Personal Financial Resources - Credit Repair and Debt Consolidation

by Jonathan P. Mann 

Pulling your credit report at http://www.annualcreditreport.com is a good start.

You can pull all three agencies version for free. You’ll need to answer some security questions to verify your identity. Examples are: old addresses (they will provide the street name, you will need the address number and zip code), Old employers (they’ll have dates you worked and you’ll need to fill it the name. Sometimes it can be hard because they’ll abbreviate the name or there is a limited character space to enter in the name).

Also they will let you prove your identity by entering account numbers of different debts. They pick the debts so try and have all of your bills/statements avail in case.

You’ll need to create a login and password for some of the agencies. **HOLD ONTO that information** Lots of people fill it out and then lose it. You’ll need that info every time you pull these free reports every year, so keep it in a place you won’t misplace/lose it.

Consider paying for the add-on credit score option. You are getting a free credit report that does not affect you in a negative manner. It’s worth thinking about if you can afford it.

Disputes:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/crdtdis.htm

That is a direct link to the disputes section for the FTC. It also has a sample letter you can use for the dispute process. Once you go over your credit report and find any inaccuracies etc send your dispute letters out the companies in question and the credit reporting agencies.

Below are the addresses for the credit reporting agencies:

CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES

EQUIFAX             
P.O. BOX 740241
ATLANTA, GA 30374 

EXPERIAN
P.O. BOX 2002
ALLEN, TX 75013   

TRANSUNION
P.O. BOX 1000
CHESTER, PA 19022 

by Jonathan P. Mann

(Continued from yesterday)

8) Ask (and state that you can’t afford it now but you want to
ask) if they can offer you a settlement and how much is the total
payoff?

If they say they specifically cannot do that, see if they’ll
check for you. Ask how long is the offer good for? Ask how long
it can be paid over?

9) Explain to the collector that you are experiencing a financial
hardship right now, and you’re struggling to make payments.
Explain to the collector that they will be paid, but that you’re
going through tough times, and you hope to get through it.

Thank them for the information, and explain to them that you need
to check your financials to see what you can afford. Explain once
you are certain of what you can afford, that you will be making a
payment and by the due date. Thank them for their time and end
the call.

Now if you have someone that was rude to you on the phone, you
can call back and speak with a manager, and say exactly who it
was, what they did etc.

Also, if you get someone nice, you now know how to get in touch
with them, and continue with that rapport.

TIP: Making payments - Mail your payments to the creditor, and
make sure you leave enough time to get to the creditor before the
due date at least one day if you can. Try to allow seven to ten
days for the mail to reach the company.

TIP: Receiving Mail - Get a manila folder, and keep it marked
with a specific creditor. Make sure it stays in a place where you
won’t lose it. Whenever you receive mail from this creditor: Open
it, read it, and then put it in the folder. Look out for mail
that has the words: “Legal” “Legal Action” “Charge off” “Final
Notice” “Lawsuit” These are really important letters and you need
to make sure you hold onto them.

Here’s a easy checklist for you to keep by the phone. Keep the
rest of the article for a refresher if you forget something.

Checklist:

Date

Time

Creditor calling/Representatives Name

Contact info

Hours working

Best time to contact

How many days delinquent

When is due

Date/Billing Cycle

Is the account Re-age Eligible? What is the minimum payment?

How much to drop 60 days, 90 days, 120 days etc (based on how
many days delinquency. Everything is in 30 days increments)

Can you do a settlement? How much? How long is the offer good
until?

Explain you are in a financial hardship, etc. that you will make
payments and by the due date.

Thank them for their time.

End call

by Jonathan P. Mann

The tips shared in this article are applicable whether you’re
receiving calls from your creditor or calling your creditor for
information yourself. Jonathan P. Mann, the author of this
article, is a professional debt consolidation counselor.

TIP: Leave a bunch of paper and some pens by the phone so you
don’t have to look around for it.

General: Be calm, relax, and be nice! Don’t let them make you
angry. You’re now on the phone for a reason; to get the
information you need and get off the phone. Make sure you control
the conversation. Ask the necessary questions and get off the
phone. If this person will not give you the answers you’re after,
hang up and call back to get someone else on the phone.

Repeat the process until you have the desired result. When you
receive a call: Get a piece of paper and a pen, and write down
the date and the time and the creditor that is calling or who
you’re calling.

1) Get the full name of who you’re talking to. If they will not
give it to you, explain you won’t speak to them. If they give a
first name, that’s fine to start. Get their extension. If the
claim they don’t have an extension, ask how you get in touch with
them if you need to call them back. If they say “just ask for me”
ask what their last name is (if they didn’t give it initially)
and say something like “I’m sure you work in a big building with
a lot of people, and if I need to get back in touch with you, I
might get someone who doesn’t know you. I’d really like to talk
with just one person, and you sound nice.”

Once you have a name, and an extension (if they have them, not
all collectors do), ask what time is best to get in touch with
them if you need to talk again (most of them will be fine with
this, but you might get some resistance. It’s not a big deal, but
it doesn’t hurt).

2) “How many days delinquent is my account?” Write it down.

3) Ask what your due date/billing cycle is and ask if it ever
changes. 4) Ask if you have any grace period of time on that (if
the payment is mailed in and posts a day late, will they still
count it for last billing cycle? Write this stuff down.

5) Ask if your account is re-age eligible.

A “re-age” is a program most credit card companies offer where
you are able to make three consecutive minimum payments, and have
your delinquency cleared out. It can be done once per year or a
total of three in a five year period. You may have already used
it and not known. It happens.
6) Ask what your minimum payment is. If they say the whole
balance, tell them you don’t have that much and you need to know
what the minimum is that will drop your account thirty days in
delinquency. It should be about $130.00 right now, but let’s just
call it $150.00. It might stay the same for awhile or go slightly
up. Don’t be surprised. Also once you find out how delinquent
your account is, don’t stop with how much the minimum is.

A minimum payment is somewhere between two and three percent of
your balance. This may have changed if the credit card company
has raised your minimums due to the news laws that have passed.
In that case it could be four percent now.

7) If you’re 120 days delinquent right now, ask how much is it to
drop your account 60 days, 90, 120 days in delinquency. Write the
answers down clearly. Make sure you write the corresponding costs
with the drop in delinquency. Double check the numbers after you
write them down.

(Continued)