Omg, can it be true? I found a collection agency I actually respect!!!
And this woman earned my respect! Tammy at Financial Credit Services responded to my PFD. She told me that it was not something they could do, but because the address they had on file was an old one, and I never received the dunning notice, it allowed her to remove the trade line on my report. She is doing that along with me paying that account, and two others not on my credit, in full!!
I love this woman!! HORRAY FOR TAMMY!!! This is what happens when you work with the client and try to make things work out. You get paid! Immediately!!
I am so happy. It feels so good to make progress, and to see that there are people willing to work towards an amicable solution.
Financial Services, you rock in my book!!!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Don't you want my money?
On a lark I spoke to one of my collection agencies on the phone. Wanted to see if I could get a name of someone to address my letters to so I could maybe build a relationship and get this PFD done fast. Wow, just wow.
After him telling me that they only accepted checks over the phone (not safe and since I have not had to deal with paper checks in over 4 years I could not even tell you what my routing number is) and also him telling me that the trade lines had been removed from my credit (still checking my daily report...still on there) I told him that if he wanted to get this paid, all he needed to do was to send me the PFD like I originally asked, and that I looked forward to him sending it to me. After I hung up I sent an email to the CEO, and will send out more PFD letters to the agency to see if any other agents bite. One of them is going to want my commission, and entries on the internet have told me that they accept PFDs. I just want to pay them. It would be nice if we could come to an agreement on this. I am not mad about him lying, its what his job is all about. (Not that its legal, but I expect no different)
I have received most of the green cards back on the accounts I have. I have also received extra collection accounts being added to my credit reports. LOL Those will have to be taken care of. One step at a time. This is not a quick process, even thought I want it to be. Eventually everything will be whittled away and things will be removed. It will be nice to pay everything off.
I know that some of my creditors are reading my blog, so to you I would like to say this now:
I WANT TO PAY YOU! JUST GIVE ME THE PFD LETTER AND YOU WILL BE PAID. WHETHER OR NOT I OWE THE DEBT IS IRRELEVANT TO ME. LETS JUST GET THIS DONE SO YOU CAN BE PAID AND WE CAN GET ON WITH OUR LIVES.
Thanks. hehehe
After him telling me that they only accepted checks over the phone (not safe and since I have not had to deal with paper checks in over 4 years I could not even tell you what my routing number is) and also him telling me that the trade lines had been removed from my credit (still checking my daily report...still on there) I told him that if he wanted to get this paid, all he needed to do was to send me the PFD like I originally asked, and that I looked forward to him sending it to me. After I hung up I sent an email to the CEO, and will send out more PFD letters to the agency to see if any other agents bite. One of them is going to want my commission, and entries on the internet have told me that they accept PFDs. I just want to pay them. It would be nice if we could come to an agreement on this. I am not mad about him lying, its what his job is all about. (Not that its legal, but I expect no different)
I have received most of the green cards back on the accounts I have. I have also received extra collection accounts being added to my credit reports. LOL Those will have to be taken care of. One step at a time. This is not a quick process, even thought I want it to be. Eventually everything will be whittled away and things will be removed. It will be nice to pay everything off.
I know that some of my creditors are reading my blog, so to you I would like to say this now:
I WANT TO PAY YOU! JUST GIVE ME THE PFD LETTER AND YOU WILL BE PAID. WHETHER OR NOT I OWE THE DEBT IS IRRELEVANT TO ME. LETS JUST GET THIS DONE SO YOU CAN BE PAID AND WE CAN GET ON WITH OUR LIVES.
Thanks. hehehe
Monday, January 25, 2010
Got 4 more!
We received 4 more "green cards" in the mail this weekend. (Green cards are the return receipts from the certified mail return receipt requested mailings) Its amazing how excited I am to get the mail everyday now. LOL I was even sad that there was no mail delivery on Sunday. So I am hoping that means we will have a lot of mail today. :) lol Dorky, I know. But in the past I was never excited about the mail. In fact, because we have our mail setup with a postal store, I would often let my mail sit in the box for a month at a time. No need to get it, I knew it was just more collection notices, and my utilities were always paid online. Now I can't wait to get the mail, and I am really excited to hear from a collection agency. hahaha Who would have ever imagined it?
My husband and I went looking around housing neighborhoods this weekend, jsut to get a feel for what the prices are now. We were surprised at how affordable some of the homes are now. Especially in nice planned communities. We also spent the time discussing the things we want to use our credit for (responsibly) and the things we have wanted but never been able to get.
New Home (in our name)- We want to build a home if possible, with a builder in a community, but have the option to choose our own finishes.
