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When your student loan goes into default, you may think that credit repair will help. Well, that isn’t necessarily so. Credit repair is great for removing bad credit like late pays, charge offs and collections. Credit repair can also remove public records like judgments and bankruptcy/bankruptcies. But student loans are a little different.
Defaulted student loans can give you really bad credit. This is because, though it may only be one loan that you default on, it gets reported separately for every dispersement that was given. So, if you went to college for 2 years, and every semester you had a dispersement, it will show up on your credit report as 4 trade lines, one for each dispersement. But it gets worse!
Those 4 trade lines, or however many, while being paid on time, or in deferment, give you great credit. But just like creditors turn your credit card accounts to collections, so do student loan providers. Now, your trade lines double! And they are all giving you bad credit! Both the original provider and the collector are allowed to report these lines of credit on your credit report.
Credit repair can remove those tradelines, sometimes, but it is mainly by luck. But the luck isn’t necessarily always good on them, when disputing. The government is usually pretty good at keeping those records, so they have no problem validating. The problem is, if it isn’t reporting accurately, by law,it must report accurately. So if it is reporting inaccurately in your favor, they may correct it and then it looks even worse!
Even if you are lucky and the student loan entries come off, you will ALWAYS owe the debt to the government. They have enacted laws to always get theirs. This is a debt that is almost always paid or taken to the grave. They will eventually take your tax refunds, wages, social security, you name it.
The best thing to do with your defaulted student loan is to call your provider or the Dept. of Education. They can help you rehabilitate your loan, which will pull it out of the default status. Depending on what kind of loan you have, that will take 9-12 on time payments over the next 10 months, or according to an agreed payment plan. Payments that have been garnished, or paid involuntarily, will not count as part of the rehabilitation.
The good thing about rehabilitation though, is when you complete those payments, your credit is repaired on the student loans. They take them out of the derogatory category and mark them “paying as agreed”. They do this without even having to dispute, in most cases. After you have rehabilitated your student loan, if needed, you can apply for deferment. You should repair any other credit issues on your report while the rehabilitation is going on. By the time your loan is rehabbed and you are applying for deferment, if you do apply for deferment, your credit reports should be looking pretty sweet!
Your FICO scores will take a jump from removing other negative items through credit repair. Then when your student loans move out of derogatory to satisfactory, your scores will rise even higher. Make sure you repair your credit on any student loans that are not showing in the positive categories on your credit report after you have finished the rehabilitation. This is when I see most positive results with credit repair for student loans.
Defaulted student loans can give you really bad credit. This is because, though it may only be one loan that you default on, it gets reported separately for every dispersement that was given. So, if you went to college for 2 years, and every semester you had a dispersement, it will show up on your credit report as 4 trade lines, one for each dispersement. But it gets worse!
Those 4 trade lines, or however many, while being paid on time, or in deferment, give you great credit. But just like creditors turn your credit card accounts to collections, so do student loan providers. Now, your trade lines double! And they are all giving you bad credit! Both the original provider and the collector are allowed to report these lines of credit on your credit report.
Credit repair can remove those tradelines, sometimes, but it is mainly by luck. But the luck isn’t necessarily always good on them, when disputing. The government is usually pretty good at keeping those records, so they have no problem validating. The problem is, if it isn’t reporting accurately, by law,it must report accurately. So if it is reporting inaccurately in your favor, they may correct it and then it looks even worse!
Even if you are lucky and the student loan entries come off, you will ALWAYS owe the debt to the government. They have enacted laws to always get theirs. This is a debt that is almost always paid or taken to the grave. They will eventually take your tax refunds, wages, social security, you name it.
The best thing to do with your defaulted student loan is to call your provider or the Dept. of Education. They can help you rehabilitate your loan, which will pull it out of the default status. Depending on what kind of loan you have, that will take 9-12 on time payments over the next 10 months, or according to an agreed payment plan. Payments that have been garnished, or paid involuntarily, will not count as part of the rehabilitation.
The good thing about rehabilitation though, is when you complete those payments, your credit is repaired on the student loans. They take them out of the derogatory category and mark them “paying as agreed”. They do this without even having to dispute, in most cases. After you have rehabilitated your student loan, if needed, you can apply for deferment. You should repair any other credit issues on your report while the rehabilitation is going on. By the time your loan is rehabbed and you are applying for deferment, if you do apply for deferment, your credit reports should be looking pretty sweet!
Your FICO scores will take a jump from removing other negative items through credit repair. Then when your student loans move out of derogatory to satisfactory, your scores will rise even higher. Make sure you repair your credit on any student loans that are not showing in the positive categories on your credit report after you have finished the rehabilitation. This is when I see most positive results with credit repair for student loans.
