CREDIT REPAIR POLL: NUTCASE SERIES

[PsychDoc]

If you have been actively engaged in your own credit repair for at least two months, please answer the following poll question and then attach any testimonials you are willing to release into the public domain regarding this tactic.

 

(NOTE: The "Nutcase Series" references a specific tactic. If you're not familiar with this, please note that this isn't a joke despite the name, lol. The tactic will be described fully in the upcoming resource I'm preparing for Creditboards.)

 

Thanks!

 

Doc

[wolverine]

I struggled with an inaccurate mortgage late for over a year. I finally tried a "nutcase hybrid" method which worked like a charm. I sent the nutcase letter CRRR and followed up two days later with a fax notification that I was going to file suit in 48 hours. Amazingly, the lender discovered their error within a day and fixed my report within 24 hours.

 

I also used the nutcase on a 5 year old cc late and it worked like a charm.

[Pam]

I used the Nutcase Letter™ on a total of seven paid collections, three on my report and three on DH's report.

 

I didn't have it notarized or send copies of my utility bills with mine, and didn't notarize DH's but they were effective nonetheless. Four CA's sent me letters of apology, and two just deleted with no response.

 

The seventh, for a bounced check, sent complete validation even though the collection was paid six years ago, along with a nasty letter. They eventually deleted it from my report but are still on DH's report until early next year. I think the difference there is that this was a small, locally owned CA in a small town with probably 5 employees as opposed to a bigger CA like NCO, ER Solutions, and CBCS (the CA's who had the deleted paid collections.) Perhaps they just didn't have anything better to do that day

[Quixote]

The nutcase approach has provided me more entertainment value than just about anything else I've done (at least as regards to improving my credit!). I had particularly good success with Arrow Collections, Chevron, and Capital One.

 

Working in conjunction with Bill Bauer in late 2001 (before the Nutcase series had completely evolved), I had already sent out a modified Validation letter and a modified estoppel letter with zero response. Given that this was a several year old Fully Paid Collection, they didn't really have to reply; and they didn't. With input from Doc and Bill, I put together a letter very much along the lines of the nutcase letter and sent it out in early December. In mid-December, I get a call from this guy at Arrow. He says, "I'm not sure what you want from us. You paid the bill, we have reported it as paid. What more do you want from us?" I said, "Well, Mr. Collector (I don't remember his name), it's all spelled out in the letters you have received. And, for both our protection, as I spelled out clearly in the letters, all further correspondence between us, and there WILL be more correspondence, will be in writing. Good Day, Mr. Collector." As I pulled the handset away from my ear and moved it towards the cradle, I could hear him yelling, "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME???" Click... I smiled. Big. The smile of someone who had been tormented lord knows how many times by collectors at all hours of the day and night. Gawwd it felt good to be on the other side of that for a change. Not very Christian, I'll grant you. But, I can't deny the satisfaction I took in it.

 

Fast forward to Christmas Eve day. In the mail that day was a letter from Arrow saying they had reviewed my file and had decided to remove the listing from my credit report as "this file is closed" or some such term. By New Years Eve, it was gone.

 

With Chevron, another paid collection account, I had tried all the usual stuff (validation, estoppel), but not "nutcase". When I demanded validation (which, let's face it, I didn't really have any standing to do), they produced nine year old photocopies of my original application and every single billing statement they had ever sent me. Try to beat that in court. The accompanying letter basically told me to get the hell lost.

 

A couple of months passed and the nutcase series had become a little more fully developed, so I decided to give it another whirl with Chevron. I adapted an early version to my specific situation with Chevron, printed it as a pdf file, and sent it out as an e-mail attachment. I was duly chastised by a bunch of other regulars at the other board. And, on reflection, I realized they were probably right. Nobody was going to read that attachment due to their internal IT security policies. So, I decided I would print it out the next day and send it. When I looked at my e-mail the next morning, much to my surprise, there was a breathless e-mail from a fairly senior person at Chevron, saying, basically, "Hey, hey, let's not get too hasty. We'll have all that stuff off your credit reports right away." And they did.

 

About a month later, it showed back up on one of my CR's. I sent another nutcasey-ish e-mail to the same woman, and it was fixed the same day.

