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j8ear · 08-26-2004, 02:24 PM

At 22 I had racked up around 25k in credit and disappeared for 10 years.

At 32 my credit was in the 500s. No one would extend me credit.

I had approximately 30 tradelines on my credit report, most charged off.

By state law the statute of limitations had expired to sue for collection on these debts, and the FCRA reporting laws stated they were ineligible for publication by Credit Reporting Agencies.

I approached the problem with a two pronged attacked:

1. The creditor and its assignees (i.e. collection agencies). They have federal and state laws they must follow in order to provide and collect debt. They are also limited time wise on how long they can bring a cause of action to recover past due debts. All but two violated the Federal laws, which provides for ~statutory_$1000~ and punitive (only if you can show harm) damages. They were easy to deal with, but it did take a lot of letter writing. Letter writing resulted in them continuing to violate the FCRA, and then I racked up one thousand dollar damage awards one after the other. Upon receipt of your letter, they must notify the CRA that the item is in dispute. They don't...$1000. Simple as that. This is apparently recoverable in Small Claims if the amount is small enough? I don't know, it never came to that point.

2. The credit reporting agencies. They have 30 days to respond to your inquiries. You do not have to provide them JACK, except what info they publish you are disputing. You dispute an item, they are required to have the creditor reporting it verify it. They often do 'automatically' some how. BUT, the CRAs are also required to provide a 'method of procedure' in verifying your dispute. They don't unless you ask for it, and even then they often don't. Shazam...also a FCRA violation with 1.5k in statutory damages recoverable I believe. Getting the money is pain in the ass. I've heard of failures and successes in getting anything.

Mine turned out pretty good. After about two years, 100 certified letters, and alot of patience, I had reestablished credit...to the tune of between 730-760 depending month to month on my balances. Over the course of two years I kept only a secured credit card that had the balance fluctuate all over the place. Up to limit of 3k and down to zero. At the end of two years, someone added me as an authorized user on a CC with a 50k limit, 0 balance and 15 years of perfect payment history. I went from 640ish (removed all negative tradelines except a paid tax lien) upto 750, over night. I was suddenly golden boy with people extending me credit at the rates reserved for those with the best of credit.

BTW. Fair Isaac, the company that compiles that numeric 'FICO' score, directly queries the data in the three major CRAs lists to compute your score. You can't petition them for anything...nor are they very forthcoming on exactly what goes in to creating their 'score.' All you can do is control the data the CRAs publish.

Obviously credit worthiness is computed based on Debt history, Available Credit Limits, Percentage of outstanding credit to that limit, income. Other factors that some believe FICO uses are color, religion, national orgin, zip code, relatives credit histories, state court records (which do show up on Credit reports (tax liens, fines, etc...), driving history, medical records, insurance history. Who knows, alot of conspiracy theories out there.

If you want to learn alot about someone who has struggled with credit for a long time check out:

bayhouse.com

Christine is the moderator's name. She has filed a bunch of suits, settled some, recovered some cash, etc...and has started a different website for just about all her trials and tribulations. Check it out. You'll learn alot about credit, credit reporting, and various companies that can cause you problems.

Capitol One is one of them btw...stay away...~yikes~

Utility companies ONLY report when you are in default. They do not publish positive info.

Prince, you should write what ever CRA was used to determine that your credit was 'insufficient'. The company who denied you credit, is required to notify you why (they do so vaguely) and with what information was used. You are then allowed free of charge to see that information.

If you moved to the US and work and have money coming in to your banking institution, they will be much more receptive to extending you credit based on alternate information, such as your history with them.

Your right btw...you have to build credit in the US.

-bear

08-26-2004, 02:24 PM	#10 (permalink)
j8ear Gentlemen Farmer Location: Middle of nowhere, Jersey	At 22 I had racked up around 25k in credit and disappeared for 10 years. At 32 my credit was in the 500s. No one would extend me credit. I had approximately 30 tradelines on my credit report, most charged off. By state law the statute of limitations had expired to sue for collection on these debts, and the FCRA reporting laws stated they were ineligible for publication by Credit Reporting Agencies. I approached the problem with a two pronged attacked: 1. The creditor and its assignees (i.e. collection agencies). They have federal and state laws they must follow in order to provide and collect debt. They are also limited time wise on how long they can bring a cause of action to recover past due debts. All but two violated the Federal laws, which provides for ~statutory_$1000~ and punitive (only if you can show harm) damages. They were easy to deal with, but it did take a lot of letter writing. Letter writing resulted in them continuing to violate the FCRA, and then I racked up one thousand dollar damage awards one after the other. Upon receipt of your letter, they must notify the CRA that the item is in dispute. They don't...$1000. Simple as that. This is apparently recoverable in Small Claims if the amount is small enough? I don't know, it never came to that point. 2. The credit reporting agencies. They have 30 days to respond to your inquiries. You do not have to provide them JACK, except what info they publish you are disputing. You dispute an item, they are required to have the creditor reporting it verify it. They often do 'automatically' some how. BUT, the CRAs are also required to provide a 'method of procedure' in verifying your dispute. They don't unless you ask for it, and even then they often don't. Shazam...also a FCRA violation with 1.5k in statutory damages recoverable I believe. Getting the money is pain in the ass. I've heard of failures and successes in getting anything. Mine turned out pretty good. After about two years, 100 certified letters, and alot of patience, I had reestablished credit...to the tune of between 730-760 depending month to month on my balances. Over the course of two years I kept only a secured credit card that had the balance fluctuate all over the place. Up to limit of 3k and down to zero. At the end of two years, someone added me as an authorized user on a CC with a 50k limit, 0 balance and 15 years of perfect payment history. I went from 640ish (removed all negative tradelines except a paid tax lien) upto 750, over night. I was suddenly golden boy with people extending me credit at the rates reserved for those with the best of credit. BTW. Fair Isaac, the company that compiles that numeric 'FICO' score, directly queries the data in the three major CRAs lists to compute your score. You can't petition them for anything...nor are they very forthcoming on exactly what goes in to creating their 'score.' All you can do is control the data the CRAs publish. Obviously credit worthiness is computed based on Debt history, Available Credit Limits, Percentage of outstanding credit to that limit, income. Other factors that some believe FICO uses are color, religion, national orgin, zip code, relatives credit histories, state court records (which do show up on Credit reports (tax liens, fines, etc...), driving history, medical records, insurance history. Who knows, alot of conspiracy theories out there. If you want to learn alot about someone who has struggled with credit for a long time check out: bayhouse.com Christine is the moderator's name. She has filed a bunch of suits, settled some, recovered some cash, etc...and has started a different website for just about all her trials and tribulations. Check it out. You'll learn alot about credit, credit reporting, and various companies that can cause you problems. Capitol One is one of them btw...stay away...~yikes~ Utility companies ONLY report when you are in default. They do not publish positive info. Prince, you should write what ever CRA was used to determine that your credit was 'insufficient'. The company who denied you credit, is required to notify you why (they do so vaguely) and with what information was used. You are then allowed free of charge to see that information. If you moved to the US and work and have money coming in to your banking institution, they will be much more receptive to extending you credit based on alternate information, such as your history with them. Your right btw...you have to build credit in the US. -bear __________________ It's alot easier to ask for forgiveness then it is to ask for permission.