever is latest
California	4 Yrs	SOL stopped if pymt made after SOL expires - In other words, Do Not Make Pymt after it expires! But, pymt w/o acknowledgment does not restart the SOL
Colorado	3 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew every 6 yrs
Connecticut	6 Yrs	Open is considered written
Delaware	3 Yrs	Considered a general contract
District of Columbia	3 Yrs	Oral promise restarts SOL!!
Florida	4-5 Yrs	Contract or Written instrument is 5 yrs but all other is 4 yrs. Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Georgia	4 Yrs	From date of default, not last pymt. Making a pymt without acknowledging the alleged debt does not restart the SOL.
Guam	6 Yrs	For contracts such as medical bills, the SOL is 4 yrs from date of service
Hawaii	6 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew 10 yrs
Idaho	4 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew 5 yrs
Illinois	5 Yrs	Pymt or promise to pay extends it to 10 yrs from that date
Indiana	6 Yrs	Pymt, acknowledgment or a promise to pay restarts the SOL
Iowa	5 Yrs	Pymt, acknowledgment or promise to pay restarts SOL
Kansas	3 Yrs	Written contracts SOL is 5 years. Many sources claim SOL for credit cards is 5 yrs but that is not so according to Article 5, 60-512 of Kansas statutes.  Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Kentucky	5 Yrs	Judgment 15 yrs
Louisiana	3 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew 10 yrs
Maine	6 Yrs	Jdgmt is 20 yrs (don't let that happen to you! Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Maryland	3 Yrs	Reaffirming through written, orally or a pymt restarts SOL
Massachusetts	6 Yrs	Judgment 20 years, probate claims 1 yr from date of death. Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Michigan	6 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew 10 yrs. Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Minnesota	6 Yrs	Pymt or written acknowledgement restarts the SOL
Mississippi	3 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew 7 yrs. Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Missouri	5 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew 10 yrs. Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Montana	8 Yrs	Written acknowledgment or pymt restarts SOL
Nebraska	4 Yrs	Pymt, partial pymt, or written acknowledgment restarts SOL
Nevada	4 Yrs	Pymt w/o acknowledgment of alleged debt doesn't restart SOL
New Hampshire	3 Yrs	Pymt restarts the SOL
New Jersey	6 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew at 20 yrs - that's insane!
New Mexico	4 Yrs	Written acknowledgment or pymt restarts the SOL
New York	6 Yrs	Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
North Carolina	3 Yrs	SOL runs from date of each individual charge
North Dakota	6 Yrs	Written acknowledgment, promise to pay, or payment restarts the SOL
Ohio	6 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew at 5 yrs
Oklahoma	5 Yrs	Jdgmt 5 yrs
Oregon	6 Yrs	Jdgmt 10 yrs
Pennsylvania	4 Yrs	Written acknowledgment, promise to pay or pymt restarts the SOL
Puerto Rico	3 Yrs	Jdgmt 15 yrs
Rhode Island	10 Yrs	Jdgmt 20 yrs.  Just slap me silly if I ever go nuts and move there!
South Carolina	3 Yrs	Written acknowledgment or partial pymt restarts the SOL
South Dakota	6 Yrs	Jdgmt 20 yrs.
Tennessee	6 Yrs	Jdgmt 10 yrs
Texas	4 Yrs	Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Utah	4 Yrs	Jdgmt 8 yrs. Written acknowledgment restarts SOL
Vermont	6 Yrs	Jdgmt 8 yrs
Virgin Islands	3 Yrs	Jdgmt 20 yrs
Virginia	3 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew at 10 yrs. Pymt w/o acknowledgment doesn't restart the SOL
Washington	6 Yrs	Jdgmt can renew at 10 yrs
West Virginia	5 Yrs	Acknowledging debt, promise to pay, any pymt restarts SOL. Be careful, it may apply to verbal/oral acknowledgment.
Wisconsin	6 Yrs	Pymt restarts the SOL
Wyoming	10 Yrs	Jdgmt 21 yrs. Again, just slap me silly if I ever go nuts and move there!

This information is believed to be correct as of the date of this post, but state laws and statutes can change.  You should also check your state statutes to verify that this information is correct, just to be on the safe side. Even though some states show that making a payment without an acknowledgement does not restart the SOL, to be on the safe side, Don't Make A Payment! Don't verbally or in writing admit that its your debt. Don't reaffirm, especially if you are near, at, or past the SOL. Doing any of these things will make the negative information stay on your credit longer. You're trying to improve your credit, not make it worse, right?

