Been irresponsible about credit

I do apologize. I am unaware of what this forum is and where these posts are going to...

omnineko -

Welcome to the forums! As the name indicates, this is a forum for people in debt, or who have been in debt in the past, who want to get out of debt and help others to be debt-free as well.

Since you have registered with the site, a debt counselor will be contacting you within the next couple of days to discuss your options.

Please feel free to stick around and get to know us. We're a friendly group, and we seek only to help those who come to us for advice in getting out of debt, handling Payday Loans, dealing with bankruptcy, mortgages, or collection agencies.

Sometimes those of us who have been here for a little while speak in acronyms or abbreviations - here's a few to help you out, so you don't get confused:

CA = Collection Agency

PDL = Pay Day Loan

IPDL = Internet Pay Day Loan (one where you applied on line, without physically signing a document)

Storefront = Storefront Pay Day Loan (one where you physically went into a retail establishment and signed documents to obtain a loan)

AG = your state's Attorney General

BBB = Better Business Bureau

PIF = Paid in Full

SOL = Statute of Limitations

Hopefully, these will help you understand our language a bit better. Please feel free to tell us a little more about your debt situation. We're here to help.

Well, now it's all starting to make sense. ;)

As far as my situation... I had a few things where I would get cell phones for friends and rely on them to pay it. Of course, they never paid and racked up the bills until they were maxed out. Thinking that within seven years it'd all be cleared anyway, I didn't pay. Of course, it's only been about three years and I'm just now realizing that seven years isn't exactly a short amount of time.

I also noticed on my credit report that an item that I had "PIF" (which is also the highest outstanding debt on my report) was NEVER removed from my credit. I tried to contact the company who told me they never received payment. I clearly remember mailing the payment (had extra money) but since it was several years ago, I can not find my receipts that would prove so.

I have other debts from medical bills because my insurance was cancelled when my father. I didn't think that medical bills appeared on your credit but it didn't take long to realize that it does.

AND NOW... Now I just want to get it all paid off. It's not an extreme amount of debt and it's definitely something that I think I could get paid off in well under half a year.

omnineko - you've definitely come to the right place. Once you hear from the debt counselor, discuss your situation with them, and see if it's a plan you can work with. Don't feel like you HAVE to go with that particular debt counselor, however, because you do have a choice in the matter. They simply contact you based on your entries into your registration here.

It is quite possible that with some assistance from the resources at this site, you could become debt free in a year, just by careful budgeting of your money and checking your credit report.

As far as the item on your credit report goes that wasn't marked paid in full, you need to first review your credit report and make sure it's still showing a balance, and not a zero balance. If it's still showing a balance, contact the original creditor and request they remove it. Start with a phone call, and follow up with a certified return receipt requested letter. That should get the ball rolling, but be aware it could take several months for it to show on your credit report. If, in fact, you can't find proof that you paid it, see if you can get proof from another source - did you pay with a check? If so, see if you can get ahold of the bank statement that shows the check, and if you have the cancelled check still. If you absolutely cannot prove you paid it, you can dispute it with the credit bureau, but that still won't cause it to show as paid in full. A consumer has the right to dispute any inaccuracy in their credit report by entering a letter of dispute into their record. This can be done by sending a certified letter to the three credit bureaus to be sure it shows up on all three reports.

And yes, medical bills do show up on your credit report - trust me - been there, done that! If unpaid, the creditors can obtain a judgement against you, and that stays on your credit for a very long time, unless you pay it. Then it still shows up, but as a "satisfied judgement".

Tackle it this way: take your credit report and start from the oldest bill and work forward - the oldest ones are the ones that will hurt you the most, until they are paid. Do not neglect the newer ones, though - if you can, pay higher amounts on the older ones to get them paid off sooner, but also pay on the other debts every month as well. Even if it's $10, it's working towards the ultimate solution for you - being debt free!