By law, under the FACT ACT, everyone is entitled to receive one free credit report each year. There are several ways to do it. Before I get to how to really get a copy of your credit report for free from each of the 3 main national credit bureaus, Experian, Transunion, and Equifax, I want to give you a heads up on where not to get one that claims it’s free, but charges you.
If you watch any amount of TV at all, you’ve most likely seen that obnoxious commercial with that smug actor telling you to get your free credit report athttp://www.americanconsumercreditrepaircenter.com/
If you watch any amount of TV at all, you’ve most likely seen that obnoxious commercial with that smug actor telling you to get your free credit report athttp://www.americanconsumercreditrepaircenter.com/
What he doesn’t tell you, is that it isn’t really free if you’re not careful. You shouldn’t have to provide a credit card to get a “free” credit report! But you do at this site!
Another site that claims to give you a free credit report is credit dot com. Again, you have to have a credit card. They tell you it’s because it is going to verify your identity. But it’s not really. It’s so that after 30 days they can charge their monthly fee to your card.
Identityguard dot com will also give you your free reports. You will need a credit card here and after the free trial period, it only costs you 12.99 a month! So much for free here too!
Are you getting the idea? Some of the companies offering these supposed free credit reports are either owned by the “Big 3″ or have a business relationship with them. As mentioned in an earlier post, these credit bureaus are in the business of making money off of your information. They hate that the law forces them to give you a free credit report every year. So they found a way to give it to you and still make money.
You will need to watch out for all these companies. There’s a ton of them out there online. Many of them claim to be free, all of them have something to sell you. This will range from FICO scores, monitoring service, identity theft protection service, etc. It’s just how they capitalize on the “free” credit reports you are entitled to legally.
They will give you your credit report for free, sure, but you have to buy their services from them, or at least take a trial run of their services. They flaunt that you will also get your FICO scores with your report. If you forget to cancel the service before the end of the trial period, which they are hoping you will do, you will be billed, uummm, sorry – charged – for that month.
So, if you are wanting to really get your credit report for FREE, there is really only one place online to get it. It is the only site that islegally authorized to give you your free credit report. This time I’m going to hyperlink the website address for you. That’s because it really is free! It’s called http://www.americanconsumercreditrepaircenter.com/. You will get a copy of your report from each bureau. You will NOT have to provide a credit card, unless you want to know what your FICO scores are.
You will need to create an account so you can login. That’s free. Then you will pick the bureaus you want your reports from. It can be just one or two, or all three. Doesn’t matter how many you want, your report is free. Then it will go to a bureau and you will be asked a couple of multiple choice questions to match your identity to information already on your report. This is how they verify your identity, not with a credit card.
Be careful during this process. If you answer incorrectly, you will be forced to request it by mail, plus they will want you to send in a copy of a government issued id and other things to prove who you are. If you have a question given to you with answers that leave you trying to remember that old information, just stop. Go back and start the process to get the report from the next bureau. The questions are usually different.
Once you get through the questions correctly, you will be able to print your report or save a copy to your hard drive. That’s what I always do. That way, when I go back to the other bureau with the questions I had trouble with, I can look at my report from the bureau I just got, and find the answer! Maybe it’s cheating, but dang it, it’s my report! I don’t necessarily remember the original payment amount or loan amount I had 12 years ago! I don’t remember the exact year I worked at some crappy fast food restaurant!
Those are some of the questions they ask you. Here’s some more examples of things you will be asked. Mortgage company name, car loan companies, past employers, addresses you’ve lived at – be careful with this one, they sometimes put addresses that look very similar to an actual address to trick you.
You will do this for each bureau, and each time you will be able to print and/or save it to your computer. If you end up having to mail in their form to the bureau to get your copy, here’s my suggestion. DON’T USE THEIR FORM! Instead, write a letter to them requesting your free credit report. Include your Full Name, Current Address, Social Security number and Date of Birth. Mail it to the address they provide. Don’t give them a copy of your SS card, utility bill, or driver’s license. The less they know about you, the better!
If they send you back a letter requesting that you need to send them the copy of license, etc., mail them back saying that obviously they got the right person because you received their letter, and please send the credit report now! This has always worked for me when the bureaus try to pull this during credit repair for several of my clients.
You can also request your free credit reports by phone. Here is the number you call for this. It is a toll free number, so it won’t even cost you anything to call.
