drivenagain

I actually had a question about how this reports. Since it's a consolidation, is it viewed (potentially negatively) like debt consolidation? I'm reviewing mine to do a refi (sofi potentially) and want to be sure I don't make a substantial error that effects my credit report. Please keep us updated on how it affects you personally.

Any thoughts?

No, they are not reporting yet. The first thing we did was verify the totals against his EOB, it matches. That is what worried me initially, that they refuse to provide any information regarding their relationship, etc. He's in the midst of purchasing a home and has otherwise stellar credit. Just recently got a letter from the CA about this and wants to make sure it doesn't hit his report.

Yes to the opt out and deleted as many old addys as possible, just one lingering, but not relevant to this. Charges are almost 2yrs old. Charges look accurate. He's OK with paying it to the OC (hospital) to have them pull the collections account.

Helping a friend with a medical collection. The CA responded with a very generic itemized list of charges, but refuses to send anything regarding who sent them this information (aside from the hospitals name) and how it was sent. Do we need more information, or move on to contacting the hospitals HIPPA compliance dept directly?

1. They don't. 2. Good call, I'll see how receptive they are to this. Many many close friends have their home number 3. Will do. 4. CA.

Can I just say one thing - If your response doesn't apply to helping the situation of these elderly people then kindly STFU and move on. I'm not looking for anyone's personal opinion or views on what the "right thing" is to do. This particular couple has sold everything they have to sell, and has repaid this debt multiple times over if not for the interest rates. They are just officially out of money and can't survive while still repaying these debts + interest. These people have pennies left to their name and have repaid everything they can while still surviving. At this point it's a matter of food/medicine over CC bills. I'm sorry to be affiliated with this and hope it didn't infuriate anyone, but this is life being in your 80's with nothing left. Social Security is a joke and if it weren't for their family helping them with the housing situation they would be near homeless or living in a ghetto. Is that how you would want your grandparents living? They aren't looking for sympathy, but have paid their fair share and just want to clear the slate. They took the high road, sold their original home and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills a few years ago, only because they felt they owed it. This time around they have nothing left to give. All I can say is I hope nobody has to face the reality of what they deal with daily, unable to work and having no option for alternative income. At any rate I helped them issue some statements regarding their inability to pay. Waiting on a response from the OC.

But if a BK judge finds that the transfer of the house out of your name and into someone else's was solely to conceal the asset then that transfer can be un-done and you're open back up to creditors attaching the house. Usually the cut-off is 2 years, but if they can prove fraud they can go back further. The transfer was recorded as a legitimate sale just over 5 years ago, so there is pretty much zero chance the property will come into play.

Sorry for the delayed reply to everyone who responded. I got my hands on their records and it's pretty bad. 5 cc's, 4 of which are all through crap1, how that happened i'm not sure. At any rate, given their circumstance I think we're going to mail them the "unable to pay" letter, wait for the collection letter and send a C/D. If they file so be it, this couple has bigger things to worry about. The home was legally transferred a couple years ago, so that former asset is safe. (attorney verified) I'll update this as things commence. From their records they have repaid the debt owed 2.2x over in payments and still owe a considerable debt so the moral dilemma is very minimal.

I'm just going off 2nd hand info, I'll get the actual bills in hand and see what shakes up. At any rate, (this is in CA) is there any recourse in protecting elderly people from this type of collection activity?

I haven't looked at the exact bills, but it's in the upper teens from what I've been told. They have tried their best to pay down the balances, get the rates reduced etc. At this point we (my friend and I) feel it's the only solution is for them to just walk away. But like I said, he doesn't want to submit them to the uncomfortable harassment of the OC/CA collection calls. These poor elderly people can't deal with that and don't really want to spend their time confronting these collections callers. It would be great if he could just send a certified letter stating flat out they will not pay, and act as a C&D to eliminate any irritating calls. Is this out of the question?

So a friend of mine brought this circumstance to my attention recently. His grandparents have about ~7k in unsecured CC debt. They are in their mid 80's and don't own anything of real value. Home is in someone elses name, only income is SS and some retirement $$. It's come to the point where their $500+/mo CC bill is just too much to handle. They can't pay it, but they can't handle the stress from the harassing phone calls from the CC or CA either. They have been paying on this debt for a couple years and paid the original balance a couple times over with interest. I know it's a questionable approach, but is there a way to send a certified letter stating flat out the debtor cannot pay the bill, and notifying the OC/CA it's unacceptable to phone their residence about this debt? Or do you have to legally wait until they send the collection letter? He isn't really concerned about a lawsuit as they don't have anything to garnish or seize.

Quite a few wealthy people have relatively bad credit scores... My companies CEO for instance, iirc he claimed to have a credit score in the mid 600's. No mortgage in many years, no CC, an amex charge card, no car loans. That being said, I'd bet the bank will give him a $5m loan much faster than most with an 800+ score. When you reach a certain wealth level, credit doesn't mean much anymore, let alone when you have billions in cash.

Back story, I have been fighting this last neg public record hanging on Exp for quite some time. I did all the recommended actions, got an official copy from the court, disputed very specific things, which always came back validated. My path to victory: In July '10 I sent a very specific PR as to who was verifying this information, and stated I had a letter from the court clerk specifically stating they did not supply information to the CRA. . . This was completely ignored. Sept '10... Sent a similar letter (note, this was to the Costa Mesa, CA addy, as was the first). Early Nov '10... Sent another letter to the same addy, worded somewhat strongly, clearly defining what I was disputing, asking who/how they verified, etc. Again ignored. Mid Nov '10... I email Chris Callero @ experian explaining my situation very politely asking for assistance. That same day a Senior Regulatory Affairs Associate (her stated title) calls me to discuss the situation. (Note: I sent this email from my business account so it came very professionally, nice title etc) She asks for more information regarding my dispute which turns into a bit of a debate about what I have already submitted. I inform her I have sent very specific disputes as well as 3 PR's and directly confront their disregard of the PR's. She claims what what I am disputing is not regularly included in a public record. (DOB) I detailed that I had a copy of the official record and it was infact incorrect. Again I pushed the PR issue which clearly made her backpedal. Her stance was she would "look into it", while I submitted the information to back my disputes. Chris and this rep are in the Costa Mesa, CA office. That same day I filed a BBB complaint detailing the conversation, naming Experian and this Rep, again outlining my dispute and PR issue. first week of Dec... I mail another very specific PR, along with copies of the 3 RR's from the previous requests, this time to the Allen, Tx address. - This time a somewhat more detailed PR is sent, about 6 days later, which ironically stated exactly that the information provided "could not be used"... I didn't send any information THIS TIME... Also stating they will initiate an investigation... I didn't even request that? To this point I have not submitted any information to the Experian rep. The rep called me asking for it and I very politely explained that my attorney advised me not to submit any further legal documentation to them (USPS reciepts, Court docs, etc). Very short conversation, and no mention of my recent PR request or their pending investigation. Exactly 30 days from the BBB complaint the Rep writes a very generic response

Bump?