Ready to take the bull by the horns but what's the best way?
Date: Tue, 01/27/2009 - 01:06
Here are my report details:
Total number of Accounts: 3
Accounts with balances: 2
Accounts opened in past year: 0
Recent inquiries: 3
Collections: 4
Public Records: 0
Total past due: $1,171
Credit history: 7 Years
Late payments: 13
- Total balance of revolving accounts: $277 (Opened 2/2007, 120 days past due)
- Total balance of installment loans: $14,619 (This is a student loan, 120 days past due, past due amount is $1071))
- 1 account Charged off as bad debt (opened in 3/2001)
Collections agencies
Midland Cred, Date assigned: Jun 07, 2005, Original balance: $3,240, Current: $5,718)
Midland Cred, Date assigned: April 26, 2006, Original balance: $146, Current: $146)
Jp&C Coll, Date assigned: Jun 27, 2008, Original balance: $304, Current: $411)
I C System (Medical bill), Date assigned: May 27, 2005, Original balance: $1269, Current balance: $1269)
Fresh Start
Wow, you remind me of me! I recently visited with a bankruptcy lawyer to go over my options.
If you are getting married, don't be scared by the myth that you and your fiance's credit reports will become one. If you are trying to get a house, you're going to have to either pay off the loans or try to get loans with a bankruptcy on your credit.
If you are not worried about a large purchase, such as a home or new car, then bankruptcy might be a good idea for you.
The student loans were something I think I was told could not be written off, but all of the medical bills, old lines of credit, and even cell phone and gym debts could be written off. This is especially effective if you don't own any large sums of money (why would you be filing for bankruptcy if you had lots of money?) or investment accounts.
Bankruptcy is as poisonous to your credit report as a bunch of bad debts, but at least you will be able to sleep at night knowing you can't be harassed by multiple colletion calls and letters any more.
I haven't proceeded with the bankruptcy yet because I don't have the funds (in Florida a bankruptcy price ranges from $750 to $2,000 from what I have found, so far) but I am saving every dime I have so I can end the madness ASAP.
I thought a lot of the stuff on my credit would go away after 7 years, but some of the things that are still haunting me are from 1998!!!
It's a shameful feeling, either way. You might as well clear your credit with a bankruptcy and be able to sleep at night knowing you don't owe thousands of dollars that you could have never paid anyhow.
With the way fees and interest are tacked on to a lot of old debts, it is almost impossible to pay them off, unless you fell into a large sum of money.
I hope all of this helps. Just know you aren't alone in this.
If credit companies and lenders really wanted to recover more money and have less delinquent accounts, you think they would provide MORE EDUCATION on credit and living within ones means.
I feel like those credit companies that loaned folks like you and I all of those lines of credit deserve what they're getting, which is NOTHING.