Again, just because you have hit the SOL for an alleged debt, it doesn't mean the lowlife, scumbag, junk debt buyers can't keep hounding you and keep trying to collect. If you are outside of the SOL, you will need to send them that C&D letter to make them go away.  I have a sample of one of the C&D letters I use on the post from April 30th, 2013 titled How To Stop Collectors and Creditors From Calling You. (It will open in a new window if you click this link).  

If you don't mind them calling you multiple times a day or using auto dialers, or any other violation of the FDCPA, FCRA, or TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act), you can keep a notebook or log book and start documenting, then hit them with a "Notice of Demand" for their violations, notifying them if they don't remove the negative entries from your credit reports, you will be taking them to court.  There is a procedure for this, but I do have some friends that successfully have made some of them pay them as well as deleting the alleged accounts.

Well, hopefully this information will help you in your fight for better credit reports and good riddance of those pesky collectors.  If you need help with your credit repair, feel free to call or email me. I do respond and answer my phone.  If its a job you don't want to take on by yourself, again, just email or call me. My contact info is Waaaay up there at the top on the right (I know, this is a looooong post!). I would love to help you get the credit report that rightfully belongs to you!

How To Stop Collectors and Creditors From Calling You

One of the most annoying things about having bad credit is getting phone calls from creditors and collectors.  You don't have to put up with it.  There is a very simple way to make the phone calls stop.  To do this, you send them a very simple letter called a "Cease and Desist" letter.

Now, you want to be careful here.  You don't want to send a "Full Cease and Desist" letter to everyone that is harassing you with those bothersome phone calls.  If you do, and you allegedly owe them a lot of money, then they will have no choice but to sue you.  So, instead, you will need to send them a "Limited Cease and Desist" letter.

The difference between the two letters is that the "Full" version stops them from contacting you at all, in any way, shape or form.  The "Limited" version stops them from calling you. The "Limited" version is what you are going to need to use most of the time.  Now, it does work, but you have to realize that if the calls keep coming, its because of one of two things. One, they don't care if they break the law, or two, they stop but they sell the alleged account to another bloodsucker and that collection company starts bugging you on the phone. 

Sometimes original creditors will claim that they have the right to contact you by phone, but they absolutely do NOT if you send them the "Limited Cease and Desist" letter.  You can tell them by phone but you will always need to follow up immediately in writing.  You can send it by fax if you have their fax number, or by email if you have that, but sending it by mail is best, and always with Certified Mail, Return Receipt.  That way, they know you are not messing around.

The only time I recommend sending the "Full Cease and Desist" letter is when the alleged account is absolutely outside of the Statute of Limitations for your state.  Even if it is a 3rd party collector that is calling, and you know if you've read much of this blog that they do not have any rights to collect anything to you, you must cover your you know what with them and not use it unless it is Time-Barred or it is so little of an alleged amount that it is not profitable for them to sue you.  Though its not profitable for them to sue you for a couple hundred dollars, they may tack on all kinds of legal fees, collection fees and court costs, to drive the price up and make it worth their while.  Also, make sure you have the documented proof that it is outside of your state's Statute of Limitations when you send them the "Full" version.

I include the "Limited" version on all letters that I write for my clients. It is the last paragraph on my demand for validation letters.  I modified it from the basic ones you find on the internet because I wanted to cover every single possible phone contact they could dream up.  Occasionally I use the "Full" version as well.  Now, I generally use this in a follow up letter to them when I know the Statute of Limitations has been reached and I know they know it, and they are still being annoying.  My "Full" version is not your typical one you find online either.  It is actually several paragraphs long because I put extra stuff on there to again attempt to force them to get their crap off the credit report.

Here are the two versions I wrote and use:

Limited Cease and Desist

I am requesting, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home, my cell phone, my place of employment, any friends, acquaintances, or family members. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me or people I may work for or know, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter. 

Full Cease and Desist

You are hereby notified under provisions of Public Laws 95-109 and 99-361, also known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that your services are not accepted and I refuse to contract with you. You and your organization must CEASE & DESIST all attempts to collect the above alleged debt. Failure to comply with this law will result in my immediately filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and my state Attorney General's office. I will also pursue all criminal and civil claims against you and your company.

Furthermore, if any negative information is not removed from my credit bureau reports, or placed on my credit bureau reports by your company after receipt of this notice, I will have just cause to file suit against you and your organization, both personally and corporately, to seek any and all legal remedies available to me by law.