 

As for Capital One, it was two paid chargeoffs, reporting on all three CR’s for both myself and The Lovely Mrs. Quixote. So, twelve derogatory R9 tradelines in all. They had been willing to go to R5, which they did. But, in the detailed report, though the balance was accurately reported as being zero, the current status said "120, 150, 180 days past due" depending on which report I was looking at. That was what I kept harping on. For reasons I'll never understand, Cap1 was just incapable of correcting those notations. I gave Mr. Cooke about ten chances, because I knew he was making a good faith effort; never doubted it. But, mortgage day was coming fast, and I finally laid it down for him; delete or meet me in court to discuss the wonders of Nelson v Chase Manhattan. They chose to delete.

 

I have to say that in my experience, Mr. Cooke responds to kindness and sincerity. I never did anything in writing with him, other than follow up e-mails, faxes, etc. In every case, I found him to be as good as his word. I simply discussed the situation, made reference to the negative impact this was having on my credit (recent cc turn downs-including Cap1- I did that just to prove the point), and the implications of Nelson v Chase Manhattan were brought up several times. But I did it all in a very non-threatening way.

 

Finally, I said words to this effect to Mr. Cooke: "Look, if I wanted to sue, I already would have, because I've got all the evidence I would need. I've got notes from every time we've spoke, just as you do. I've got copies of cc turn downs and my CR's every week for the last seven or eight months while we've been trying to get this straightened out. I've got six different CR's that are still reporting these two accounts five different ways, which have all been confirmed in disputes within the last 90 days. So, really, if I wanted to sue Cap1, there's nothing to stop me, and I would win. You know it and I know it. Capitol One is on the wrong side of the FCRA on this one, despite your honest effort not to be. But, I'm running out of time. I have to qualify for a mortgage within the next month, and I just can't have those inaccurate current 120,150, and 180 day lates on my CR's when I'm trying to get a mortgage. You've tried several times (at least eight by my count). If you try to correct them yet again, what makes you think you'll be successful when at least eight prior attempts have failed completely? I'm certain your mother taught you the same thing mine taught me. You know, 'If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all'. For whatever the reason, Capitol One is incapable of saying anything nice about me on my credit reports. Maybe it's time Capitol One considers saying nothing at all. Today is Friday. I'm going to call you back on Monday. I would like you to consider the potential costs involved of your two potential courses of action. You can go ahead and make another attempt at correcting the tradelines, and, hey, if you're successful, I'd be happy, because old paid collections aren't nearly as bad as current 180 day lates. But, again, what makes you think it will work this time, when it hasn't so far? The other course, I recognize, goes against Cap1's grain, but it cost nothing; cut your losses, quit wasting time on this, and delete the dang tradelines from all of our CR's. The second option has no potential monetary cost to Cap1 and puts an end to this silliness. The first option costs nothing if it works, but if it doesn't, my back is now against the wall, and I have no choice but to sue. I don't want that, but I will. I'll have to take time from work that I can't spare, fill out a bunch of paperwork, which I hate, but I'll do it. We're now talking about my ability to keep a roof over my family's head. I like you a lot on a personal level, but if Capitol One's actions are going to interfere with my ability to shelter my family, I don't have a lot of options. So, you think about it, and when I call you Monday, you tell me whether or not I'm suing Capitol One."

 

It may not be verbatim, but that's really what I said. I think of this as my Verbal Nutcase Discussion. I rehearsed it in my mind. The attitude I wanted to convey was exactly the true attitude I had; "Look I just can't play around with this anymore. Let's get it fixed or be done with it."

 

The following Monday, I called Mr. Cooke. The first words out of his mouth, after I asked him if I was suing Capital One, were, “No, let’s put an end to all this silliness.” Inside of a week, it was all gone. Twelve deletes in one shot.

 

Nutcase isn’t so much a particular template or phrasing. It’s an attitude. You need to plant the idea that you are going to be a big, thorny pebble in their sneakers from now on until you get what you want; that, even if the facts aren’t on your side, you’re going to be such a giant pain in the flowers, for such a long time to come, that it would just be so much simpler to delete that dang trade line so you’ll go away.

 

 

Nutcase has been berry, berry good to me.

[janama]

What is the NUTCASE approach? What do you do?

[PsychDoc]

Hi, Janama. This approach is intended for fully-paid accounts with problematic credit reporting. (Incidentally, the "fully-paid" scenario is a condition I advocate with my heart and soul. Not only is it the right and correct thing to repay money one has borrowed, but the ethical high-ground will provide much credit repair leverage as well.) Very soon I'll have something up on this site regarding the Nutcase series and other creditor-direct tactics. In the mean time, here are a few external links:

 

-- http://a1248.svwh.net/BoardFAQ.htm#Nutcase

-- http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttal...tive#post213969

-- http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttal...3707#post153707

 

Hope this helps you!

