Pale Shelter

Thanks - that was fast! And meant to thank zer0 for chiming in up there, too. All this input is much appreciated. Off to complete DV/LC&D letter!

Good to know, thanks. In CA's letter, balance due is only slightly more than OC's last bill before CO. But I wonder what they would demand if I PIF'd... I'm also concerned that the CA is really internal with the OC. The letterhead says one name and the remittance address another - and that other name sounds like a division of the OC. Should that make any difference in how I proceed? TIA

Here is their exact statement: "As of the date of this letter, you owe the above referenced balance. Because of interest charges that may vary from day to day, the amount due on the day you pay may be greater. Hence, if you pay the amount shown above, an adjustment may be necessary after your check is received." I like how vague they are about "an adjustment". I first assumed they had that right, but maybe this is a violation on their part? Nowhere in the letter does it indicate anything about how they calculate interest charges or what I can reasonably expect them to be. So I make a payment, and they reserve the right to charge me whatever they want afterwards, it seems. Oh, one other question. They say if I DV them they will obtain verification OR a copy of a judgment and mail one or the other! Isn't that illegal right there?? They can't send judgment w/o verification I thought. Thanks. I can only imagine how hard it is to reiterate yourselves so often. Just don't want it to seem unappreciated or taken advantage of without effort from my part. And thanks to whoever gave me member status! Very exciting...

Thanks, pryan, for taking the time. Much appreciated. I don't of course know that they could validate, and your point is well-taken. I guess it comes down to where exactly this particular agency sits on the slimeball spectrum. I meant that I don't know of any reason they would have trouble validating if they took the time to do so and were in fact semi-legit. My other concern is not knowing how much the CA is trying to get me for. If they push the issue I have enough for original debt but not any percentages they may have added. The first CA tried to strike a deal for less, but only as lump-sum and who knows what else they would have tried if I paid up. I can only go by the paper amount on this new one, and am not sure if I'm forced to pay to avoid lawsuit if they can jack it up as high as they'd like. They sure CTA's in the letter: "...the amount due on the day you pay may be greater." I think I'm gonna take that chance right now, since I might still make the 30 days and that seems like an opportunity not to pass up while it's here. Oh, I realized too that I should have a few more days than I thought. I was going 30 days from date on letter, but they say "after receiving this notice" so I think that must be the 5-day mailing window. But I don't want to cut it too close so I'll get on that DV right away. I said it in my first post to the board which got buried, but I can't thank CB enough for what you're offering here. I hated to ask anything at all when there's so much to be had at my fingertips, but I also hated to find out I completely misinterpreted things, too! All this info is a goldmine, and the devotion I see here is phenomenal. Will keep learning as I go... thanks again!

*bump* I am still weighing pros and cons here, leaning towards no letter other than a limited C&D. Thoughts?

*bump* Still wavering... but need to get letter out today if I DV. Would really appreciate any expert input if possible.

Linda, Just curious, is your primary goal to get this removed or to arrange for less than the full amount? I'm in a similar boat right now. I am still very new here but so far I get the impression you have more leverage for deletion or a "paid as agreed" kind of deal if you can PIF (plus you can avoid a 1099). But I think it all depends on your goals, which is why I asked. Will await any other responses with you... Good luck!

