Question

I have a late payment from 2004 since then I have never been late.  Why is it showing up on credit reports? 

Scott

Answer

Unfortunately, creditors and the credit bureaus are unforgiving.  Negative items on your credit reports can remain for years, affecting your good name each time you apply for credit.  In your situation, the deletion of this one item could make all the difference in you getting future interest rates that are lower. The good news is you may be able to delete negative items on your credit report. If you want a free no obligation phone consultation with a credit repair professional, simply call 800-445-8540.  Or continue to visit www.WindSpeedllc.com for updated information and resources regarding your credit wellness.  

-Candice

Question

I am trying to repair my credit report and have some items deleted from my credit report one company in particular that told me if i paid for a non use settlement they would delete it from my credit report instead they just reported it closed and unsecured. but they were the ones who told me to dispute it in the first place to have it removed and they would agree to remove or delete it from my credit report.

McKell L.

Answer

It is hard to hold these creditors to anything if you don’t get it in writing. Did you get the agreement to these terms in writing?  If so, you could probably fight to hold them to it. If not, there are things you can do to dispute these negative marks on your credit. Here are some ways that you can go about doing this.

1) You can write the dispute letters yourself. Here are a couple of articles with more advice on how to do that. http://www.WindSpeedllc.com/credit/repairing-credit-yourself.html  http://www.WindSpeedllc.com/credit/credit-report-dispute-letter.html 

2) You can get a free phone consultation from a credit repair professional. They will actually write the dispute letters on your behalf. Call us at 1-877-531-3700 for a free credit consultation.

Thank you and good luck.

-Candice

Question

I have about 30000 in old debt (old charge accounts). I’m looking for help in clearing these from my credit report. Is there a way to remove charge offs/collections?

Billy S.

Answer

Yes. There is a way. Bad credit may be deleted. Here are some ways that you can go about doing this.

1) One option may be writing the dispute letters yourself. Here are a couple of articles with more advice on how to repair credit yourself.

2) You can get a free phone consultation from a credit repair professional. Credit repair professionals will actually write the dispute letters on your behalf. Call us at 1-877-531-3700 for a free credit consultation.

Thank you and good luck.
-Candice

Question

hi well ihave three credit cards and i pay on time never late and I also have a mortage and i always pay ontime never late but my credit score stays below 600 no matter what i do it never seems to up

Lisa D.

Answer

Lisa

Congrats on paying your bills on time.  This is very important for maintaining and building positive credit.

There are other factors that go into calculating your credit score.  Here a few things to check…

1) Monitor your credit.  Make sure you or no one else is pulling your credit too often.  Inquiries can lower your credit score.

2) Make sure everything on your report is accurate.  If it is not, dispute these items with each of the credit bureaus.

3) Make sure you have available credit showing on your accounts.  Having your accounts “maxed out” with lower your score.

4) Make sure that if you have old accounts on there, they are paid off.  An old collection or judgment could bring down your score.

Check on these 4 things and keep maintaining positive credit.  Your score should continue to go up over time.

Thanks

Candice

Question

I just found out my husband has bad credit and a lot of debt in his past.  The collections bills are now starting to roll in and we just had a debt collector come to our door the other night for 8000.00.  What are my options?

Blake H.

Answer

Blake

Sorry to hear about this but this is a common problem in marriages; spouses bringing in old credit history into the new marriage.  It is very important for you both to sit down, talk about your combined financial picture and work out a plan together.  Above all, keep communicating to each other!

As far as the debts go, you have a few options…

1)      Debt Acceleration.  If you get on a spending plan together, you may see you have extra money coming in each month.  If you do, start applying this extra monthly month to one of these bills.  Once you have paid off one, apply all the money that was going to the now paid off account and apply it to the next bill.  You can continue to do this until all your bills are paid off.

2)      Family and Friends.  It is getting more common now to borrow from family and friends.  If this option is available, make it official.  Sign a note with them that clearly spells out the repayment terms and the interest rate and by all means pay them back on time!

3)      Credit Counseling.  There are non-profit companies out there that can renegotiate the payment terms with your creditors.  They will draft your account once a month and handle all of the re-payment process.

4)      Debt Settlement.  There are agencies out there that can negotiate a settlement for less than full balance of what you owe.  This could be a good way to save money on some old debts.

5)      Bankruptcy.  If all else does not work, bankruptcy may be an alternative.  You would have to meet with an attorney in your state and discuss whether a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 would help in your situation.

Blake, if you would like to have a free referral to a debt specialist, give us a call @ 800-445-8540 and we can match you to a reputable partner.

Good luck.

