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Close to SOL, will a SSL poke the bears?


pacemaker67
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Here I am, 4.5 years after our version of "credit disaster" and a 800 to 450 free-fall.  Somehow DW and I survived though the circumstances and stress of severe economic hardship nearly tore it all apart.  It was a swift and unexpected fall and we went from a perfect history without one late to complete and sudden default.  The story of what a con-man can do would take pages but it's effects were sudden and devastating.  Everyone has their own story of course but I suppose ours could have been much worse.  We are actually 5-6 months away from Illinois SOL and the bears are sleeping.  I have laid low aside from getting NFCU secured rewards visa's for both my Wife and I a year ago.  Perfect history since then and no serious threats crawling out of the shadows.

 

My question is whether it is totally crazy to add shared secured loans at this point or just wait until April.  I am anxious to add another positive line so that we have a head start in a couple years when things start clearing up.  Not sure what may or may not happen between SOL and the 7+ year mark when items start falling off on their own.   All of our debt was in CCs and jointly held joint aside from a couple cards.  2 are with CA's, several more are still with the OC and never sold.  I do plan on doing serious rebuilding but after we are a bit out of the woods but would like to do something unless it is considered unwise.

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If the reporting of the NFCU card did not bring anyone from the woodwork, it is unlikely that a new loan will do so.  The broader question is whether NFCU will write the loan.  If they will write the loan, then I would be inclined to go for it and then let those funds go to work for you...

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Thank you.  We have a small business that was pretty much taken down after years of steady growth.  We are rebuilding it and have all accounts at NFCU, personal and business and have a perfect history.  I would imagine that a shared secured load would be at least as easy as the CC?  They approved each of us with HP's and then a large increase for mine with another HP 6 months ago.  They are both payed as agreed with low UTL or PIF.  Again, if I have to do battle, I would prefer after the SOL passes...  and that all passes at once.

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Just did the deed with NFCU, $3,500 for 60 months.  It took all of 15 minutes.  They assured no Hard or Soft Pull and I don't think they had time.

Anyone out there doing the old Alliant deal with an NFCU loan?  If so, when can I or should I pay this baby down to under 9%?  First payment date is 10-10-18

 

I had tried a few other CU's, just inquired about HP's and most seem to do a hard pull for an SSL.  That is not the biggest deal in the world but NFCU really was impressive and friendly.

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What are the outstanding debts that are near the SOL?

 

Are we talking large amounts? The odds of a lawsuit are very low for stuff that is small and old. It usually takes something in the range of $5,000+ before a lawsuit is seriously considered. Yes, small lawsuit do get filed sometimes, but it is definitely the exception, not the norm.

 

Also most lawsuits are filed within the first 24 months of default. Yes, they can be filed till the SOL, but the older it gets, the lower it is on the priority list of whoever owns it.

 

I would not be at all concerned about adding more secured tradelines to your credit file. Nobody cares about that and I would not even consider that, "poking the bear" at all.

 

Poking the bear would be disputing directly to the credit bureaus the negative tradeline, which would prompt the credit bureaus to send a verification process thru E-Oscar to the provider of the info. Or sending a dispute letter directly to the owner of the debt.

 

I would have no problem disputing it right now even before the SOL expires. But from your writing it sounds like you are not up for it and take a more conservative approach. That's fine. So wait the final 6 months till after the SOL expires before you start trying to dispute this off your credit files. There is no need to wait for the full 7 years. 

 

But a definite yes on rebuilding with more tradelines now. 3 secured credit cards and an installment loan. Good moves.

Edited by RocketGoBoom
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48 minutes ago, RocketGoBoom said:

What are the outstanding debts that are near the SOL?

 

Are we talking large amounts? The odds of a lawsuit are very low for stuff that is small and old. It usually takes something in the range of $5,000+ before a lawsuit is seriously considered. Yes, small lawsuit do get filed sometimes, but it is definitely the exception, not the norm.

 

Also most lawsuits are filed within the first 24 months of default. Yes, they can be filed till the SOL, but the older it gets, the lower it is on the priority list of whoever owns it.

