Being late paying your bills is not unusual and happens to the best of us. If a situation arises where you suddenly cannot pay your bills – loss of a job or a medical emergency – it is important to understand just what will happen if you find yourself delinquent on a loan or other debt. The last stage of a delinquent debt is generally identified as a charge off and this item, when it is recorded in an individual’s credit report may very well be one of the most damaging items impacting … [Read more...]
Debt Validation Letter Sample
September 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Debt validation, which can also sometimes be referred to as debt verification, is the process of challenging the validity of a debt being collected by a debt collector. The right to dispute the debt and receive debt validation from a collection agency is part of the consumer's rights under the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Consumers that want to a debt validation or dispute the actual debt and/or the amount of a debt must send a debt validation letter within the first … [Read more...]
Review the Credit Accounts in Your Credit Report to Improve Your Credit Score
September 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Once a consumer is familiar with the components from a credit report that factor into a credit score, one of the first step steps to try and improve a credit score is to review the credit report for errors and inaccurate information. Credit reports are often filled with numerous errors however; most of these errors do not impact a credit score. The focus in reviewing the credit report is to have the accounts and records that impact the credit score repaired or removed. When reviewing a … [Read more...]
Debt Validations Letters
September 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) gives consumers the right to request that a debt be validated which can be requested with a debt validation letter. Debt validation is different from the verification process that can be done through the credit reporting agencies. A request to verify a debt simple means the credit reporting agency requests that the creditor verify their records for accurate information. A debt validation requires that the collection agency prove the debt is … [Read more...]
Understanding Pay for Delete Letters
August 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Removing negative information from a credit report is the fastest method to increase an individual’s credit score. One of the procedures available for removing negative or derogatory records from a credit report is using what is referred to as a Pay for Delete Letter. The pay for delete letter name describes exactly what this document is. A pay for delete letter is sent to the creditor or collector agency asking that they remove the bad payment record from your credit report in return … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy and Bill Collectors
July 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Bankruptcy protection is made available to consumers who can’t pay their creditors or debts to help resolve the debt burden. One of the major benefits of filing for protection under Chapter 7 is that many creditor actions are stayed or brought to a standstill. This means that any debt collection efforts and foreclosure procedures are halted. Once a creditor or bill collector has been notified that a consumer has filed for bankruptcy protection, the bill collector or collection agency … [Read more...]
Pay For Delete Letters to Remove Delinquent Accounts
June 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A pay for delete letter is a useful tool to try to eliminate a delinquent credit item from your credit report. A pay for delete letter is a means used to arrange for a settlement on a severely delinquent account in which the sender is requesting that the creditor remove the delinquent record in return for paying the account off. The payoff amount can be the full amount or an offer to settle for a lesser amount. The letter can be used in a variety of situations were the debtor wants to … [Read more...]
Watch for Debt Collection Scams
March 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Debt collection scams can cost consumers financially as well as cost time and aggravation. Debt collection scams and errors occur when the information about a consumer’s debt is recorded incorrectly. Errors regarding debts and debt collections may include minor issues such as the wrong amount recorded in the credit report or major issues such as the wrong person being attributed to the bad debt. Errors often occur when a bad debt is released or sold from the original creditor to a … [Read more...]
How to Read a Credit Report
January 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Understanding how to read a credit can be important when it comes time to review a credit report that may have been ordered as a free credit report or when credit report is ordered through a credit reporting agency to review the report and credit score or when someone may have to discuss the contents of their credit report with a creditor. How the information is displayed in a credit report will be different depending which credit reporting agency produced the report. However, the … [Read more...]
Rules to Follow with Debt and Debt Collectors
August 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
We all want to pay our bills on time but sometimes due to some financial crunch it is not possible to make even the minimum payments and meet due dates. If a debt goes unpaid for an extended period of time, creditors may turn your account to a collection department or agency. It is true that debt collectors have the right to demand payment and take legal action if necessary, but often they would rather collect a portion of the debt than have to take more drastic actions. Before you start … [Read more...]