 

Doc

[PsychDoc]

I think of this as my Verbal Nutcase Discussion. I rehearsed it in my mind. The attitude I wanted to convey was exactly the true attitude I had; "Look I just can't play around with this anymore. Let's get it fixed or be done with it."

Quixote's "Verbal Nutcase Discussion" is too cool. (I learned the phrase "too cool" from my teenage niece, but it seems right in this context, lol.)

 

Doc

[JessicaRabbit88]

Haven't used them, but saved a copy for referrence for a very near future use.

 

Hey is there any way to get a judgement paid in full off your record? Can you use any part of this thinking process to do it?

 

I can't stand the thought that I just paid them in full, and now I sit and have to wait the next six years for it to magically go away.

 

Jessica

[Quixote]

Jessica,

 

I can't speak to it directly, because I never had to deal with any judgments. But, in general, my advice to anyone, regardless of the particulars, is the same. If you want your CR's clean worse than someone else wants them ugly, if you will just keep trying another new approach each time another fails, then eventually you will succeed. You only have to win one round in this battle. They have to win every single time. The only way they win is if you quit.

 

You might want to run some searches here and on Creditnet on the topic of judgments and see what comes up. I know I have seen others have success with it, so it can be done.

 

Good Luck!

[dep_tx]

I was able to use a variation of the Nutcase letter on CN to remove a paid collection for an old apartment complex deposit that I paid before I knew anything about credit repair. I was able to have this trade line removed from all three of my credit reports on the first attempt. The Collection agency was the only one reporting. I also had an old collection from a Southwestern Bell account for $28 removed. . I had not paid this account and receive a letter of apology from the CA. LOL

[betacredit]

Nutcase worked for me!!!

 

I used it for a paid collection. I had a chargeoff with Sprint PCS that I paid before credit repair. I also opened an account with Sprint PCS once I paid the chargeoff. I then contacted the executive offices because I had used the original nutcase and the CA repiled and refused to remove it because it was reporting correctly as a "paid collection".

 

I tried to get Sprint to get the CA remove the collection from my report but they wouldn't do that. So they sent me a letter stating that the account was current with an R-1 rating. I then developed the "son of nutcase" which is on another bulletin board. The reasoning behind the "son of nutcase" is you've contacted the OC and they are sure that the account is being reported correctly, how dare the CA report this incorrect and derogatory info. and put them both into a liable situation that could get them sued.

 

After I faxed this first letter the Collections Manager called my home# but I was at work and I got the message. I then called him back and only could get Voice mail. So then I sent him a fax that basically said, "stop playing around with me (by giving me voice mail each time I call) buddy or I'm suing you tomorrow."

 

There was a time difference too. So he called me again to tell me he was faxing it, but I didn't get the message. I then sent the last and final letter called "the follow-up fax" that said fax me a copy of the UDF along with mailing a copy of the original or I'm suing.

 

I had the faxed UDF waiting for me at work the next morning and the copy in the mail that week.

 

Other people have used variations of this and gotten results. It was such along time ago that the details are a little fuzzy.

 

I don't do well on the phone, so I prefer to write, I have had very, very good results doing so. :wink: And, the original nutcase used in it's original form w/o notary didn't do the job, but the son of nutcase and follow-up faxes did, and all you need is an idea and a starting point to be successful with the "nutcase series".

[Gib]

I used variations of the nutcase letter for 2 deletions. They were both paid medical collections, one was "settled for less than full amount".

 

Not only are nutcase letters good for your CR, but I think they are therapeutic to write (as lond as you don't actually BELIEVE them.) LOL

 

Gib

[randyd]

i was thinking of sending the nutcase letter.

 

but as i am a nutty nuttier, i was thinking of

calling the bbb before i send the letter and

mailing in a copy of the complaint to the bbb,

to the original creditor with the nutcase letter.

 

 

then, if i have too:

 

i will send the son of nutcase with a call to the

atty general, followed by the nutty son in a green

attached certified letter to the original creditor.

 

 

has this approach worked for anybody?????????????????

 

i think this is the way im going to do it!