 

I would not be at all concerned about adding more secured tradelines to your credit file. Nobody cares about that and I would not even consider that, "poking the bear" at all.

 

Poking the bear would be disputing directly to the credit bureaus the negative tradeline, which would prompt the credit bureaus to send a verification process thru E-Oscar to the provider of the info. Or sending a dispute letter directly to the owner of the debt.

 

I would have no problem disputing it right now even before the SOL expires. But from your writing it sounds like you are not up for it and take a more conservative approach. That's fine. So wait the final 6 months till after the SOL expires before you start trying to dispute this off your credit files. There is no need to wait for the full 7 years. 

 

But a definite yes on rebuilding with more tradelines now. 3 secured credit cards and an installment loan. Good moves.

Thanks Rocket.

 

I have two CA's over 5k and two CO's that were never sold at that level. There are several more far less than those amounts.  I also have one small medical from an accident that was not paid apparently by the other drivers commercial insurance company and another for what seems to be a mysterious missed cable bill (both from 2015).  I have been pretty insolvent up until the last couple years as it have taken that long to rebuild our business (which has perfect credit now!).   I think I still look very insolvent by looking at my personal reports.

 

I have had the NFCU card for nearly a year, started at 1k and raised it to 5K a few months later.  I use it and pay it off just as I did prior to our troubles.  Fico scores from CCT and NFCU and PSECU average around 550, up from mid 400's.  I would also like to get another secured or two.  Discover is one but am waiting for a little better score on TU and EQ.  My lowest is EX and I may just freeze that one.  I did try SDFCU but they could not accept my current lease as proof of residence for joining.  That was a HP for nothing unless I call and see how else I may prove where I live.  Still looking for another one or two good secured cards, Discover being one.

 

As for poking, I am so close I don't want to dispute anything until March-April of 19 when they all go past SOL.  I can then do whatever, dispute, DV, PFD or whatever.  I feel really bad about burning most of my former creditors and actually have considered trying to get back in the good graces of a couple though not before SOL.  If they won't have me, then oh well.  The two small CA's bug me because they are small and really have no business being on my reports but am a bit hesitant to do too much at this point.  I suppose I could carefully try something that didn't draw too much attention.  Hopefully this SSL sill give me a bit of a boost on EQ, my highest FICO 08, which now stands at 569.

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10 hours ago, sgleich said:

I feel really bad about burning most of my former creditors and actually have considered trying to get back in the good graces of a couple though not before SOL.  If they won't have me, then oh well.  The two small CA's bug me because they are small and really have no business being on my reports but am a bit hesitant to do too much at this point.  I suppose I could carefully try something that didn't draw too much attention.  

 

Dont feel bad. They don't even know who you are. You are just a number to them. It is nothing personal. This is just a business transaction that didn't work out. It is not like you stiffed a friend or something. Banks are not your friends.

 

If the CAs are small amounts, don't even hesitate. Dispute them now. Medical stuff and small bills with CAs ... that stuff is not going to sue you. Dispute it as much as you want. Dispute it right away. Don't even consider waiting.

 

The stuff over $5,000 and near the SOL, wait the final 6 months. Good strategy there.

 

Everything else, dispute it now. Clean up those credit files.

 

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4 hours ago, RocketGoBoom said:

 

Dont feel bad. They don't even know who you are. You are just a number to them. It is nothing personal. This is just a business transaction that didn't work out. It is not like you stiffed a friend or something. Banks are not your friends. 

 

If the CAs are small amounts, don't even hesitate. Dispute them now. Medical stuff and small bills with CAs ... that stuff is not going to sue you. Dispute it as much as you want. Dispute it right away. Don't even consider waiting.

 

The stuff over $5,000 and near the SOL, wait the final 6 months. Good strategy there.

 

Everything else, dispute it now. Clean up those credit files.

 

Thanks again...  that helps!  

 

I appreciate the thoughts on my perspective of this ordeal!  I am obviously ready to start this journey and taking a couple steps before SOL expiration would be another victory.   The NFCU SSL was a good win after last weeks denial for membership in SDFCU that came with a EX hard pull.  I wonder if it is worth a call to see why they would not accept a valid lease for proof of residence or just scratch them off the list.  Looking for that next secured card and don't want to go bottom feeding.