(855) 577 – 0015 and (855) 413 – 9527
You can also receive your free reports by mail. You will need to print thisform (it’s in .pdf format) and mail it to the following address:
Another site that claims to give you a free credit report is credit dot com. Again, you have to have a credit card. They tell you it’s because it is going to verify your identity. But it’s not really. It’s so that after 30 days they can charge their monthly fee to your card.
Identityguard dot com will also give you your free reports. You will need a credit card here and after the free trial period, it only costs you 12.99 a month! So much for free here too!
Are you getting the idea? Some of the companies offering these supposed free credit reports are either owned by the “Big 3″ or have a business relationship with them. As mentioned in an earlier post, these credit bureaus are in the business of making money off of your information. They hate that the law forces them to give you a free credit report every year. So they found a way to give it to you and still make money.
You will need to watch out for all these companies. There’s a ton of them out there online. Many of them claim to be free, all of them have something to sell you. This will range from FICO scores, monitoring service, identity theft protection service, etc. It’s just how they capitalize on the “free” credit reports you are entitled to legally.
They will give you your credit report for free, sure, but you have to buy their services from them, or at least take a trial run of their services. They flaunt that you will also get your FICO scores with your report. If you forget to cancel the service before the end of the trial period, which they are hoping you will do, you will be billed, uummm, sorry – charged – for that month.
So, if you are wanting to really get your credit report for FREE, there is really only one place online to get it. It is the only site that islegally authorized to give you your free credit report. This time I’m going to hyperlink the website address for you. That’s because it really is free! It’s called http://www.americanconsumercreditrepaircenter.com/. You will get a copy of your report from each bureau. You will NOT have to provide a credit card, unless you want to know what your FICO scores are.
You will need to create an account so you can login. That’s free. Then you will pick the bureaus you want your reports from. It can be just one or two, or all three. Doesn’t matter how many you want, your report is free. Then it will go to a bureau and you will be asked a couple of multiple choice questions to match your identity to information already on your report. This is how they verify your identity, not with a credit card.
Be careful during this process. If you answer incorrectly, you will be forced to request it by mail, plus they will want you to send in a copy of a government issued id and other things to prove who you are. If you have a question given to you with answers that leave you trying to remember that old information, just stop. Go back and start the process to get the report from the next bureau. The questions are usually different.
Once you get through the questions correctly, you will be able to print your report or save a copy to your hard drive. That’s what I always do. That way, when I go back to the other bureau with the questions I had trouble with, I can look at my report from the bureau I just got, and find the answer! Maybe it’s cheating, but dang it, it’s my report! I don’t necessarily remember the original payment amount or loan amount I had 12 years ago! I don’t remember the exact year I worked at some crappy fast food restaurant!
Those are some of the questions they ask you. Here’s some more examples of things you will be asked. Mortgage company name, car loan companies, past employers, addresses you’ve lived at – be careful with this one, they sometimes put addresses that look very similar to an actual address to trick you.
You will do this for each bureau, and each time you will be able to print and/or save it to your computer. If you end up having to mail in their form to the bureau to get your copy, here’s my suggestion. DON’T USE THEIR FORM! Instead, write a letter to them requesting your free credit report. Include your Full Name, Current Address, Social Security number and Date of Birth. Mail it to the address they provide. Don’t give them a copy of your SS card, utility bill, or driver’s license. The less they know about you, the better!
If they send you back a letter requesting that you need to send them the copy of license, etc., mail them back saying that obviously they got the right person because you received their letter, and please send the credit report now! This has always worked for me when the bureaus try to pull this during credit repair for several of my clients.
You can also request your free credit reports by phone. Here is the number you call for this. It is a toll free number, so it won’t even cost you anything to call.
(855) 577 – 0015 and (855) 413 – 9527
You can also receive your free reports by mail. You will need to print thisform (it’s in .pdf format) and mail it to the following address:
American Consumer Credit Repair Center LLC
http://www.americanconsumercreditrepaircenter.com/
!Call Today!
(855) 577 – 0015 and (855) 413 – 9527
DO NOT request it from the individual bureaus themselves because they don’t have to honor it. They will require a fee, unless you meet the criteria for a free credit report, such as having been turned down for credit very recently. You will need to provide a copy of that rejection letter at the time of your request.
