Credit Fix Up

[Tacks]

From the intranetz

Medical bills do not ordinarily show on a credit report. IF a medical related debt is defaulted and turned over to collections, the collection account may show for 7 years from the month/year service was received. This time period is established by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

[Eziekial]

sir. yes they do. My wife's report has several medical bills on it from a accident we are disputing. I have it in my hand.

Sorry, my post was misleading, what I meant was that the debt can't be verified by the collection agency. Dispute the debt and they will be forced to remove it.

[Harrison]

Mine didn't show up and never have.

It might be partly because I paid off SOME of them until I was unable to continue doing so.

From every source I can find, personal and internet, they do not show up.

[Tacks]

fucking bum

[Eziekial]

That reminds me of another way to really tick off a creditor. You can send a $1 check every month and if the person cashes it or not, it's a "payment." I'm not sure this still works but if it works and you remember to pay every month it could help you get by until you are in a better position to pay back the debt.

[Martrae]

My advice was still the bestest.

[Evermore]

Mine didn't show up and never have.

It might be partly because I paid off SOME of them until I was unable to continue doing so.

From every source I can find, personal and internet, they do not show up.

ours are because an insurance company is trying to fuck us. I have an attorney on it.

[Haylo]

My question about disputing is how effective is it for late fees etc. that have been tacked on to bills? For instance when I was in my first year of college (young and dumb) I had two credit cards. One of them had a balance of just $200, and the other was $1000. I got behind with keeping the payments up and once I was finished school they had ballooned to thousands over the original limit each. So after that long explanation, would I have a good shot at disputing the fees? Like I don't mind paying what I owed now that I can afford, heck i'll even pay two times what the original limits were, but the $200 limit card now wants me to pay thousands and seriously screw that.

[Gaazy]

Ive got 1 credit card that I try to use no more than once or twice a month, just to keep something going through thats easy to pay. I see everyone around me all in debt and shit and I get leery about it

[Insanityfair]

Ive got 1 credit card that I try to use no more than once or twice a month, just to keep something going through thats easy to pay. I see everyone around me all in debt and shit and I get leery about it

Pretty much same here. I used to have credit card issues, loved them way too much. Realized I do not, however, love debt so much.

[Gaazy]

Yeah, Ive got myself set up on a pretty good plan on my own so I can manage to keep everything in check.

[Xaiveir]

It depends on the doctor/hospital and whether they report it or not. It used to be that medical bills didn't affect your credit score, though. That may have changed...not really sure now.

The best suggestions I can give you is:

Start with the smallest dollar amount you owe and pay it off (while making minimum payment on everything else). Use the money you were paying on that bill to start paying on the next smallest bill. Work your way up the bill chain that way until they are all paid off.

Cut up your credit cards. Seriously. And don't get new ones.

Consolidating will do nothing if you don't change your spending habits/get rid of the credit cards. You'll just wind up deeper in debt.

I agree with most of this, except the cutting up of the credit cards. Of course if you have 10 credit cards, yeah cut some of them up. But if you pay off all of your credit card debt, and then cut them up it will actually hurt your credit score in the future.

This is because part of your credit score is (large part actually) is AVAILABLE credit. If you, a year down the line, want to get a new car, by cutting up the credit cards it has actually lowered your score for a dealer to look at.

Lets assume in the following scenario, everything but the number of credit cards is the same.

If you have 5 credit cards with $2,000 max on them, and have a grand total of an average of $750 charged balance on each card, you are carrying a total of $3750 of debt.

The next guy has 1 credit card that has a $2000 card, that only has $1000 balance on it. Because this guys "available credit balance" is much lower than the first case.

Even though the first case is actually deeper in debt, his available credit balance is more, wich does effect your credit score.

Deffinaly cut up SOME cards, but not all. Always have some available credit to you. It will be much easier to get credit in the future if you need/want it.

I personally made the mistake of cutting up all my credit cards after paying them off. I was roughly $70K in debt from when i broke my leg. 3 surgeries (no insurance, and yes medical bills do go on credit ) i had to live off of credit cards, while racking up debt on my thrice surgically repaired leg.

I dug myself out years later, and cut up EVERYTHING. My credit score actually lowered, even though i was out of debt, and cut everything up. Now it is a pain in the ass to get another credit card, because i had no available credit to go on.

[Martrae]

Here's a novel concept....instead of making car payments....save up the money you would be paying out and pay cash for a car instead.

[Markarado]

Sometimes having a new car that you make payments on is a better option than having an older car that you have to pay constant repairs on.

I don't know how it is in the US, but over here if you're doing any kind of on-the-road sales you NEED a decent car - a new car. An old car that looks nice doesn't cut it as a decent car here. People won't give you the time of day if you can't show a little money.

[Harrison]

I don't understand how someone can go so deep with a credit card >_<

I always used mine just to pay for shit that I knew I had the money for already.

[Xaiveir]

Here's a novel concept....instead of making car payments....save up the money you would be paying out and pay cash for a car instead.

It is a novel concept. But its not always an option. A more novel concept would be only take on payments that you could afford comfortably. A vast majority of people take on payments they cannot afford, thus causing them to use credit cards.

I only use cash now, i only pay for what i can afford. It is one of my best decisions i have made in my life. However, the majority of the people are not willing to do this, or are not smart enough.

However credit is still a necessity unfortunately, regardless on if you decide to purchase a new car, or those baby cloths that you need.

