Posted on 11/08/2012 6:27:43 PM PST by VastRWCon
Hello Freepers, asking for help from the smartest people I know of. My daughter got into a lot of credit problems, and well dear old dad is trying to help her out. I was wondering if anyone knows of a good reliable credit repair company. I am not so interested as cleaning up her credit as I am in getting all the different bills that she owes into a single monthly payment so that they can all be paid in full. Yes there are a lot.
Don’t pay them,what is the worst that could happen?
I think she would be best off contacting the following folks
http://getoutofdebt.org/2604/debt-counselors-of-america-what-i-learned
debt counselors of America has been used by a couple of folks I know. It does more than just charge you money to give you stupid ways to repair your ‘credit’. Your daughter needs help in learning how to handle money not in repairing her credit.
This is a non profit and they do good work
Lexington Law Firm
I’ve heard a number of times that most of the “credit repair” services are rip-offs.
I seem to recall is something like “Consumer Credit Counseling.” But I’m fairly certain this isn’t a “credit repair service.”
I would strongly advise checking out the web sites of Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard. They may have good information that could help.
Mark
Or check out Dave what’s his name. Someone posts his advice on FR.
If they have defaulted and gone to credit collectors, there’s no sense in paying anyone. Her credit score will be bad for 7 years no matter how much you pay anyone.
Those credit repair services are crooked and generally strike a deal that benefits them financially, not your daughter. Have her call the creditors and try to make her own deal. Bottom line would be “I’ll pay regularly what I can or I’ll pay you nothing.”
After seven years, non-Federal debt disappears from her credit report. One strategy is to let the existing debt expire. If she turns over a new leaf, the credit bureau computers should recognize her new financial trend and over time bump up her credit rating.
First check with your state government or hers if she is out of state. You need to know which ones they approve. Ohio has some such “laws.”
Second find an attorney. You say there is a lot...well an attorney will help you and her decide if consolidation or bankruptcy is the better choice.
Keep in mind bankruptcy comes in several forms one is payback and the other is write-off. An attorney will help you sift through the options and may be able to stall the debt collectors while you and her are in the process of sorting things out.
I was in the same hole years ago right after graduation from jr college. Then I had to go to university. Credit counseling services are legit, especially for mine but my company was located in canada. They consolidate EVERY bill I owed, and all creditors literally backed off as they had to face this one company. Basically those creditors stopped harassing me as the company sent them cease&desist letters.
Now your main problem is down to this one company, instead of multiple creditors who want to, which is a good thing. This was how I learned to live “off the grid” to avoid being found out by those creditors—to avoid say, more letters or repo guys. Paying cash for apartment with a fake name, making sure the internet,phone bill was attached to the landlord, buying a disposable phone etc. I learned how to live like a spy..Heck, I should write a book about living undetected.
Your first step is to burn the credit cards and make sure she doesn’t combine all of them into one payment and then start building debt again.
You have to quit it Cold Turkey.
I remembver a story of a guy who put all of thebills in a hate and drew as many out each month as he could pay. If he got any crap from a creditor he didn’t put their name in the hat next month.
That would be Dave Ramsey.
He has a course (I think it costs a couple of hundred bucks) that teaches about money and financial responsibility etc etc.
I believe you’re thinking of Dave Ramsey
http://www.daveramsey.com/home/
be wary of credit counseling agencies; many of them are ripoffs, and using one - so i’m told - has the same impact on your credit report as declaring bankruptcy
get the numbers together, and make arrangements with each creditor individually if possible
most reputable firms are happy to help you work out a plan you can stick to, but note: if you say the magic words “bankruptcy lawyer”, they will not talk to you at all
Renegotiation of the payment terms is essentially chapter 7. She is better off consulting a bankruptcy attorney for advice.
Most of the credit repair services are rip offs. The only way to repair your credit is to pay your bills consistently over time.
Many many stories of people who use those services who only end up with more debt and several years of pain.
I went through this with my daughter several years ago. I used it as an opportunity to teach some lessons that I had apparently neglected in her formative years. I told her that I would deal with any and all collection agencies and collectors but that she would need to get two jobs and turn over her paychecks to me. I then gave her an allotment that was reasonable to live on and used the rest to pay her bills. Each time I recieved a bill from a collection agent I called them explained the situation and offered them a settlement. Each and every one settled for approx. half what she owed. She had to be present and on speakerphone while I negotiated with her creditors(my rule) and she learned quite a lot about how to deal with people. When one agent swore at me I politely informed him that he was in violation of the fair credit laws and that I would call him again next month and that all future communication with him would be recorded(necessary in the state of NY). Dave Ramsey recommends a similar approach. Be sure to get agreement in writing prior to making payment. At the end of the process she was proud of herself for paying everyone off with her own money. She has had no further debt issues. Good luck.