Please be aware that any telephone communications with me will be recorded for use against you in a court of law.  Your use of the telephone with me constitutes your agreement to my recording any and every communication from you via a telephone.

One more thing. If you can remember to do this, it can really benefit you.  Keep a journal or notepad that tracks all calls you receive. Note the company name, person who called, if it was a recorded message, the phone number, date and time of call, and the date you sent a "Cease and Desist" letter to them.

This is important because when you write to them, you will state every time they have called you.  You will remind them that you already sent a "C&D" to them on what date and you have the green certified receipt that they received and signed for it on whatever date. You may want to send them a bill charging them $1000 for every single call they made to you, another $1000 for every time they called your cell phone, $5000 every time they used a "Robodialer" and you have documented everything and have proof.  These are FTC and FDCPA violations. You could even offer them a settlement for their abusive practices to avoid being sued by you. Of course, your settlement conditions would include that they remove any trace of the alleged account from every credit report they furnished the bogus information to.

Good luck on your credit repair journey. As always, if you would like me to help you, I would love to be of assistance.  My contact information is up at the top, on the right.  If you leave a comment requesting help, please make sure you put your email in there so I can respond to you more effectively.

If you have found this blog helpful to you, please consider donating as a sign of your appreciation for information I have freely given to you.  The "Donate" button is on the right side bar.  Thank you for your generosity.

Credit Repair Law Firms? No Thanks!

One of the most famous credit repair law firms is Lexington Law.  Probably the next most famous one is Ovation Law.  There are many others.  I am completely for people utilizing legitimate credit repair companies, but I really take issue with ones like these that have monthly charges.  Also, though they may have started out as really good companies, they have just become big repair mills that don't personalize your disputes.  Also, they are not really "law firms" in the sense that they actually provide "legal services" other than credit repair. They mostly are credit repair companies that pay to use a law firm's or lawyer's name.

When you pay for a service that charges you monthly, you can bet they are going to do things that drag it out so they can keep getting that residual monthly income coming from you.  Most people want to see their credit improved as quickly as possible.  They don't want the service to write letters in a way that gets a "frivolous letter" response from the bureaus.  That can delay progress for months and sometimes, it really blows the opportunity of getting that item removed at all.

There is another thing I really don't like about these types of law firms.  They use "Good Will" letters to try to improve the credit. Why don't I like those?  Well, they are basically "Pay for Delete" letters and I am adamantly opposed to paying to delete bad credit.  Sometimes they delete, but many times, when they don't and you follow up to the bureaus and send in a copy of the agreement to delete, they get stubborn and refuse to take it off.  Sending in a copy of an agreement is like admitting that the negative tradeline is yours.  I don't ever recommending sending proof of an account to the bureaus unless it is a completely clean bit of proof that there were no lates and it was paid off completely.  You have to remember that the burden of proof lies with the creditors, collectors, and the bureaus. If they can't prove something, it has to come off.

Something else I don't like about these "Good Will" and "Pay for Delete" letters, is that you are basically offering to settle with the creditors and collectors.  This is so bad!  Once a trade line is bad, it is always bad. It just becomes a "paid" bad. If its a couple late pays that are making it bad, its best to try to remove the lates, then there's nothing bad. You have to remove the "bad".  Usually this means needing a deletion.  Plus, when you "settle" with one of these types of letters, they have the right to send you a 1099 tax form for the amount you didn't have to pay and then you get to pay taxes on that as if it was income. Not a good thing.

The other thing that I know they do, is to include a "Cease and Desist" to their clients' creditors. That is a very dangerous thing to do.  If it is not a time barred debt (outside of your state's statute of limitations) you are allowing yourself to be put in a position to be sued.  I use a "Limited Cease and Desist" paragraph in my letters.  This is what stops the phone calls to you at home, your cell phone, your work, and anyone you might possibly know that they would try to call.  It forces them to communicate with you in writing only.

I have a lot of second hand experience with these types of credit repair companies.  Second hand because many of my clients, past and present, have used them and came to me afterwards.  It is always the same story.  They've paid for months and months, past a year, spent upwards of $1500 and slim to zero results.   They then have me write letters for them and poof!, all of a sudden they start seeing results.  Credit repair is most successful when it is strategically done and both the creditors/collectors and the bureaus have consumer laws, case laws, and other legal documentation put in front of their faces.