Thanks to some really thought-provoking ideas here, I see there are many potential ramifications in any action I may or may not take! I would like to request some feedback on my looming question of the moment, whether or not to DV a CA immediately to meet 30-day deadline. I have seen here some entirely logical reasons not to DV while in SOL (under certain circumstances), as well as equally good reasons not to pay anyone anything unless I have no alternative. It may well be that “do nothing†is my best approach, but I want to make sure I'm understanding these and other angles others before rushing into anything unaware. I have a recent CO that was turned over to CA #1 and now CA #2. I unfortunately talked to CA #1 early in the game, before I found CB and realized my egregious error. I crumbled immediately on the phone, admitting the debt(!!) and I would have begun paying them installments had they agreed to work with me, but they wanted lump sum payment only. Lucky for me, I had no way to settle at the time! After realizing my full disgust over their ruthless tactics, I stopped taking their calls. I missed my initial 30-day window to DV. I have not taken repeated calls from CA #2 but they sent me first letter with mini-miranda early in September. I believe this debt transfer gives me a second chance to DV within initial 30 days and so I had been preparing to do a 1-2 punch. I didn't have any CRs in hand until now. I posted the other day asking about my rights to free reports (other than the centralized ones that boot you to a 45-day dispute period), but had to make a quick decision. So I ended up paying to get individual online copies. I know the online reports are not the best ones to dispute with and are not comprehensive, but I needed to know basically what was reporting before I went any further. On all CRs, the OC reports as CO but I see no indication of either CA reporting yet. However EX (alone) shows both CA's doing one inquiry apiece, the significance of which I haven't yet adequately researched. (Just fyi, I have been opted out for some time, and my address has not changed in over 7 years. I was going to try to remove a couple old addresses but this might do more harm than good right now.) So... it seems I am unable to 1-2 punch them after all if I want to DV before my 30 days are up, but I know I might prevent reporting at all if they can't validate. But after reading more here, I am questioning the wisdom of DV'ing at all. If I do send DV letter to CA #2, these are the possible scenarios, if I understand correctly: * If they don't validate and still report I know I have them on violations, so I need to prepare to sue them, which could be costly and debatable who will prevail. * If they don't validate and don't report, then I keep it off my CR's, but they have no time limit to get back to me so I essentially never know that the battle is won. They can sell the debt and the new CA/JDB would start the process again at any time, right? If the first CA gets re-involved, they have my own admission to use against me. Also, the OC could still come after me too... ? * If they do validate (a good possibility) I think I am no better or worse off than I am right now. Either way I can be served if that is their intent, but maybe more likely that I will provoke them by forcing validation? One of the things I'm learning here is that because I've let it come to this point, there will never be any guarantee that this will be done and over with, regardless of whether I pay in full, settle, DV, or ignore, or even file BK. This is what galls me and I'm sure many others. I have always had the intention to pay my debt, but after gaining much insight here I realize there are many reasons not to do so when it has gone this far, both for my own and the 'greater' good. As far as DV goes, a significant point here is that I am actually temporarily in a position to pay if need be. It will constitute a hardship for me as I am currently unemployed and might have to relocate for work, but it is at least possible at the moment if my hand is forced. I will soon be entering a professional career for the first time and hope to try to learn from my mistakes and move on. I do not currently rely on credit (other than SL's) and haven't for years. I would like to keep paying responsibly on my non-CO account, and wait out my full SOL before doing serious credit repair work if I can't make the CO go away. If I want to do a PIF with the OC, I read something here about finding out if the debt was 'sold' or 'assigned'. How do I know which it might be since nothing else is reporting yet? Does 'assigned' mean I still have a good chance to work this out with the OC? Also, I will have to dig up the post again, but I read that PFD is not as good as “paid satisfactorily†or something like that. Does that sound right? I apologize for length, and am grateful for any corrections in my gaps of logic or additional considerations I might be missing. I am not looking for “the†answer as I know I have to decide what's best for myself. Just making sure I'm on the path to understanding my current predicament. Thanks in advance!

My apologies for bumping twice, it looked like the first hadn't gone through! I have been able to answer more of my own questions with more research, but still a few remaining. Thought I'd repost with updates/clarifications: 1. Does the FACTA provision (for dispute resolution extending to 45 days) go into effect if I utilize the centralized service at any time? I assume so but I'd like to be sure. I have found that any dispute using the free centralized report will trigger the 45-day clause. What I still don't know is whether I can order this report for my own use and order a paid (or other free) report to dispute with. Is pulling my free report for any reason what triggers it or the use of that report in a dispute? 2. If I exercise my rights for a free report according to state law and/or according to my unemployment status, do I also forfeit the 30-day time period for dispute resolution for any reason? Still wondering on this one, but I think the answer is "no". Anyone know? 3. Are my state rights for a single yearly free report (or at reduced cost thereafter) have any impact on my rights to order one under the unemployment provision, or am I entitled to a free report for each situation? It seems I can order the either one as applicable, unless anyone knows otherwise. 4. To anyone's knowledge, does ordering reports online for immediate viewing create any potential problem regarding my consumer rights? Yes!!! Thanks to the posters in this current topic for some very helpful info. http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=277662 My concern is I need to try for a 1-2 punch by next week, and I may have to go by any online reports I can get for now, if in fact I am able to get them in time. I can and will order my full paper reports as well if they will let me (and don't mind paying for them) but they will not come in time. I believe I have long ago opted out, but I want to check this. Then I want to remove old addresses before sending out the letters next week. Is this a potentially workable plan? I know I'm running out of time and I want to do it all in the right order. Thanks!