 

As for the medical CA, since that should have been paid by the other drivers insurance just like all of the rest, I am not sure on the strategy...  not mine, DV etc.  I will start trying to figure out that one.  The Comcast - CREDIT MGMT  LP seems to be complete jive and could start with a call to Comcast or just dispute.  So these actions won't cause any headaches? 

 

Again, thanks.  When I get a bit closer I will start a dedicated thread regarding all of this.  Being out of the woods will be empowering.  Crossing my fingers that the closed accounts don't turn into CA's in the next several months. Hopefully I get to write at least one nutcase letter.  I have been fascinated by those since I first read about them 15 years ago. :)

 

I noticed you are in the RE development game.  That was my career up until 08, working for large developers in finding, entitling and financing big residential rental properties.  I miss that sometimes aside from overseeing the inept project managers would take over and start F'ing up my deals!

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Try this;

https://whychat.me/GUIDEBOOK.html

Opting out will help prevent your credit data from being sold to data miners who might resurrect old accounts just when you think everything is cleared up. 

 

https://whychat.me/GUIDE HIPAA PROGRAM.html

 

You can dispute the medical accounts now

https://whychat.me/hipaadisp.html

as they have a 4 year SOL in Ill.

https://whychat.me/States/state-ill.html

 

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The reason not to dispute now is because it can wake up the bears even on accounts you don't dispute. Any sort of credit repair will flag you and send your file to subscribers who pay for that list from the CRAs.

 

As someone who has been through many debt lawsuits that were mostly self inflicted, I would highly recommend not trying to do any credit repair until the SOL is up on all pertinent accounts.

 

You have to ask yourself if the 6 month head start is worth the risk of dealing with lawsuits and potentially paying out a lot of money to settle?

 

Taking the advice of some random internet forum poster just because he says the chances of being sued are slim is ill-advised. 

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33 minutes ago, Konrad2012 said:

Dont dispute stuff.  Dont try to buy a house etc

No Mortgage loan for 2+ years...  So you are saying that any disputing could rustle some fur? 

 

How about apping for another secured?  Or should I try for low scores for the next 6 months?  I certainly want to keep NFCU thinking I am a future great risk.

Edited by sgleich
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I get it, some people get sued. But the risk of getting sued is vastly blown out of proportion here. You guys act like disputing a $100 collection with the credit bureaus all of a sudden sends the alerts flying and all hands on deck meeting to discuss this 4.5 year old account that nobody has mentioned in 3.5 years. Trust me on this ... probably nobody even cares about his 4.5 year old debts. They are buried in the "take no action" file. And his disputing something else unrelated is not going to change that.

 

Lawsuits are rare. 

That is a simple fact.

The bulk of this stuff just goes to collections for annoying phone calls and letters.

 

If you want to know your lawsuit risk, search your local county court for lawsuits filed. Search based on the name of the owner of your debts that you are concerned about. If you don't see any lawsuits filed by your creditor in your county, then you can reasonably draw the conclusion that their business practice is just to send it to collections. If you see hundreds of lawsuits filed in your county, then tread carefully.

 

I would avoid touching the items that are large and only 6 months away from the SOL. You are so close to the SOL it is best to just avoid those. That is good advice.

 

The small collections are from 2015 if I read your previous posts correctly. There is no risk in disputing those.

 

Nobody cares. Your other creditors are not going to go, "hmmm he is disputing that old cable bill from 2015. We should immediately file a lawsuit because of that." 

 

That is definitely an edge case. Not at all typical. I don't care about anecdotal examples of some guy once got sued. The simple fact is that it is extremely rare for something older than 24 months to result in a lawsuit. Yes, it does happen sometimes. But not often. Even if you do get sued, they are crazy easy to chase off. File an answer and show up in court. Demand a jury tried. Drop a countersuit on them for violating the FDCPA and FCRA. It is a great experience to watch them offer you $1,000 if you will just let them dismiss their own case.

 

You know who files lots of lawsuits? Midland and a few others. 