My goal with credit repair is to help people see deletions and improvements as fast as possible.  There is no sense in dragging it out.  If you truly want to help people, then you would want what's best for them.  If you are only interested in making a load of money off of people's bad credit, then you charge them up front and drag it out, month after month, year after year.

Credit repair can be done for yourself.  Hopefully, if you're looking to do this, you will look through the different posts I have here so you can see how to do it most effectively. Credit repair is an undertaking that you have to stay on top of, be consistent, keep records and send disputes that fall within the legal timelines so that you don't accidentally give the bureaus more time to stall and drag their side out as well.  For many people, its just a lot of work they would rather delegate to someone else to do.

If credit repair is something you need, but you just don't want to have to be writing letters all the time, I would love to help you. I provide help completely legally and use many different laws and tools to implore them to remove the bad credit from your reports. Contact me through my email or phone number above anytime if you would like some help with repairing your credit or just need some guidance while you do it yourself.

Credit Bureau Things That Make You Say Hmmm!

Today I just want to ramble a bit about some thoughts that have been swirling around in my mind.  I was laying in bed this morning and, [since I actively help a lot of people by writing letters to help them fix their credit], credit repair, collectors, creditors and credit bureaus are on my mind often.  So, as I lay there in bed, I was thinking about one of my clients who Experian has been obnoxiously in violation of the law on.  They keep refusing to send him his report.  This made me spin into a deeper train of thought.

Sometimes I think I can be like a little kid that always has to question everything. Why?  Why this or why that?  The credit bureaus are like the parents with the annoying answer - "Because I said so".  My "why" thought was this:  Credit bureaus are not government agencies, no, they are privately owned and publicly traded companies.  Your social security number is only supposed to be given to state Departments of Motor Vehicles (don't get me started on that one!), tax authorities (yeah, don't get me started on that one either), welfare offices and other governmental agencies.  So, why do they get to have access to my personal, private, sensitive, protected information? 

Did you know that Social Security Numbers are only supposed to be issued to Federal Employees for use only in performance of official duties, they are owned by the federal government and is only "yours" while you are a public officer on official business?  Here are some facts from the IRS:  

1. Social Security Numbers can only be issued to federal "employees" for use only in the performance of their official duties. See 20 CFR §422.104.

2. The Social Security Number is the property of the government and not you. Therefore, it can't be "yours" unless you are a public officer on official business. See 20 CFR §422.103[ d].

3. The SSN is issued to the federal "public officer" and not to the man, and then only while he is an agent of the federal government.

4. Anyone who uses a Social Security Number who is NOT a federal employee acting on official commercial, government business is guilty of impersonating a federal "employee", which is a crime. See 18 U.S.C. §912.

5. You can only use it in connection with a "public purpose", and not a private purpose. It is illegal and a crime to use or abuse the SSN for a private or personal use. This is called embezzlement or conversion, and it is a criminal violation of 18 U.S.C. §641 and 18 U.S.C. §654.

6. Everything connected to the SSN becomes "public property" because the SSN can only be used in connection with a "public office" or federal employment.

7. The private man was never issued an SSN if he is not acting as a federal "employee". Therefore, he can honestly answer "NO" in response to the question of whether he was ever issued an SSN if he is not acting as a federal "employee" or agent.

Did you read numbers 4 and 5? Oh, heck, did you read them all?  So WHY do the credit bureaus get to have that information and WHY are we forced to use this number illegally to live our daily lives?  I mean, you can't easily open a bank account without one. You can't apply for and receive credit without one. They sometimes want to know it when you write a check. You can't turn on utilities without one unless you pay big security deposits, uh and same for cable companies.  WHY????

Okay, here's another "why" I've been mulling over in my head.  Have you ever noticed that consumer laws (FCRA) and even the bureaus themselves claim this is "YOUR" credit report?  It doesn't belong to them, it belongs to you.  So, WHY do they get to allow Whatever on YOUR credit report?  If it is "MY" credit report, I think they should have to get "MY" approval for anything a credit furnisher wants to put on "MY" report.  "I" should get to say, "Yeah, go ahead and put that on there" and "Nope, no way, I'm not authorizing that or allowing you to put that on my report".  Its "MY" stinking report!!  I should get to say yes or no!

I know that the reports are supposed to aid lenders and creditors in their decision of whether or not to extend credit to an applicant. But, there are so many errors on them and so many entities (think 3rd party collectors) that have no business reporting and fouling up one's credit report, that sometimes they do more bad than good.  Just think, if we didn't have to worry about credit reports anymore, wouldn't identity theft be extremely reduced?  Of course, the downside of that for me is that I wouldn't have any more credit repair clients....hmmmm.

