I BEG your help PLEASE

[jack62]

I could search, yes, but you guys are faster, and more user friendly

Filed for BK May 05. Discharged August 05
(Chapter 7)

I'm 2+ years clean, and my credit score is currently 659 with Experian, 650+ with the other two agencies. (not bad eh?)

I'm all about cleaning up my report now,,,,AND getting the score higher. I followed the advice on this forum applied for an unsecured CC (capitol one). APPROVED! $1000 limit. Buy gas with it only, pay it off every month. Before I even charged a dime my score went up 5 points!!!!!!!! (thank you forum)

I noticed an "in collections/deliquent" amount of $332 from a medical bill. "Seriously deliquent, turned over to an attorney, and you are an evil, evil man".....etc...etc..

I have NO DOUBT this is a genuine bill I did not pay. Here's the kicker.......This has been on my report for 2 yrs now.
I called the "collections" agency that was listed, and THEY SHOW IT AS "In bankruptcy" (not discharged, just "in" bk)

( I KNOW FOR A FACT WE DID NOT INCLUDE THIS BILL IN OUR BK ) I do owe this money.

So I disputed it with experian to no avail of course.....so here's the million dollar question.

Let's say I go ahead pay this $332 medical bill. Will it come off of my report? Or at least be changed to PAID?
And if it does come off/or changed to paid.......will that auto-increase my score??? Thank you for any help

[chpxiii]

First of all, did this debt occur BEFORE or AFTER you filed?

[poorme]

If the debt existed when you filed it may be discharged even though you didn't list it in your bk. This is a provision of the process that not all bk courts support (usually with no asset cases). Yours may or may not. But, it's worth a shot, since the CA has it showing "in bk" - that you can advise them it was discharged and send them your discharge letter. Check to see if your state's bk district(s) honor the fact that it may have been included.

[BassBoy]

Poorme is correct. If your Ch.7 was a no asset, and as chpxiii points out, if the debt was incurred before the date you filed, IT IS DISCHARGED!

[jack62]

Thank you all for your responses, I'm affraid you may have skipped the pocket knives and went straight toward the chainsaws though.......lol

Let's be real. It's $332 dollars. Half a weeks pay for me.

So I'm thinking like this.....Call them up again, they were very nice. Explain,,,,,,,look, I don't care who,why, or what happened 2+yrs ago......All's I know is that your company has a deliquent for 2 years now on my credit. Yes, Yes mam,,,,I know I owe it.

How about this.........I send you certified mail saying your recieved payment,,,,,,,FOR YOU,.... You then send letters to all 3 CA sayin I'm paid in full, and maby delete those possible derogatory comments too,

Assuming all this went just fine,,,,,,their payed, I feel better, And maybe two weeks and a couple of letters/faxes gets this cleaned up.

Honestly guys.gals.....I'm too tire to fight ,I think in simplistic terms. I write you a check, you accept payement, send letters to all 3 CA's what a charming young man I am....

And for less than $$340 I am REALLY OUT of everthing negatives on my report, besides the BK and FC lol

Second round begins now.

[rrockinggramma]

The type of letter you are talking about is called PFD, or paid in full delete. LOL I am learning the terms on myfico.com. LOL GW is a good will letter. But why pay for something you don't have to pay for? I would dispute with the CA that they are violating FCRA laws for showing a balance due when it was indeed, IIB.

[chpxiii]

The problem with doing that is it reages your account and they will start reporting new balances, etc. to the credit bureaus. If it's not a good reporting, it won't come off until seven years from now. If it's good reporting that can increase your score, then good.

However. I would not pay them. If that debt is discharged, it is discharged. This is what I "paid for" when I filed bankruptcy. I have a crappy hit to my credit rating. Anyone to whom I owed debt prior to filing will NOT get NOT ONE RED CENT from me.

The collection agencies and collection reporting agencies really don't care how charming you are. And they're *sharks*, legalized mobsters who may not necessarily come and break your knee caps, but they'll mentally torment you.

For me, principal is worth more than money.

Whatever you decide to do, get everything in writing and send everything certified mail, return receipt requested.

[Boscoe]

Do NOT pay this!!! You will NOT get it off your credit report by paying.....The only way to do so is to keep on disputing it with the credit bureaus. Keep your disputes at least 60 days apart and try to use different reasons for disputing.....Otherwise, they may deny your continued disputes of the same item (Experian especially).

As it ages, it will affect your score less.

But you should be:

--Paying ALL bills on time, but AFTER the statement date of your credit card, so they will report both the balance each month and your payments

--Keep all old accounts open to increase the age of your file - this increases the score

--Keep credit applications to an absolute minimum. The more you apply, the lower the score (i.e. higher credit risk)

--Try to have a mix of credit, i.e. in addition to credit cards, have a car loan and/or a mortgage loan. This shows that lenders want to lend to you and increases your score

--Dispute all inaccurate, obsolete and/or unverifiable info with the 3 major credit bureaus. Keep on disputing and you will see improvement, albeit slowly.

--You are 2 years out from discharge, so you should be getting better credit offers in the mail. Time is the big healer, so keep on payment everything on time and you should hit 700 next year.

[HeatherB]

I'm gonna jump on the "don't pay" wagon. I, personally, would just wait a while and dispute it again with the CRA... differing your reason. Ex - 1.) Balance incorrect, a few month later if it doesn't come off try 2.) Do not owe this debt. No luck yet, try again with, 3.) Discharged in bankruptcy - please update to Zero balance..... and just keep at it and keep at it. Don't panic about it right now (unless you are considering a huge purchase like a new car or home loan.)

Honestly, that being two years old helps out your credit score a little. It has aged and become "not new" from what I've heard. Some people have said they were upset because they fought and fought to get something removed and it only increased their score by a few points when they actually got it removed.

If it's your only "bad" after your bankruptcy (eventhough it was supposedly before your bk) I wouldn't sweat it so much. Just keep fighting. Go to Myfico.com for help and support to get this removed. There's a lot of knowledge there about rebuilding stuff.

Whichever you choose, good luck. I know rebuilding is a pain.

[poorme]

Looks like our friend Jack is dealing with his conscience. It's great that you can 'afford' to pay this old bill, but there's no need. You can get this off your report much easier than you think. I'd rather see you use the money for some other worthwhile cause during this time of need for someone else who may be struggling with debt.