No luck with goodwill letters...

[Chriskinda]

I'm 3 for 3 on firm no's. I don't know what else to do. 

All CEOs, or their staff, replied saying they are required to report accurate information. As far as I'm aware that is true, but technically, they can choose whether or not to report the account at all? Is it worth responding and telling them that, or am I just wasting my time? The worst ones are paid charge offs from 2017, so I suppose they won't be affecting my credit in the near future. 

But the most recent is synchrony/paypal credit from 2020. Worst status 120 days late, not charged off, but last 30 day late was in January 2021. Then I paid it off completely. It's tanking my credit score and I really want to get a better interest rate on my car. Side note: being bipolar sucks. I was diagnosed in 2020, it consists of impulsive spending followed by months long depression. I've got a handle on it now that I know what I'm dealing with... But do I really need to wait 7 years to stop dealing with the consequences of my manic episodes?

 Thank you.

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[hdporter]

6 hours ago, Chriskinda said:

I'm 3 for 3 on firm no's. I don't know what else to do. 

All CEOs, or their staff, replied saying they are required to report accurate information. As far as I'm aware that is true, but technically, they can choose whether or not to report the account at all? Is it worth responding and telling them that, or am I just wasting my time? 

Side note: being bipolar sucks. I was diagnosed in 2020, it consists of impulsive spending followed by months long depression. I've got a handle on it now that I know what I'm dealing with... But do I really need to wait 7 years to stop dealing with the consequences of my manic episodes?

 

Hey "CK",

 

You've got a pretty good handle on this.  No creditor is required to report any/all data to the CRA's.  The only requirement is that where they choose to report, they must do so accurately.

 

That said, over time the CRA's have begun to discourage "goodwill" adjustments.  Further, compared to the 1990's, when I first had exceptionally good success with goodwill requests, the concept has become widely bandied about in credit "repair" circles.  So, what was at one time an exceptional request submitted to a creditor, creditors ultimately became flooded by such requests (and it's safe to presume that a good number of such requests were ill-conceived, poorly documented, and served as more nuisance to the creditor than truly a "good faith" reach out for consideration).

 

There are still occasions where creditors receive such requests and give them fair consideration, so it's very much worth making the effort to send them out.  But that describes the exception; the "rule" is that creditors respond with the boilerplate "must report accurately" that you receive.  And, no, it's not worth pushing back.

 

You pretty much have to suck it up and make the best of where you are once you've exhausted other avenues.  My recommendation is to push forward in a constructive fashion.  If you have open credit, put your best foot forward to establish a solid record with what you have.  If you're presently shut out, then a secured card with Citi or another lender can be a good first foot to recovery.

 

 

So, fwiw, I'll share that bipolar disorder has been the bane of my existence on this earth.  I finally started to managing it's impact on my life with some consistency when I hit my 40's.  But, prior to that, I trashed my credit in 1985, again in 1991, and again in 1999.  Not happy memories (aside from the fact that I have a dear and supportive wife who's stuck by my side that entire time without getting <too> fed up!).

 

My life is extraordinarily satisfying now; far more than I had ever hoped.  That's simply my way of saying that when things get frustrating, remember that patience and perspective can win the day.  The manic side of the illness is destructive, the depressive phase absolutely debilitating.  In the face of such variability, the idea that one can even mimic a degree of "consistency" seems far fetched.  It's a unique challenge, but we are equipped to learn how best to deal with it (even if by no stronger strategy than "trial and error".