Sometimes I wish I was rich.  Not like the morons running the country call rich - $250k/yr, nah, that's not hard to be that "rich". At least like Oprah or Bill Gates rich.  Then again, no, I want to be more sick rich. Insanely, disgustingly, absurdly, morbidly, vomitably (is that a word?) rich like the Rothchilds or the Vatican, or the British Crown - yeah, that rich!!  Here's a why for you.  Why? Because then I would have more than enough money to just sue the collectors and sue the bureaus and sue the banks that create fraudulent loans and credit for all of my clients. That way, when I write letters and they blatantly ignore the laws they are supposed to adhere to and comply with, I can just drag 'em into court and be done with them!

Well, that's is my rant for today.   Thanks for reading it. I hope you enjoyed it, I hope you learned something, and I hope it makes you think in ways you maybe haven't thought before.  

Feel free to leave comments below. And please, if you have questions about credit repair, leave a comment and I will try to write a post just for you to answer your questions.  I like doing that. It inspires me when I can help others.

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.

Should You Pay Off Those Collection Accounts?

So you've decided that this is the year to work on rebuilding your credit. You get a copy of your credit report and there are some collections on it. Or maybe you keep getting calls or letters from collectors - or both, and think that you should finally try to take care of some of them.

Stop! If you're thinking about paying them off, wait just a minute here! If you think it's going to improve your credit, think again. Always remember this. Once a negative, always a negative, when it comes to your credit report. Just because it's paid, does not mean they are going to move it into the positive accounts section. It's still a collection account, which is negative, it is just paid.

So, here are the facts for you to ponder. A collector bought your account. Basically, he paid off your debt for you, voluntarily I may add. If you asked a friend to make a payment on an account for you, does that make him or her a party to the original contract? No! They are voluntarily making a payment for you. You might make a little contract between you and your friend to pay back the money they used to make the payment, but, they are not part of the contract between you and the original creditor. That's a different agreement between the two of you.

It is the same with the collector. You did not enter into a contract with them to pay for this account, they did it on their own and now are trying to make you think that you have some obligation to them. You don't! Unless you signed another contract with them agreeing to pay them, they just took a chance, they gambled that they could coerce you into making them richer.

The best thing to do before giving any collector money, wait let me rephrase that. The best thing to do INSTEAD of giving any collector money, is to demand validation. The law says they have to prove you owe them money. You don't and they can't - prove it, that is. Dispute the debt with the collector. Do not accept a printout of a bill or charges as being validation. That is not validation, it is a bill. It is collection activity AFTER validation of the debt is requested. It is a violation of law.

The law says that when you dispute a debt with a collector, they must cease all collection activity until the debt is validated. Just about anything they do that does not validate is actually considered collection activity and is a violation of law. Keep track of every thing they do. Every letter, every phone call, every update made on your credit report. Every violation they make is worth money to you. Most violations are worth $1000 payable to you. That's a thousand bucks. They start adding up fast, to where they might actually owe you more than any credit line that was originally issued to you!

So here is what you do. Send them a letter, certified, return receipt. (CMRR). You will get a green card back in the mail as your receipt that they received it. The letter should tell them you are not avoiding paying, but you are not going to pay for something that you do not owe, and not to someone you don't owe it to. You are going to request from them several things that are very important.

First, request a copy of the original, wet ink signed, authentic, contract. Now, request that they supply you with the actual accounting of the debt. I mean, where did the money come from that created the credit issued to you? Where did the bank get the money they supposedly loaned to you, or the credit that they issued to you?

You see, the law says that banks cannot lend their own money. It also says they cannot lend their own credit. It also says they must have reserves that are a fraction of what they lend. Those are their member's deposits that are the reserves. So, they are not lending the member's reserves, not their own money, not their own credit. So, where did they get the money to lend you?

They created it out of thin air, basically. Actually, they monetized your signature on the contract and created a ledger for the account. Then they put an amount on the ledger of the value of your signature that they "approved". So, really, you supplied the "money" or "credit" with your signature. Then, they put another entry on the books. This one says that they gave that money to you and now you have to start paying it back. But, why would you pay them back money when they didn't give you the money? Your signature supplied the funds for the money or credit that you received.

Sounds confusing doesn't it? It's supposed to. They don't want you to know or understand it.

