Expert: Creditwrench - 6/18/2008

Question
I have learned that it IS important to check your credit report.  I did so
recently and found several amazing things.

My question deals with three items:
First - after sending letters of debt validation to the collection agencies listed
on my report (I didn't recognize some of them) I received a letter from a
company that listed an out of business video store.  The debt was for late
fees totaling $70.  The company is out of business - so do I need to pay them
?  The debt is from 12/2002.  When I called the Arkansas AG's office, they
suggested it might be past it statue of limitations.  How can I get this off of
my credit report.  The fees were for really bad movies.  

Second - If I have not received a response from any of the companies within
thirty days (I sent letters on 5/15/08 and many received no later than 5/20)
can I legally ask them to remove the debt from my credit report?  Here is a
link to a similar letter that I sent to the agencies.
(http://www.oskie.com/free-letter/debt-validation-letter-collections-
collection-company-agency.htm).

And lastly - what is the best way to have items removed from my credit
reports?  If I cannot get a company to validate the debt or if there are
duplicate entries, i.e. original creditor and collection agency or third buyer of
the debt?  That can drastically inflate the real amount of debt owed and the
number of derogatory entries.

I am very leary of debt settlement companies - I don't have alot of debt -
under $12,000 - not counting student loans.  I would like to get much of this
cleaned up on my own.

Thanks for your help.

Chad

Answer
I don't know enough about credit repair to answer your questions regarding that subject. I simply don't teach how to do credit repair although it does happen as an indirect result of what I do teach. The best way to get your credit repaired is to force the company who put the derogatory remarks on your credit to do your credit repair for you.

That way it is done under a contract that can be enforced in a court of law if they don't apply after having agreed to do so. If they agree contractually in writing to remove their own derogatories and then fail to do so they are in deep trouble with the court that supervised and approved the contract. They just don't get stupid enough to violate the contract they signed. That's the real way to get your credit repaired.

But I did want to comment on that validation letter you sent. It is totally stupid. It makes a lot of frivolous demands that no debt collector has to answer nor will answer. Those kinds of letters only make you look dumb. No law requires them to answer most of those questions. There isn't even a law that says they have to answer a demand for validation. They don't ever have to answer or validate if they don't want to. What they cannot do is to continue to collect if you have demanded validation in a timely manner.

The site you referred to isn't there to give people sound advice. It is there to sell various credit related products. In case you doubt that then run your mouse over the various links at the bottom and notice the affiliate numbers embedded in the links. Every time someone clicks on the links and buys a product they get paid a commission. When people come to a forum such as this and tell about their supposedly wonderful free letters they only invite others to go check it out and in the process unsuspecting people will click on those links and quite possibly buy from the site's links. Nothing but an advertising gimmick. Funny they don't run google ads on top of it all. The letter isn't even original. The same letter is all over the internet.

Bill Bauer
405-684-9297
405-227-9423

RECOMMENDED READING:
www.creditwrench.com/howjudgmentswork.html
www.creditwrench.com/18questions.html
www.creditwrench.com/Howtodefeatdebtcollectors
How to set up your hard drive for creditwrench files. Makes them easy to find.
http://consumers.creditwrench.com/sh...=7351#post7351
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