Credit Repair Services (Help please)

[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.

[AppyPappy]

Stop. She needs to pay them, not come up with a gimmick

[VastRWCon]

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.

[waynesa98]

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.

[DustyMoment]

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.

[yldstrk]

it’s called filing for chapter 13 bankruptcy, one simple monthly payment

[jocon307]

Please consider bankruptcy, consult an atty who does a lot of that work, as it has gotten very complicated.

[yldstrk]

get her credit report off freecreditreport.com to find out all her creditors

[FryingPan101]

“it’s called filing for chapter 13 bankruptcy, one simple monthly payment”

Best way. Then let time take care of everything else.

[hope]

Don't go to a credit counselor, they will consolidate and her credit will be worse..Go to someone who can actually deal with the creditors and challenge what they are accusing her of...One Co. that I know home builders here in AZ use is Go Clean Credit. 500.00 I believe and they will challenge all the claims. It takes about 3 months for them to deal with the creditors, but I know people who have had great success in getting things rescinded or negotiated.

[merry10]

Don’t do anything without going to the Dave Ramsey site.

[callthemlikeyouseethem]

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.

[cableguymn]

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.

[waynesa98]

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.

[RobertClark]

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!

[Engedi]

Dave Ramsey, he has a website and radio show. Love listening to him.

[Figment]

Cut her loose. It’ll take awhile but it can be resolved if you just let her face the music

[Gay State Conservative]

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.

[hope]

BTW, I’m learning tough love on my kids..It’s hard but, some times they need to do this on their own.

[Vigilanteman]

A few of things to consider:

1. The mere threat of declaring bankruptcy (as long as that card hasn't been played in the last 10 years) will convince many creditors to settle for as little as 50, 40 or even 35 cents on the dollar. A good line is "I've saved $1000 and can use it either to pay creditors or pay for a bankruptcy filing, which will it be?"

2. Creditors will tell you that they will file a 1099 on any balance written off and it will be taxable income to you. They can do this. But if your daughter makes little, the 1099 income may mean little.

3. A straight bankruptcy will not result in a 1099 filing. Decent creditors know this and will often give you a year or even more with 0% interest for making regular payments. In many cases, this is actually better for you than a loan write-down.

4. VERY IMPORTANT: Insist that the creditor give you any offer you've agreed to in writing first. There are real sleeze-bag operators out there (Bank of America and Chase are two examples) who will tell you anything to get the payment and then conveniently forget or even give an altogether different version of what was agreed.

5. People can and do snap back from bankruptcy. It isn't as easy as the lawyers will tell you because they love making money doing the filings, but it is possible. You actually get inundated with credit card offers and offers for car loans and such after the bankruptcy is discharged. Burn them unless there is a no fee offer for a reasonable credit card to reestablish credit. Then use it sparingly and pay it off monthly.

6. Most of the auto loan offers are come-ons to get you into the dealership and sell you something you can't afford-- especially if they give you some code to enter to see how much you qualify to borrow. For the most part, its bullsh*t and useful only in picking dealers NOT to visit. Dealers who do this want to milk a customer who has recently gone though bankruptcy with a high interest 5-6 year loan because they know you can't do it again for 7-10 years. That is why there is such a push to get these offers in your mailbox within the first few months after the discharge.

   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.

[eyedigress]

He’s asking for a trustworthy way to help his daughter. He isn’t footing the bill.

Your advice sucks