[gto]

I think this has given me the confidence to send my nutcase letter

[gto]

Bumping

sent my first nutcase. waiting for results and am about to send a couple more to different companies

[Subprime]

Two out of three Nutcase letters worked for me. The two that got results were on SOL accounts. I combined the proper elements of the nutcase letter with the SOL letter and it took a original nutcase and a nutcase followup to get the delete.

 

I nutcased a Paid Collection and I am in round three getting ready to file a small claims suit. I needed to make sure I had willful non compliance before filing.

 

-Subprime

[badcredit goodperson]

In mid-December, I get a call from this guy at Arrow. He says, "I'm not sure what you want from us. You paid the bill, we have reported it as paid. What more do you want from us?" ... Gawwd it felt good to be on the other side of that for a change. Not very Christian, I'll grant you. But, I can't deny the satisfaction I took in it.

 

Man reading this blast from the past made me crack up!

The same thing happened to me with RJM. I had already paid on my account, two months prior to CB. I tried a DV letter and got "we are reporting your account correctly as paid."

Then I tried the nutcase letter and whatdayaknow!I get a call from them, the same words too..."I'm not sure what you want from us. You paid the bill, we have reported it as paid. What more do you want from us?"..."Is it the reporting?" I responded with,"It's not ONLY the reporting!" I've also discussed this matter with the Dept of Banking and it seems that RJM is not licensed to collect in this state and they've had numerous complaints about your company and want me to fax all correspondence from you so they can take their own action against you when I'm done!"

*They removed their TL and I got a letter from the OC(Fingerhut) saying per RJM's request, we are removing our TL. Yes, Satisfaction Indeed!

[lilyflower]

Has anyone had success with this approach with Calvary?

[zanesmom]

When I found CB and took that first step of pulling my reports and reading all I could, I thought that the nutcase letters were much too severe. Actually, I thought much of what I was reading here was too extreme. That was in May '05.

 

I have been ignored, lied to, belittled, violated (creditwise!), frustrated, and angered. I have almost responded with fury to the blase(can't find the right accent marker, but you get it) indifference shovelled out by people who "don't have the authority" to do anything besides destroy the one number that determines modern American virility.

 

I say almost because of PsychDoc and the nutcase thread at one of the other sites. I'm now preparing some personalized nutcase letters of my own. The one thing I do know is- I have read enough of PsychDoc's posts to know that he has more patience and civility than I could ever hope to have.

 

So while I haven't actually mailed a nutcase letter as of yet, thank you, PsychDoc.

[brian63]

I sent the nutcase one to northest credit and collection they sent it back with there writing on the bottom saying you paid this in 2002 and that was it.

 

First they didnt even get when it was paid credit reports all show june 2000 lol.

 

Anyways I just fired a letter off saying basicly look I know it is paid my question is is it mine I could care less it is paid I want to know if it is my debt or not send me proof shoing it is mine or delete it

 

So does the fact they didnt do anything but say I paid it and not even the right time a paid it give me any other legal way to fight this if my second letter doesnt work

 

 

Brian

[badcredit goodperson]

I sent the nutcase one to northest credit and collection they sent it back with there writing on the bottom saying you paid this in 2002  and that was it.

 

First they didnt even get when it was paid  credit reports all show june 2000 lol.

 

Anyways I just fired a letter off saying basicly look I know it is paid my question is is it mine I could care less it is paid I want to know if it is my debt or not send me proof shoing it is mine or delete it

 

So  does the fact they didnt do anything but  say I paid it  and not even the right time a paid it give me any other legal way to fight this if my second letter doesnt work

 

Brian

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Sure, even if its a paid account, as long as it is reporting, they (the furnisher) still have responsibilities under the FCRA.

If you dispute it with the CRAs, they must note the account as disputed by consumer. If they don't you've got them on violations of the FCRA which you can now use as leverage.

[jh8314]

Nutcase just worked for me. This was the first time I used it. I sent the nutcase and they sent me improper validation. I sent out son of the nutcase and I just got the green card back today. I just checked truecredit and it is off of experian.

[unixkid]

Where can you get a sample of a nutcase letter and where can you learn more about it? Is there a website?

[credit_help]

Where can you get a sample of a nutcase letter and where can you learn more about it?  Is there a website?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Read post# 6 in this thread.

[badcredit goodperson]

Here's another link that explains the process too:

http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8492&hl=