Here's another thing about credit. The contract you signed is void because in order for a contract to be legal and binding, all parties have to be at risk. But, who is actually at risk? Only you! It is a unilaterally risked contract and void. Since they really didn't put any money into it, they didn't risk anything. They assign an interest rate for the money that you loaned yourself. That is their profit. But actually, the whole amount and the interest is profit for them. Again, this is because they did not come out of pocket to issue the loan or credit. Your signature did!

Now here's a little more. When you default on this contract, they charge you more and more and more. Then the law says that after 6 months, they must charge off the account. So they do. That puts your balance at $0. All "monies" in the bank are insured. So now we're going to see them commit insurance fraud. They get paid off from the insurance the amount insured. They take a credit to their taxes for a loss - which I must remind you is not an actual loss, but a loss on what they wanted to fraudulently make. Then, here it comes.... they sell the account to a third party collector! Bang! They just made more money on an account they got a tax credit for, for an account they were paid in full by the insurance company, and now the collection company.

Daaanng! Not too bad of a trick for that original creditor, now was it? So, don't feel sorry for them that you can't "pay back" for this credit or money you were "given". The original creditor is out the cost of "managing the books", and from projected future earnings. The collector will be out the money they gambled on forcing you to pay back something you don't really owe, and the insurance company will write off the amount on their taxes.

What did it cost you? Well, hard earned money that you paid them, negative marks on your credit report, stress from worrying how you are going to pay and the harassment you have received from the pain in the butt phone calls and letters they sent you.

Dispute, dispute, dispute. And while you're at it, let them know that you know they didn't front the money, so they can just pay back all the money you sent them in error while not realizing that your signature funded the deal! Don't forget to dispute with the credit bureaus after getting the green card back for the letter you sent to the collector. That will help remove it from your credit report.

Are you feeling better about not paying them now? I hope so. Better to just dispute and get it off your credit and out of your life. Get a great credit report again, get some more credit cards, use them, take cash advances, and wash, rinse repeat! Your signature created the credit, it's your money, enjoy! You're not the one committing the fraud and creating faulty contracts that are void and unenforceable, they are. Who cares what your intention is with your new found knowledge? Play the game, but play it to your advantage!

Credit Repair - Dealing With Collection Accounts

The first step in credit repair is always to get a copy of your credit report. So I'm just going to assume that you have this. Let's deal with cleaning up your collection accounts.

First of all, one of the main things to keep in mind while dealing with the collectors who report on your credit report is that you need to have a paper trail. This is one of the reasons why you deal with them through the mail. STAY OFF THE PHONE! Besides not being verifiable, they are trained to negotiate you into paying them something, any little payment, anything they can get out of you. Their purpose for communicating with you is NOT the same as your purpose for communicating with them.

Your purpose is to get them to prove that you owe them. Your purpose is to get them to validate the debt. Your ultimate goal is to get it removed from your credit report. If they cannot legally prove it is your debt, you have no legal responsibilty to forward any money to them. They have to prove it is yours by supplying a contract, signed by you. They have to supply a complete history of your usage and payments for this account. They have to prove that your last date of activity is still within the statutes of limitations. They also have to prove that they have a legal right to collect on the debt and supply you with a breakdown of what they are charging you, including their fees.

So first, you need to send them a letter demanding validation of the account listed on your credit report. You do not need proof that they have your name, address, etc. Validation means proof of the account belonging to you. You will want to send this letter to them US certified mail with return receipt. (USCMRR). You get a receipt at the post office and when they receive it, they must sign for it. You then get that green card back, your proof of receipt. This then puts them on notice.

At this point, when you have received the green card back in the mail, you need to write a letter disputing with the bureaus. The reason you wait until after you have received the green card back is because once they have been put on notice that you are disputing the account, the law says that all collection activity has to cease until they provide legal validation.

The law considers the following things collection activity: Sending you a bill, calling you on the phone, calling people who may know you, reporting to a credit bureau, verifying with a credit bureau. The only thing they are allowed to do to your credit report is to note that the account is being disputed.

So, when you dispute with the bureaus, they will (or claim they do) contact the companies of the accounts you are disputing and attempt to verify that the information they have provided is accurate. Since verifying is legally considered to be a form of collection activity, they are not allowed to verify with the bureaus whether or not the information is correct. If they follow the law and do not verify, the tradeline is removed as requested by you.

Now, if they followed the law and the bureau followed the law, and people performed credit repair in this way, there would be a lot more good credit reports out there. Unfortunately, bureaus don't actually "investigate" and collectors don't usually give a crap about following the law. This is why credit repair does not happen overnight. But don't be discouraged. There is a good side to them breaking the law!

