Hold your horses. So you got a collection letter in the mail. You are distraught and already figuring out how to pay the collector. Shockingly, a majority of collections are paid needlessly. Resist the impulse to pick up your checkbook. Just slow it down. Credit repair requires patience - and a bit of knowledge comes in handy too.
Don?t Believe Your Eyes
When it comes to collection letters, don?t believe your eyes. Don?t write a check. Don?t call the collector. There are four essential credit repair tests you must apply before doing anything. First, do you recognize the debt? Second, is it possible it was satisfied with a previous collector or the original creditor? Third, is it beyond the statute of limitation for collection through the court system? And fourth, is it beyond the reporting period limit for your credit report?
Do You Recognize the Debt?
If you have attempted credit repair you already know that the collection industry is far from perfect. Collectors buy and sell collection accounts on a regular basis. The level of quality control at collection businesses is notoriously lax. There is every possibility that you are getting a collection notice for a debt that has nothing to do with you. Be sure.
Have You Paid the Debt?
Because collectors buy and sell debt regularly it is common for a new collector to send you a dunning letter for a debt that you satisfied with a prior collector. Original creditors often have in-house collection departments that are as lax in their record keeping as any collector. Oftentimes debts are bundled for sale at the same time that consumers are sending their payment. Your money may have gone in one door while your account was being sold out another door.
Credit Repair Statute of Limitation Shockers
Here is the credit repair fact that most people are not aware of. I can?t tell you how many otherwise well-informed people have drawn a blank on this one. The statute of limitation (SOL) for collection through the courts has nothing whatsoever to do with the seven-year reporting limit for derogatory information imposed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) on the credit bureaus. This can be credit repair magic. The SOL is almost always far less than seven years, and may be as little as two years. Each debt type has its own SOL which depends on the type of debt, the state in which you incurred the debt, and the state you currently live ? more about this in a second.
The Reporting Period Limit
Most people in credit repair programs are aware of reporting period limits. Generally speaking the credit bureaus are directed by the FCRA to report derogatory credit events for no longer than seven years. There is a slightly more complicated method of measuring reporting period limits for charge-offs and collections which may continue to report for seven years plus 180 days from the date of original default ? being the first time a scheduled payment was missed in the sequence that led to collection.
What are the Credit Repair Consequences?
If you don?t recognize the debt, it may not be yours and you should not pay it. If you paid the original collector you certainly don?t want to pay it a second time. If the debt is beyond the SOL the collector has no way to enforce the collection. This means you can send the collector a cease communication letter and he will vanish forever from your life, and you don?t have to worry about a judgment. Or, if you want to pay the debt, it is usually very negotiable once past the SOL. And if the debt is beyond the reporting period limit it is almost certainly beyond the SOL, so all of the above benefits should apply, plus you should not have to worry about the appearance of the collection on your credit report. It's the ultimate credit repair outcome.
Credit Repair and the SOL
The SOL is not hard to check and it is central to any credit repair effort. Just get on the Internet and search for statute of limitations. You should be able to find an easy-to-read chart listing SOL by debt type and by state. Don?t forget to check your state of residence and the state in which you entered into the original agreement. The longer period applies to your case. Remember to measure the time period properly. The SOL clock always starts with the date of original default. Collectors do not reset the date when they start and restart the collection process.
Call in the Credit Repair Troops
If all of this is too much to bear, pick up the phone and call a credit repair expert. It's your money and should not be taken lightly. If you do not have the time to cope with the process a professional credit repair company will insure that every step is taken in the proper order and that you are not paying needlessly throwing money away. When it comes to credit repair, the right way is the best way. You can do it!
Copyright ? 2008 Ian Webber. All Content. All Rights Reserved.
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