Mistakes I would avoid...if I had a repair Do-Over

[HoustonLynne]

Lynne,

I just read your "Mistakes I would avoid...if I had a repair Do-Over" thread. Great advice - thanks for sharing!

Rather than replying to an old thread, I thought I'd PM you. I have a question about an old OC not updating, related to your experience. Here's my current thread:
http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=537044

I'm not clear on what you learned about the old OC (in 2.b.) that wasn't updating.
- Are you suggesting to leave these alone for 7 years - or at least until you can dispute as obsolete?
- Or are you suggesting only that the "not mine" dispute was a mistake?

Mine is a 5-year-old unpaid BOA CO ($5k) - last reported 08/2010 (but they still pull inquiries).

 

Thanks! - tweak

HoustonLynne, on 04 Apr 2014 - 9:05 PM, said:
2. Disputing all collections and COs as “not mine” via online method, ESPECIALLY without extensively researching the individual characteristics of each lender and TL.
b. I woke up at least one very sticky OC in 2011 – about 4 years after it was charged off – who has continued to verify to the bitter end. If I’d researched initially, I’d have known this OC does NOT PFD or extend GW. I could have waited until it expires later this year, and they probably would not have updated this TL since 2010, when it was first reported. (CO was in 2007, so it’s obsolete in 6 months!)

Hey there! I read your thread and it looks like you've done a lot of reading and some excellent strategic planning, so you are well-deserved of a HUGE high-five. You've heard it said MANY times: An ounce of prevention (or planning) is worth a pound of cure (or clean-up)...okay, so maybe you haven't heard it with these parenthetical liberties in translation.

 

Not-so-coincidentally, that was my message in point #2b. I didn't adequately research my specific lenders, and it sounds like you're a doing a better job of that, based on your thread comment that BofA sometimes files suit as an OC.

 

I'll give specifics, in case it helps illustrate my point:

• My CO was with TXU Energy. After I'd already PIF months earlier and then blasted them via CRA, a cursory search taught me they're known for their firm policy against PFD (which wouldn't have helped me, anyway, since it was already PIF) and having a long memory (up to 7.5 yrs, to be exact) with zero GW.
• In that same search I ran across a lot of threads about various reporting challenges involving other utilities here in TX. CenterPoint was one that came up a lot. In contrast, they're generally agreeable to offers of PFD. Given that was the case, and that they seem to be easy to work with, this MIGHT have helped me, had I been dealing with them...even though the account was PIF months earlier.

Now the BEST-case scenario would have been if I'd been dealing w/CenterPoint rather than TXU AND done my homework BEFORE making the bonehead move of PIF. But that takes us into a lot of "what-if"...so let's go back to the point.

 

If I'd done some studying at any point prior to making a major move, I would have taken a different course of action. I would have left TXU for the very end, until there was nothing derogatory remaining on my files w/all CRAs. By that point, might have had better re-builder limits (got the first 3 cards a year ago this month) for a better foundation. I say this because my score was routinely battered by TXU updates. And in retrospect, I could have essentially started plucking off TXU via early obsolete disputes right about the time my reports were otherwise clean.

 

My error cost me the score impact each time they updated me. That, alone, was frustrating -- the impact for that fully paid 53-dollar CO was the same as if it were an unpaid $5300 CO. It also cost me a lot of postage and stress. For you, a wrong move could garner you a summons and/or any number of lesser hassles, since you're dealing with higher numbers. But your thread covers the SOL issue, so I know you're aware of all of that stuff. Just get to know your opponent. Since you're sitting out SOL, you've got plenty of time to know them intimately before making a move.

 

And I am a little out-of-touch with any recent changes to the Why Chat approach, but if memory serves me, I think I've read the suggestion to do those first...not last. The hard-and-fast rule is do them separately -- no other disputes while the process is underway. And it can take a while...or it can be quick. Each person's experience is unique. So good luck with those medicals, and enjoy the journey!

[tweak]

Thanks, Lynne!

 

I will wait out the SOL for BOA. I have also not begun rebuilding yet because of that.

When the SOL is over, I think I'll app for secured cards first - before disputing BOA. That way if they update and ding my score, it will be after I have new positive TLs.

 

Hey there! I read your thread and it looks like you've done a lot of reading and some excellent strategic planning, so you are well-deserved of a HUGE high-five. You've heard it said MANY times: An ounce of prevention (or planning) is worth a pound of cure (or clean-up)...okay, so maybe you haven't heard it with these parenthetical liberties in translation.

 

Not-so-coincidentally, that was my message in point #2b. I didn't adequately research my specific lenders, and it sounds like you're a doing a better job of that, based on your thread comment that BofA sometimes files suit as an OC.

 

...

 

My error cost me the score impact each time they updated me. That, alone, was frustrating -- the impact for that fully paid 53-dollar CO was the same as if it were an unpaid $5300 CO. It also cost me a lot of postage and stress. For you, a wrong move could garner you a summons and/or any number of lesser hassles, since you're dealing with higher numbers. But your thread covers the SOL issue, so I know you're aware of all of that stuff. Just get to know your opponent. Since you're sitting out SOL, you've got plenty of time to know them intimately before making a move.