If you keep a paper trail - copies of all letters sent to both the bureaus and collectors, and receipts of when you mailed the collectors, you will build a nice file to use against them. Every violation of the law is accompanied by a nice little fine for the violator! Every time they report, verify, or continue regular collection activity (like sending you a bill instead of validation), they rack up fines you can charge them in court. Or you can use the huge amounts as a bartering chip. They can pay you a reduced amount and remove the tradeline from your report in exchange for you not suing them!

The courts will want to see a lengthy paper trail though. Not just 1 attempt to get something removed. They will want to see that you followed up 3, 4, 5, maybe 8 - 10 times with the collector trying to get them to validate. They will need to see your letters to the bureaus also disputing these tradelines. They will also need to see, from several copies of your credit reports over a number of months, the blatant disregard for the law that the collector shows by updating, verifying, and reporting the disputed tradeline, after being demanded to provide validation and not providing it.

Also keep everything they send you in your file. You will need to show the court what they have sent as supposed validation. Show the court the letters that request you send them information about the account you are disputing and requiring validation on. DO NOT SEND THEM ANYTHING! It is not your responsibility to provide them with information of the account. If they are accusing you of owing the money, then they should have everything they need! THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS ON THEM - NOT YOU!!

I love it when they request additional information on an account. This just proves to me that they do not have what they need for proper validation. This means that this account should be removed without too much trouble. Send a copy of the letter to the bureau with your next dispute. Show the bureau that they just said that they verified an account was accurate, yet the collector admits in writing, he doesn't have the information needed to know if it is accurate. How on earth can they truthfully verify that?

At this point, you can threaten to sue both of them if they do not remove the trade line. Usually it works. Not 100% of the time, because let's face it, they break laws on a regular basis. Generally you are dealing with minimum wage workers who have no clue of the law, and they assume that if they don't change it, you will not sue. In fact, they hope that they frustrate you into giving up.

Go back through all the letters and make a list for each collector and each  credit bureau. List every violation and the fine attached to each violation. When they see you're not giving up and you're not a mindless idiot, you're someone who has taken the time to know the laws and the fines that go with them, they will usually back down and remove the inaccurate tradelines, giving you the report, or a cleaner version of the report that all your hard work deserves!

Credit Counseling for Credit Repair?

Yeah, uh huh, and they're non-profit too! Too many credit counseling agencies or companies make such huge claims about improving your credit, it just sounds too good to be true. Guess what? Usually it is! Why? Because credit counseling or debt negotiation doesn't repair your credit, it helps you pay off your debt. Some of them say they help you pay off your debt, but in reality, they are just padding their pockets with your hard earned cash. Plus, if you can't keep up their payment plan, well, some of them report you to the credit bureaus too! Wow, that's just what you need.

They love being able to claim they are non-profit. But, what does that really mean? Well, first they have to incorporate and apply for the non-profit status. They can form as a non-profit or not-for-profit corporation because they are service oriented and provide education. They can even apply for a tax exempt status at both the state and federal levels. It looks so good to consumers - they must really care!

So you think they really want to help you because they are non-profit? Come on now, think. Why on earth would there be sooooo many credit counseling and debt negotiation companies out there if they weren't making a profit? They don't like to call it "profit", nope, it's considered a "surplus!" I guess that's why the top dogs get paid so much!

So, how does negotiating or counseling repair or improve your credit? It doesn't! Remember, once a bad trade line, always a bad trade line, unless you remove the negative notations. Sure, you may be able to use their plan to repay your debt, but you still have all the recorded late pays on your credit, the collection accounts will still be there, and some creditors will even add a comment that you are in a replayment plan on your report.

The good part about credit counseling and debt negotiation is that if you are successful with it your debts will get paid off. Paying off your debts helps you look more responsible to potential creditors. So, some may consider granting you some credit to help rebuild your credit profile and score.

Here's some bad things about credit counseling and debt negotiation.

• You have to pay an additional fee to them - more money out of your pocket.
• You still have negative marks on your credit and it confirms with the bureaus that the debt is indeed yours.
• You are paying someone a lot of money for negotiating the same terms you could reach by calling your creditors yourself. A couple phone calls, sign some paperwork, there you go!
• Some companies take your money but don't make your payments on time. Ouch!
  
• Some want to auto draft your account and may take more than what you have to give them some months.
• Some will report you to the bureaus if you can't keep up the payment plan.
• If you think they are doing it because they care about you, get real. They are in it for the money - YOUR money!