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Getting credit Collections Accounts Removed from credit report, Credit Report help, BUILDING GOOD CREDIT, Credit Help, credit repair, GOOD CREDIT Help, Repair Credit, Repair Your Bad Credit
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Getting credit Collections Accounts Removed from credit report, Credit Report help, BUILDING GOOD CREDIT, Credit Help, credit repair, GOOD CREDIT Help, Repair Credit, Repair Your Bad Credit
FREE CREDIT HELP
Image
Getting credit Collections Accounts Removed from credit report, Credit Report help, BUILDING GOOD CREDIT, Credit Help, credit repair, GOOD CREDIT Help, Repair Credit, Repair Your Bad Credit
FREE CREDIT HELP
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BUILDING GOOD CREDIT, Credit Help, credit repair, GOOD CREDIT Help, Repair Credit, Repair Your Bad Credit
I’m not a big TV watcher but sometimes when I do, I see ads for debt settlement and debt negotiation services. They sound so nice and the actors pretend that their life after signing up is just so wonderful, like it solved all of their problems. Its a crock! If they were honest about it, they would have a disclaimer that you could hear at a normal speed of talking where they told you who really benefits with debt settlement.
If you’ve read much of my blog, you have most likely read that you don’t owe collectors a dime and you shouldn’t pay them or settle with them. I feel the same way about charged off accounts with original creditors. You don’t owe them squat. Of course, that’s not what you’re going to read on most websites and blogs. No, they just keep spitting out the same garbage that the bureaus and the FTC, and the creditors and collectors want you to believe.
But, you have to think about it. Why would they tell you that a charged off account still has to be paid? Why would a collector who you’ve never agreed to do business with tell you that regardless if its been charged off and now they own it, that you have to pay? I know you have got to sort of have the answer in your head as you read this – its so easy! Its because they know if they get you to pay, they are going to make butt loads of money off of you and everyone else they convince that they need to pay. What’s that saying? Follow the money!
So why is debt settlement so bad for your credit? Let me explain a little about your credit report and scores. When you have a charge off, it can really cost you some points. But, as time goes on, it has less and less effect on your score. In fact, at 2 years, it really isn’t affecting your score at all. At least its not if they are reporting it properly. What I mean by that is, it should show what your high credit is and your balance should be $0 and your past due should be $0. Anything other than that is wrong and even at 2 years old, it will be affecting your credit and your score negatively.
This is when most people see that charge off and they think if they do the fake “honorable” thing and pay it off, it will help their score. NOPE! It will hurt your score. What you should do, is tell the original creditor that you are not happy that they are intentionally damaging your credit score by knowingly reporting erroneous information. They charged this alleged account off. Their books say $0 past due now and $0 balance. So why on earth are they reporting anything other than $0? I admit that there’s a lot of incompetent people working for these folks, but it is intentional. They want to screw you over because you stopped paying and they didn’t get to swindle you for the full amount they were hoping for. Its retaliation!
So, they may come back with a phony verification but offer you a sweet deal to close it out. If you do that, what will happen to your credit is a new negative report that now will take another 2 years to have no affect and another 7 years before it will “fall off” of your credit report. Oh, and your credit report will also say that you settled! Is that helping you? Nah, but they made more money off you. They also took tax credits when they charged off, so now they have just committed tax fraud. And when they charged off, they got a secret insurance payment that paid it off, so they also just committed insurance fraud. So tell me again how you benefited? You have a fresh negative and 7 more years of negative crap on your credit and paid for something that had you continued to fight about, you never would have paid and you probably would have gotten it off your credit.
Let’s talk about 3rd party debt collectors. They notify you that they are now collecting on behalf of an old credit card or medical debt that you failed to pay. But oh, lucky you. They’re going to offer you an awesome deal where they’re going to knock off half of the balance you owe them. Stop! You don’t owe them. When did you contract with them? Were they mentioned on the contract with the original creditor? NO, NO, NO they weren’t!
What you should do is demand validation from them. I think that probably 90-95% of the time, when they bought the portfolio of bad debt from the original creditor or some other junk debt buyer, they were missing a lot of the supporting documentation. I say this because 97% of collection lawsuits end up with the collector winning a default judgment. The defendant (think, overwhelmed or not notified consumer) doesn’t fight it or respond. So, if they can count on that many default judgments, why would they care if they got full documentation to support the bad debts they buy?
When you demand validation, more than 1/3 of them will hit the road. They may sell it to the next junk debt buyer to try to recoup some of the money they spend, but each time they resell it, you have a higher success rate of getting rid of them. But let’s get back to debt settlement. Why would you settle with someone you don’t owe, even at 1/2 the amount, when they bought it for probably no more than 20 cents on the dollar? That means they are also making money off of you when they never lent you a dime. And they probably can’t prove you owe them anything.
But here’s the bad part. They will now report that you have a paid collection. A collection is worse than a charge off. It is bad. Always bad. And paying them is more fresh bad. No collector should ever be on any one’s credit report, but if you pay them, you will have an even harder time getting it off because they have no incentive to delete and they will claim because you paid them, you contracted with them.
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