Candice

Question

Upon paying off a collections account, will my credit score suffer if I settle in full versus paying in full? Also, upon paying off collections accounts, will the reporting collections agency remove the derogatory information or negative rating by not responding to a personal letter from me saying “this account has been paid and should not reflect a negative status, as it is affecting my ability to obtain credit”? What advice can you offer to have derogatory accounts be removed from my credit report?

Joseph D

Answer

Joseph

Great questions. 

We recommend that you always satisfy your debts in some way.  This is a great way to increase your financial health.  In the long run, this should also improve your credit score.  According to myfico.com, 30% of your credit score is made up by the amounts you owe on your debts.  So the less you owe, the greater you will score in this area.  Outstanding collections, judgments, tax liens should be satisfied in one way or another. 

Unfortunately, in the short term, paying off these accounts either in full or by a settlement, may lower your credit score.  The payment you make on these accounts will be more recent than your previous payments and will update the activity date.  Your credit score weighs new activity, usually over the last two years, more than old activity.

Unless you negotiate for a deletion with your settlement, the creditors will not remove these collections accounts from your records.  In fact, they could stay on your reports up to 7 years from the last date of activity.

As a part of your settlement negotiation, you could stipulate that the creditor delete the item in full from the bureau reports.  Often times, the creditors will ask for a higher settlement amount to accommodate this request.  If they do agree to this, it is recommended that you get the agreement in writing BEFORE you make your payment.  Monitor your credit reports in about 90 days from your settlement to make sure these items have been removed from your reports.  If they are not, mail a copy of your settlement agreement to each of the bureaus by certified mail asking them to comply with the deletion request.  If this does not work, follow up with the collection agency to have them contact the bureaus again.

Good luck.

Thanks

Candice

Question

looking for a way past due credit card consolidation company. Know any?

Taylor S.

Answer

Taylor

WindSpeedllc.com will match you with the most reputable debt consolidation company in the country based on your individual need.  Call us @ 800-445-8540.

Choosing a debt company will depend on the type of debts you have, the amount of debts your have, if your debts are current, behind or in charge off status and your ability to repay these debts in the future.

Let us give you a free evaluation so we can help you determine these answers and we will recommend the right company to help you become debt free!

Thanks

Question

I have a question i have collections on my credit that are not mine I don’t know how to clear them up and get them off

Thomas D.

Answer

Thomas

You are not alone!  As reported in USA TODAY June 5th, 2007 “A 2005 survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found 79% of credit reports contained errors, and 25% contained enough mistakes to prevent the individual from obtaining credit.”

Here are ways you can go about deleting this incorrect record:

1) You can write the dispute letters yourself. Here are a couple of articles with more advice on how to do that. http://www.WindSpeedllc.com/credit/repairing-credit-yourself.html, 

 http://www.WindSpeedllc.com/credit/credit-report-dispute-letter.html  

2) You can get a free phone consultation from a credit repair professional. They will actually write the dispute letters on your behalf. Call us at 1-877-531-3700 and we can match you to the best partner in the country based on your situation.

Thank you and good luck.

Question

My name is James H., and my wife and I Filed chapter 7 two years ago. For some reason there is still a charge off for a 2003 Monte carlo in open status on my credit report. is there any thing we can do to fix this, It is putting a big hurt on us for buying a house.
Thanks,

James H.

Answer

James

Sometimes the credit bureau report will not be updated correctly to show all of the accounts included in bankruptcy.

You can do one of three things…

1) Contact the creditor of the Monte Carlo and ask them to update the bureau report to make this item as “Included In Bankruptcy”

2) You may dispute this item to all three credit bureaus and have them update the credit report.

Lastly, your mortgage lender could do what is called a “rapid Re-Score” and take your bankruptcy papers and work with their credit report provider to get this updated.  This would be the fastest way and could be updated within 72 hours.

Thanks and Good Luck.

Candice

Question

I need help in repairing mine and my husbands credit and getting out of a hole that unforseen circumstances got us into.  We are hard working people but got into a slump that never ended til now.  Now we are behind so far we are being threstened with forclosure and only a month behind.  Can you help us?

Emily S.

Answer

Emily

I am so sorry to hear of the hard times you and your family are going through.  It seems to be going around these days!

The number 1 thing you need to do is to save your house.  Mortgage lenders these days are willing to work with borrowers that have fallen behind.  With the rise in foreclosures, the last thing the banks want today is another vacant home on their books.

There are two programs that are common right now…

1)      Loan Modification: This is where your current lender will give you a new interest rate and new monthly payment to your current loan.

2)      Forbearance: This is where your current lender will tack the past due amount on to the end of your loan and you would stay making normal, current payments.

There are professional negotiators out there that can help you do this.  Normally, these negotiators tend to be attorneys.

If you would like a free referral to one, please do not hesitate to call us @ 800-445-8540.

Thanks and Good Luck.

Candice