Wow, great advice from you Freepers, keep it coming and thanks! I will have her read this thread.
I listen to Dave Ramsey sometimes, completly forgot about him, thanks!
Contacting the creditors and working out a deal, sounds like really good advice too!
I have your answer!
I found a place on the web called creditboardsdotcom about 6 years ago when my husband and I got into trouble. If you and your daughter will take the time and read the newbie section and then ask questions, you will be able to rebuild. It will not happen overnight, but if you are committed to credit repair, you will succeed. Do not pay someone to do what you can do for yourself. A credit repair will do the same thing and take just as much time. You will feel a great sense of accomplishment and your daughter will learn to be more responsible with her money and credit.
BTW....after I cleaned mine and my husbands credit, we both have scores in the low 700’s and many credit cards and low car payments, and we bought a new house in 2011!
Good Luck, you CAN do it!
Its generally easy to get a loan after bankruptcy. They know they have at least 7 years to get their money out of you because you can’t do it again.
The only people you can pay to improve your credit is the creditors.
It’s happened to a lot of people. The credit bureaus, each one, have a wealth of knowledge on the subject on their individual websites. Also, the website of consumer advocate, Clark Howard, www.clarkhoward.com, has a lot of advice and you can ask questions of a professional. if you’re looking to consolidate everything, you have to find someone who can loan you the money. With bad credit, it’s not wise to do that. You end up working with loan sharks. Unfortunately, the only other solution is to do it through an attorney....a form of bankruptcy. If your daughter chooses not to pay anything, they’ll drive her nuts with collections for the next twenty years. The main thing is to get a plan, stick to it, and be patient. I would check out Clark Howard. Sometimes the creditor will entertain an offer just to be able to close the account.
Stop. She needs to pay them, not come up with a gimmick
Note: I am going to help her pay them all off(a month or two if possible), its not the money I am worried about, its getting them all known, balances, and who to pay so that the credit agencies are reported that they are paid in full. Her credit will have to repair the natural way over time.
Again, thank you Freepers sooo much for the replies!!! Please keep them coming as she will be reading this thread.
no such thing. If she can’t handle debt responsibly there are 2 tracks. bankruptcy or negotiating a no interest repay. both will impact her credit score, but calling and working out a long term payout will in the long term prove she is a good debt.
collection agencies buy bad debt for pennies.
Most of the credit repair businesses are NOT reputable and will only make her life even worse.
I would suggest that she consider filing chapter 13 bankruptcy. With chapter 13, her payments are rolled into a single payment and chapter 13 is structured so that she will not only be debt-free in 5 years, but her credit report will not reflect that she declared bankruptcy. This way she gets a fresh start with a clean credit record.
HOWEVER . . . . her credit report will likely still reflect that she had several accounts that were late and sent to collection. I don’t think that the aftermath of chapter 13 will remove that from her credit report until a full seven years have passed. Nonetheless, IMO, this is her best chance to clean up her debts and start fresh.
it’s called filing for chapter 13 bankruptcy, one simple monthly payment
Please consider bankruptcy, consult an atty who does a lot of that work, as it has gotten very complicated.
get her credit report off freecreditreport.com to find out all her creditors
“it’s called filing for chapter 13 bankruptcy, one simple monthly payment”
Best way. Then let time take care of everything else.
Don’t do anything without going to the Dave Ramsey site.
IMO, first thing is to call an attorney. If some of the debt is already in the hands of collection services, she might be advised to discontinue payment of all non-secured bills. I believe in Chapter 7 bills must be 90 days delinquent before the attorney can actually file with the court. Don’t bother paying for anything that she wants to make “good” on. All bills except for a few (student loans and taxes) will be part of the bankruptcy. Once you’ve hired an attorney, give collection callers the attorney name & ph#. Good Luck. Hope she learns that cash is king.
Yes. The current collection company that owns or is assigned the debt for collection is allowed on her report with the original creditor of the debt.
So, if she defaulted on a loan with ABC Auto loans and they sold or assigned the debt to XYZ Collections then both can be on her credit report.
I suggest you go to www.creditinfocenter.com and www.creditboards.com for info on cleaning up the reports. Much of it she can do her self. I am not sure paying someone to fix it for you is going to help. Most of the consolidation companies are owned by the very creditors she has.
no, stop. being a white knight is never good. I get the desire to help her. The question is how to help her. The issue is enabling. If this is a one off then ok. Sit down and make sure the entire problem is known. It’s time to be father not bank, law not rug.