[Martrae]

However credit is still a necessity unfortunately, regardless on if you decide to purchase a new car, or those baby cloths that you need.

/sigh

Not if you make a plan. Having a baby? Add a category in your budget for baby items. Going to need a car in a couple years? Start saving for it now.

Unexpected things happening? Have an emergency fund.

Did you know that the Japanese save 13% of their income? The French save 15%?

Guess what the US saving rate is: - .6% (that's a negative). Not so good.

[Evermore]

However credit is still a necessity unfortunately, regardless on if you decide to purchase a new car, or those baby cloths that you need.

/sigh

Not if you make a plan. Having a baby? Add a category in your budget for baby items. Going to need a car in a couple years? Start saving for it now.

Unexpected things happening? Have an emergency fund.

Did you know that the Japanese save 13% of their income? The French save 15%?

Guess what the US saving rate is: - .6% (that's a negative). Not so good.

ever try purchasing a house with out credit?

[The Kizzy]

From the intranetz

Medical bills do not ordinarily show on a credit report. IF a medical related debt is defaulted and turned over to collections, the collection account may show for 7 years from the month/year service was received. This time period is established by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

There is a loop hole in this. General Hospital sells your bll to Credit Collection Agency A, and they hold it for about 3 or 4 years and then send it to Credit Collection Agency B, and the 7 years starts all over.

[Xaiveir]

However credit is still a necessity unfortunately, regardless on if you decide to purchase a new car, or those baby cloths that you need.

/sigh

Not if you make a plan. Having a baby? Add a category in your budget for baby items. Going to need a car in a couple years? Start saving for it now.

Unexpected things happening? Have an emergency fund.

Did you know that the Japanese save 13% of their income? The French save 15%?

Guess what the US saving rate is: - .6% (that's a negative). Not so good.

Im not debating with you what the US spending habits are. I am not debating the FACT that the united states relies on credit cards WAAAAY too much. They are horrible, im not disagreeing with you. All i said was the at some point, credit is a necessity. No matter if you want it to be or not.

By cutting up all those credit cards, you are hurting your credit. Period. Thats all. You want to buy a house.....you need credit. You want to buy a car...you need credit. You want to go on vacation and have an emergeny, you will most likely need credit.

If you have a baby, and even with a baby fund. What happens if this baby gets sick, and every bit of the baby fund is depleted....then what?

Its a fantasy land that i would love to live in if i could live like you suggested. It would be fantastic. I try to live in that wonderful land of joy, with paying everything up front in cash. But i also live in reality, and realize that I need credit, and any tip of keeping your score as high as possible is only beneficial to you.

So why you went on this tangent i have no idea. I think we all got your idea that you want to live by cash....great. That was never an issue.

[Martrae]

Argh....all your what ifs can be budgeted for. Baby gets sick? You have a medical fund. Want a vacation? Make a vacation fund. Emergencies? Have an emergency fund (I already said this).

You started this tangent with your "it'll ruin your credit to cut them all up" thing. Guess what, his credit is already ruined. If he wants to dig his way out then what I said is the best way to go about it.

No wonder no one cares that Congress doesn't use money wisely. No one else can either.

[kaharthemad]

No wonder no one cares that Congress doesn't use money wisely. No one else can either.

HEY those cattle farts in Wyoming are damaging the ozone and need to be studied.

[Xaiveir]

Wrong Mart. My tangeant was that cutting up the cards will hurt his credit. That is a fact, you cut them up it will hurt your credit score.....read that...>FACT<.


His question "how do you repair credit"

Part of your answer "cut up the cards"

Is that correct? No it LOWERS YOUR CREDIT SCORE, be reducing your available credit. There for, NOT REPAIRING YOUR CREDIT, it hurts your credit. That was the question.

That is a FACT, Mart. You can debate it, and throw your emergency funds at it, but it doesnt change the FACT, that if you lower your available credit (cutting your cards up) , your credit score goes down. Last i checked, when your credit score goes down, that means your credit is not being repaired....

Do you curb your spending....yes, you should (just like you said)

Do you make those nifty funds....Yes (im not disagreeing with you that those little funds are the way to go. THEY ARE. But not always plausible, and certainly not always effective).

So, as an answer to KH. DONT CUT YOUR CARDS UP. Keep them yo.

[Arlos]

Do what a guy I knew in college did: He put his cards into a glass of water and then put the glass into the freezer, and kept it there with his credit cards inside a big solid block of ice. If he *REALLY* needed the cards, he could get to them, were it some dire emergency, say. But with them so inconvenient to get at, he wasn't even remotely tempted to use them on a day to day basis.

The reason mart is saying "cut up the cards" is cause most people can't not use them if they have them, and thus never actually pay down their debt much. But Xaiv is exactly right, cancelling the cards HURTS your credit. So, do like the guy I knew in college, if you know you will have willpower issues. You then aren't u sing them and accumulating more debt, but you're not hurting your credit by getting rid of them either.

-Arlos

[Xaiveir]

Thats actually an amazing idea Arlos lol.

Repairing your credit (if you are serious about it) requires will power. Honestly, one of the best things to do to repair credit cards is to go purchase a pair of sunglasses or, a shirt, something every month. Carry a very LOW balance and make payments. That will actually jump your score up as well. It is establishing payment history. As long as you pay for what you bought on a month to month basis, you are helping your score. Make sure to keep your balance on each card LOW.

Its the idiots that pay their cards down, and then charge $5k right back on it that this wont work for. If you are that type of person, use the freezer idea.