 

Seriously. The way to research your risk is to check your own county court cases for the names of your creditors. That is your best indicator of your risk.

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1 hour ago, Konrad2012 said:

Dont dispute stuff.  Dont try to buy a house etc

 

I dispute stuff the second I see an alert that something negative shows up on our credit files. And it is typically gone off our credit files in a matter of weeks.

 

Dispute it directly to the source (CA or JDB) and also to the credit bureau(s).

Don't wait a single extra day.

Dispute instantly and threaten massive retaliation if it is not removed right away.

CC your letters to the owner of the CA.

CC your letters to the general counsel. 

Look up their home addresses on Whitepages.com and send a copy there.

 

Seriously. The best defense is an overwhelming offense. Be the squeaky wheel. They are not interested in a fight. The business model of a JDB or CA is to go after the low hanging fruit. You need to become the most expensive potential pain possible and they will move along and place you in the "do not touch" file and never accept another debt again with your name/SSN on it.

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1 hour ago, RocketGoBoom said:

Nobody cares. Your other creditors are not going to go, "hmmm he is disputing that old cable bill from 2015. We should immediately file a lawsuit because of that." 

Thanks.  I almost blew my coffee against the screen and I laughed for a full minute!  I will take your advice about searching county filings.  The two big CA's are Midland / Sync Bank.  They have been sitting there for 2-3 years and have gotten perhaps two letters involving each.  My contact info in terms of a phone number is wrong on all reports.

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1 hour ago, RocketGoBoom said:

 

I dispute stuff the second I see an alert that something negative shows up on our credit files. And it is typically gone off our credit files in a matter of weeks.

 

Dispute it directly to the source (CA or JDB) and also to the credit bureau(s).

Don't wait a single extra day.

Dispute instantly and threaten massive retaliation if it is not removed right away.

CC your letters to the owner of the CA.

CC your letters to the general counsel. 

Look up their home addresses on Whitepages.com and send a copy there.

 

Seriously. The best defense is an overwhelming offense. Be the squeaky wheel. They are not interested in a fight. The business model of a JDB or CA is to go after the low hanging fruit. You need to become the most expensive potential pain possible and they will move along and place you in the "do not touch" file and never accept another debt again with your name/SSN on it. 

I would hate to have to take the time to do this since being self employed, building a now successful biz takes so much time but I would have no choice.  I imagine most people would just lay down in that situation.  It is good to know you can fight back.

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3 hours ago, sgleich said:

I would hate to have to take the time to do this since being self employed, building a now successful biz takes so much time but I would have no choice.  I imagine most people would just lay down in that situation.  It is good to know you can fight back.

 

I find fighting back against collection agencies and junk debt buyers to be hugely entertaining. 

 

It has been a few years since I had anything to chase down. Something that was deleted in 2016 from my wife's Equifax file just popped back on there a little over a week ago. I got so excited. I had 2 letters from 2016 in my doc folder to this CA. I also had Equifax nailed for reinserting without notifying us. It reappeared with no mention of being "disputed by the consumer". 

 

I had letters in the mail the next day to the CA and Equifax. The date mailed was September 7th. It was deleted again by September 14th. It was so fast I didn't get a chance to have any more fun with it. I am considering still filing the lawsuits against the CA and Equifax. The violations are already documented enough.

 

My wife says just to let it go because they deleted right away as I demanded. But I just really enjoy making CAs pay me and it has been a few years since I had the opportunity to nail one.

Edited by RocketGoBoom
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16 hours ago, sgleich said:

And how best to look insolvent?  Will have an SSL reporting as noted above along with my NFCU secured CC...

The fact that you've made potentially bad decisions in the past doesn't make another bad decision any better. 

 

However to your point, apping for loans/CCs is potentially digging yourself further into debt and doesn't flag your account the same way as cleaning up your credit, which is oftentimes an indicator of getting back on your feet and looking to get a mortgage soon. 

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8 minutes ago, shifter said:

The fact that you've made potentially bad decisions in the past doesn't make another bad decision any better. 

 

However to your point, apping for loans/CCs is potentially digging yourself further into debt and doesn't flag your account the same way as cleaning up your credit, which is oftentimes an indicator of getting back on your feet and looking to get a mortgage soon. 

