subject: Fixing My Credit Score - How In Six Months I Deleted 6 Collections [print this page] Fixing my credit score was a priority in early 2008. In 2007, I went through a very difficult time with employment and money. I had been employed for years at a manufacturing plant and the company was forced to sell. Unfortunately the new company was bringing many of its employees along with them and letting go of many of us. I was one of the unlucky ones that got the axe. My position was being taken by a new machine operator.
My family and I made it through the difficulties, with my wife working we were able to make it through the slim times and once I got another job we were doing well. Unfortunately our credit is the one that took a hit. Both my wife and I had good credit before this and we now had collections and charge offs we had to deal with on our history. Using the techniques we read about in a really good credit repair manual we were able to remove some of the debts we had and settle on others.
There were a total of six collections we worked on. Fixing my credit score was critical being that I had more damage than my wife. She had just two collections to deal with. I had three collections and a charge off that were damaging my credit. I didnt anticipate it being so simple. Fixing my credit score was much more about using the established collection laws in our favor than denying our responsibilities, as I thought was the way to dispute.
We learned about how and where to send our dispute letters. Again, the laws in place are the ones that helped us tremendously. We werent aware that two of the collection companies were re-aging our accounts and that was a violation of our rights. This is so big a violation that the FTC themselves brought law suit against a large collection company for re-aging consumers' debt, and won the case. You can find the information at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/05/ncogroup.shtm, on the FTC website.
In regards to the mailing of the dispute letters, the program outlined how there is more than one place to mail your dispute letter. In fixing my credit score, I also found that making a strongly emotional letter was far more effective than a perfectly serene letter. An irritated consumer would write something like "what is this crap on my report" or "what the hell are you doing to my credit report?" This was far more effective than being civil and nice.
Fixing my credit score and getting the bureaus to completely delete this negative information was not as easy as it sounds. But certainly it wasnt something I was prepared to pay upwards of 1,800 for two people. Disputing properly was the way to go for us.