Obviously I'm not a big fan of these services. I don't condone blowing off your creditors and not paying them, but I'm a huge fan of State's Statutes of Limitations, FCRA, FDCPA, FACTA, and FCBA. I never advocate paying off a collector, except as a absolute necessity of obtaining a much needed loan and it is a requirement of the lender. Rather, I prefer validation for collectors and if you are very near or past the statute of limitations, dispute, dispute, dispute!

Don't pay what they can't prove you owe, if they are not the original creditor! I have seen so many credit reports over the years and one thing is consistent - every single one of them had errors on them! When you need to pay old debts, make sure that it is actually the amount you owe. Make sure that they delete the negative information or the whole negative tradeline when they receive payment. The older the debt, the less damaging it is to your credit report.

My advice when it comes to paying off your debts in conjunction with credit repair, first check the date of last activity and compare that timeline against your state's statute of limitations. Next, contact your original creditor and try to make a deal with them for a reduced payoff and positive credit reporting. If the debt is with collectors, send them a validation demand. Don't give them a dime until they legally and completely prove that the amount they say you owe and the account they are claiming belongs to you is 100% accurate. Then, negotiate a lower amount with a promise to delete the negative tradeline - IN WRITING - prior to you sending them any money. Always pay with a money order and DO NOT SIGN YOUR NAME! Type or print only.

Credit Repair and the Cease and Desist Letter

How many times have you had an annoying collector keep bugging you to pay a bill? How do you even know if he has the right to collect or if his information is correct? Usually his infomation is incomplete, at the very least. Most of the times it is incorrect.

Fortunately, though most people don't realize it, consumers have the upper hand when it comes to collectors, most of the time. This is mainly because of the FDCPA - Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This act outlines how and when a collector can contact you. It also describes what they can say to others when they are trying to locate you (family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.). But, just because there is a set of laws that they are supposed to adhere to, doesn't mean they follow those laws.

If they are calling you at work, you can tell them you are at work and not allowed to take personal calls there. They are supposed to knock it off at that point. If they are calling you on your cell phone, the same is true. They are supposed to stop if you tell them to. However, most collectors are ignorant and blatantly violate the law. They try to claim that they don't have to stop unless it is in writing, and then if you do that they say they will have no recourse other than to sue you.

These statements are false. There are partial truths to them, but since not completely true, they are false. First, you can tell them verbally to stop if they are contacting you at work or on your cell. Secondly, sueing someone is never the only course of action they can take.

But, to cover your own self, here's how you should handle them. Put it in writing. You must be careful what you say though. You can stop them from calling you on any phone by sending them a "limited" cease and desist. It is limited because it says they can no longer contact you by phone, but they can send all the mail they want. All correspondence should be in writing, if they feel the need to contact you.

Now, there are times when you use a full cease and desist letter. A full cease and desist tells them they may no longer contact you anymore for any reason, at any time, through any method. If you have proof that you have paid an account that they are harrassing you over, send it. If you end up getting sued, make sure you show up for court with your documentation in hand, otherwise, they may end up scamming some more money, plus court costs from you.

Now the second time you use the full cease and desist letter is when the account is absolutely not yours and they have not provided any proof that it is indeed yours. Again, if you get sued, you must go to court and fight. Take with you all copies of letters you have sent to them requesting "validation" and their responses you've received. You must be able to show the court that what they have given you does not constitute proof or full validation as required under the FDCPA.

Now, my favorite, which is a common violation of collectors, is when they attempt to collect a debt that is outside of the statute of limitations (SOL) for your state. The debt is "time barred". Different states have different timetables. California is 4 years. In California, when a debt is out of SOL, all collection activity must cease. California categorizes many actions as collection activity. Calling you or people you may know, writing to you, sending you bills, and even better, reporting to the credit bureaus or verifying with the bureaus. Let them take you to court for this one. "Your honor, this debt is time barred, here is the proof, so therefore these knuckleheads are SOL because of SOL"!!!

Keep copies of EVERYTHING you send the bureaus and collectors. You may need it in court to defend yourself. You Will need it in court if you decide to go after them for monetary damages for violating the law and your rights!

One more thing I like to add when I send a cease and desist letter. I like to tell them that they are not to sell, assign, or give the account to any other party to ever attempt to collect again. I include a hint of a threat to sue if it appears on my credit report again. This is a good way to keep bad debt from recycling over and over again on your credit reports.