So, I looked again to confirm and SOL is Feb for a couple and March for the rest 2019 so it is 5-7 months until I am out of the woods.   Let me ask you this...  Adding another secured card will make it look like I am going further down the debt drain?  I have time and want to make this come out right.  The adding of a few accounts now is only looking towards the future and I am being very selective.  If that makes me look irresponsible and insolvent at the moment...  all the better.

 

Like I mentioned before, I will have a "fun" official thread about all of this in the Spring when the game really begins.  As for Rockets comments about this, it is an emotional boost knowing that one can actually fight back.

 

 

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47 minutes ago, sgleich said:

As for Rockets comments about this, it is an emotional boost knowing that one can actually fight back.

 

 

 

If you want a real emotional boost, try filing a lawsuit pro se against one of your collection agencies who is trashing your credit score with a negative over a tiny amount of money (less than $500). Getting a collection agency to pay you a $1,000 check AND have them delete their negative line is a massive rush of personal satisfaction. 

Edited by RocketGoBoom
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13 minutes ago, RocketGoBoom said:

 

If you want a real emotional boost, try filing a lawsuit pro se against one of your collection agencies who is trashing your credit score with a negative over a tiny amount of money (less than $500). Getting a collection agency to pay you a $1,000 check AND have them delete their negative line is a massive rush of personal satisfaction. 

How difficult is this to do?  I would love the satisfaction as those two CA's are completely bogus.

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1 hour ago, sgleich said:

How difficult is this to do?  I would love the satisfaction as those two CA's are completely bogus.

 

Pretty easy. Do the following:

1) Look for the filing fee for your local county court. Every state calls them something different. Mine is Superior Court.

 

2) see if your state has it's own state version of the FCRA or FDCPA. Read the state versions. Sometimes they are better than the federal versions. It is better to file a lawsuit in your local county court with violations of the state version only. Don't mention the federal laws in your complaint. That way they cannot remove the case to federal court. It often doesn't matter. But I prefer to take away the federal option.

 

Equifax/TransUnion/Experian like to remove FCRA cases to federal court. This blocks that option for them. They will call to settle regardless. They don't want to spend money on lawyers over your silly credit file. They don't care enough about the accuracy of one credit file to fight you.

 

Here is a sample FDCPA lawsuit to use when drafting your own lawsuit. Basically use the same format. Just change the names, dates and change the facts to fit your own situation.

 

http://notlegaladvice.org/example-fdcpa-fcra/

 

http://notlegaladvice.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/cooper.pdf

 

1) Go file it in court.

2) Write a nice and professional letter offering to settle the case for $1,000 plus court filing fees plus cost of service plus deletion of their negatives from the credit files.

3) Send filed stamped lawsuit (and court papers) and your settlement letter to a process server near your target for delivery.

4) Sit back and wait for them to call you. It will likely happen within a few days of delivery. 

 

Just be willing to accept victory. They may offer to delete for dismissal. You have to decide if you are going to hold out for the $1,000+ check. I usually get paid. 

 

It is easy. They always offer to settle and delete. They never want to fight, especially when we are only talking about small amounts under $10,000. It is simply not worth it for them to hire a lawyer to fight you.

 

1) Remember, collection agencies usually don't even own the debt. They are often working as an agent for the creditor. They cannot file a counter lawsuit against you for anything. They don't have enough skin in the game to be worth fighting you. 

 

2) the owner of the debt such as a JDB often doesn't care enough about one account to fight you. If we are talking about amounts under $10,000 they will usually offer to delete for dismissal of the lawsuit and a complete cancelling of their claim. Make sure they are not "forgiving" the debt and sending you a 1099-C for misc income. 

 

3) Credit Bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, Experian) do not care about the accuracy of your credit file. They will settle every time because your single file doesn't justify them spending $10,000 to $20,000 in legal fees to argue about 2 or 3 collection accounts. They will just delete whatever you request in exchange for you dismissing your lawsuit.

 

That is basically how it will all play out. It is incredibly fun. 

 

 

 

Edited by RocketGoBoom
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