Credit repair services are gimmicks and generally not worth the hassle of dealing with them. For the most part, they are owned by junk debt buyers and profit handsomely from providing a minimal amount, if any, real assistance to deal with the problem.
If you are serious about helping her consolidate the debt into a single payment, your only real choice is to go take out a loan and pay off the debts and have her make the loan payment to you each month to ensure that you don’t risk your credit for the sake of hers. Depending on how much damage has been done to her credit, you may be able to co-sign for a loan to consolidate the debts, but in the end, you’re still on the hook for the loan amount. If you take this road, I would gather her bills, call each of the creditors and negotiate a payoff amount - doing so in conjunction with a request for a ‘pay for removal’ may help salvage her credit (offer to pay the balance within 48 hours if they report the debt as paid on time and paid in full).
If you insist upon a firm to assist, I would recommend Lexington. They operate differently from other ‘repair services’ and can find a solution, but it will not be inexpensive nor a cure all.
Good Luck!
Dave Ramsey, he has a website and radio show. Love listening to him.
Cut her loose. It’ll take awhile but it can be resolved if you just let her face the music
Although I’ve never needed one everything I’ve read strongly suggests that those outfits are,at best,useless...or worse.If things are that bad bankruptcy may be the answer.And then hope she learns a valuable lesson.
BTW, I’m learning tough love on my kids..It’s hard but, some times they need to do this on their own.
Give it at least two years and then go to reputable car dealers, not the ones who sent you the offer and got your name off the public filing. By this time, her credit score will be in the 680-720 range and you will actually get decent rates, maybe 3.5% or 4% from reputable dealers if you make a decent down payment.
Better yet, if she doesn't need a car, give it well more than two years. Her credit score goes up automatically every few months as she pays off debt.
He’s asking for a trustworthy way to help his daughter. He isn’t footing the bill.
Your advice sucks
“no, stop. being a white knight is never good. I get the desire to help her. The question is how to help her. The issue is enabling. If this is a one off then ok. Sit down and make sure the entire problem is known. It’s time to be father not bank, law not rug.”
You have no idea how much I agree with you. I have two sisters that got into similar trouble when they were young adults, and my parents rescued them. Long story short, nothing has changed and they are in their 40’s and 50’s. They still expect someone else is going to rescue them, and they try to make everyone in the family feel guilty for not doing so. “what’s going to happen to my kids?”, etc.
This needs to be nipped in the bud. You have to make her go through the pain and pay it off herself, so she can learn from it, or it is going to happen over and over, and you’ll end up having to pick up the pieces your entire life.
“He’s asking for a trustworthy way to help his daughter. He isn’t footing the bill.
Your advice sucks”
Yes, he is trying to help his daughter, but he has also stated that he is going to pay off the bills for her. Please read reply #22:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2957306/posts?page=22#22
I did miss that. Big mistake
Credit repair companies are like unions.
They represent themselves .
Don’t ignore calls. Pay anything you can afford. No company is going to go broke if you string the payment along , especially large companies and doctors offices.
I have a $3000 doctor bill I’m paying $30 a month. It’s gonna take a while.
Have many other doctor bills paying monthly also.
It’s not revenge for the high bill. Just paying what I can budget.
Most companies are sympathetic to some extent as long as your making effort to pay your debt.
You can also loan your daughter money and only charge interest you lost.
Or no interest knowing you will get paid back sometime. Even deduct for Errons she helps family with.
Every time you make a payment the 7yr clock starts over.
I do appreciate the fact that your paying your debt. It took me 6 years to pay off old debt from the mid 90’s but I did and felt much better about it.
My credit score went from 630 to 770 after steady progress. I plan to keep it there.
A very close friend of mine is currently using Christian Debit out of Florida (for what it’s worth). He is satisfied with the work they have done, and continue to do.
OOPS, meant Christian Debt.
You cannot repair the credit. You will suffer the same as if you go bankrupt. At least if you go bankrupt, you wipe out the debt.
Peter Frances Geraci says so.
I’ll repeat for you dummy. You want to help the kid? Cut her loose and tell her to grow up
To VastRWCon,I believe this was directed to you from Morris70:
Credit repair companies are like unions.
They represent themselves .
Don’t ignore calls. Pay anything you can afford. No company is going to go broke if you string the payment along , especially large companies and doctors offices.
I have a $3000 doctor bill I’m paying $30 a month. It’s gonna take a while.
Have many other doctor bills paying monthly also.
It’s not revenge for the high bill. Just paying what I can budget.
Most companies are sympathetic to some extent as long as your making effort to pay your debt.
You can also loan your daughter money and only charge interest you lost.
Or no interest knowing you will get paid back sometime. Even deduct for Errons she helps family with.
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