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ASayre, Thanks so much for the links! Also for your additional commentary, really helpful stuff. I haven't tried ordering yet, but just for the principle of the matter I have been trying to access these pages from each site's home page as if I didn't know about the links. (I had been trying with varying levels of success before seeing this post.) EQ: You can get to your credit rights by clicking on "Learn more..." under "Helpful Information" in the bottom right corner of the page. This tells of your FACTA rights, but also mentions state disclosures, where you can click "Learn More" again. This page gives a summary of your credit rights based on the FCRA. No other links are provided, just says to contact them by phone or mail if you are eligible. Under Credit Report FAQs, it also states free credit reports are not available online (other than FACTA). I can find nothing that indicates otherwise. I have not thus far been able to navigate to the link provided here, it is extremely well-hidden. Nice find! EX: As far as I could tell, the only way to get there is to click on 'Contact Us' and then choose the FAQ that talks about getting turned down for a loan. Here I find the link as listed above. This isn't really helpful for people who are looking for free reports based on other rights, so I never would have found it had I not known it existed! TU: This was the easiest by far, and the only one I found on my own before I saw the above links. On the main page, click under More for Consumers on "FACT ACT and other free credit report disclosures." Then "Click here to learn more." The ease of this one was astounding in comparison to the others above, although it still requires a consumer to know what it is they are looking for.

Oops, sorry. I just answered #5 myself. The pinned topic re: free access links to CRAs gave me everything I needed to know. When I had looked before I thought it applied to different circumstances than my own. Great info! Any help with my other questions is still greatly appreciated, but I will keep looking on my own as well. Thanks!

Hi, I first have to thank everyone who makes this amazing site possible. The time and energy devoted to helping others here does not go unappreciated by me and obviously countless others. This is my first post here but I have been trying to learn everything I can to know my full rights and responsibilities as I move forward. I have learned so much already but it's only the tip of the iceberg I realize! I have a few questions about ordering my credit reports for the first time, and I need to move quickly so I can take advantage of a 30-day window of opportunity that is nearing expiration. I apologize for asking what may be obvious questions, but would appreciate knowing I'm fully on track before I make my first move. I would like to retain my rights to have any disputes dealt with properly within the original 30-day time period as delineated by the FCRA. Therefore as per the FACTA revisions I will not order my free annual reports that would forfeit this right and extend the dispute resolution period. I live in a state that gives me access to 1 free pull a year. I am also unemployed at the moment but will be seeking employment within 60 days. My understanding is that my FACTA rights are separate from my state rights, so that I could exercise both if I chose to access 2 free reports, or either one independently. My questions: 1. Does the FACTA provision (for dispute resolution extending to 45 days) go into effect if I utilize the centralized service at any time? I assume so but I'd like to be sure. 2. If I exercise my rights for a free report according to state law and/or according to my unemployment status, do I also forfeit the 30-day time period for dispute resolution for any reason? 3. Are my state rights for a single yearly free report (or at reduced cost thereafter) have any impact on my rights to order one under the unemployment provision, or am I entitled to a free report for each situation? 4. To anyone's knowledge, does ordering reports online for immediate viewing create any potential problem regarding my consumer rights? 5. Does anyone know where EX hides its state and other provisions for ordering a free report? They seem to be more lax than the others about providing this information in any semblance of an accessible location. Thanks for any help anyone can provide!