New Cars (in our name)- We have new cars now, but my husband wants a BMW while I am happy to stick with my trusty VW.
Disney Vacation Club - We are MAJOR Disney people. We spend at least two long vacations (a week at a time) at Disney world, staying on property, and just having a blast. The Disney Vacation Club would actually be a huge savings to us, and we would be able to stay in a really nice 1 bedroom suite every time. This is something we are very excited about being able to do.
Its sad, when you sit down and really account for it, all of the things that you cannot do when you do not have credit. We have money, just enough to get almost anything we want cash down. But credit opens up a whole new world that we have been ignoring for a long time. I am so glad we are fixing this.
My husband and I went looking around housing neighborhoods this weekend, jsut to get a feel for what the prices are now. We were surprised at how affordable some of the homes are now. Especially in nice planned communities. We also spent the time discussing the things we want to use our credit for (responsibly) and the things we have wanted but never been able to get.
New Home (in our name)- We want to build a home if possible, with a builder in a community, but have the option to choose our own finishes.
New Cars (in our name)- We have new cars now, but my husband wants a BMW while I am happy to stick with my trusty VW.
Disney Vacation Club - We are MAJOR Disney people. We spend at least two long vacations (a week at a time) at Disney world, staying on property, and just having a blast. The Disney Vacation Club would actually be a huge savings to us, and we would be able to stay in a really nice 1 bedroom suite every time. This is something we are very excited about being able to do.
Its sad, when you sit down and really account for it, all of the things that you cannot do when you do not have credit. We have money, just enough to get almost anything we want cash down. But credit opens up a whole new world that we have been ignoring for a long time. I am so glad we are fixing this.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
And the hits just keep on coming!
So far I have received return receipts for the following companies:
Certegy, Financial Credit Services, MAF Collection, Certified Recovery, Enhanced Recovery
I am so excited!! I can't wait to hear if any of them accept my contract or not. I really hope they do!!
This afternoon I printed out an application for my husband for a secured card through US Bank. Its supposed to be a really good secured card. The problem is their regular secured card is not available in Florida, so I had to go with the card that was nationwide which is the SKYPASS airline mile card through Korean Air. We might not fly to Korea, but we can definitely use their partners, and use it for hotels and shopping too. The APR is better than the basic secured card, but the annual fee is $15 more a year. Its alright. Right now I don't mind paying a little bit more for the credit.
So a recap of where we are.
Secured Credit accounts will be reporting on our credit soon: New Millennium Visa, New Millennium Master Card, US Bank SKYPASS Visa, USAA Visa
5 return receipts are back from creditors, no one has sent back contracts yet.
Home is currently still in foreclosure because the owner has not made a payment on it since February 09. Our lease is still valid, and the owner is not asking us to make payments until the home mortgage is either modified or the bank takes the home back. The courts are backed up, so we are using this time of no rental payment to put all of our money into savings, cleaning up the credit, and other stuff.
Certegy, Financial Credit Services, MAF Collection, Certified Recovery, Enhanced Recovery
I am so excited!! I can't wait to hear if any of them accept my contract or not. I really hope they do!!
This afternoon I printed out an application for my husband for a secured card through US Bank. Its supposed to be a really good secured card. The problem is their regular secured card is not available in Florida, so I had to go with the card that was nationwide which is the SKYPASS airline mile card through Korean Air. We might not fly to Korea, but we can definitely use their partners, and use it for hotels and shopping too. The APR is better than the basic secured card, but the annual fee is $15 more a year. Its alright. Right now I don't mind paying a little bit more for the credit.
So a recap of where we are.
Secured Credit accounts will be reporting on our credit soon: New Millennium Visa, New Millennium Master Card, US Bank SKYPASS Visa, USAA Visa
5 return receipts are back from creditors, no one has sent back contracts yet.
Home is currently still in foreclosure because the owner has not made a payment on it since February 09. Our lease is still valid, and the owner is not asking us to make payments until the home mortgage is either modified or the bank takes the home back. The courts are backed up, so we are using this time of no rental payment to put all of our money into savings, cleaning up the credit, and other stuff.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
First Receipt Returned!
Its wonderful how fast the mail system delivers mail now days. LOL
I received my first return receipt and it feels so good. Will my letter even be looked at or read? Most likely not the first one, but the fact hat the ball is in the collection agency's court now feels good. I am doing something finally, and it feels good to be in the power position.
Also, I got word that the USAA pilot program for their secured cards has begun. It was a post on a very wonderful forum, so I am hoping its true. I have emailed the credit card division to see what is being said, and if I can get in I am going to get a card for both my husband and myself. Yay!!! Its so exciting!
Hopefully today when I go to the mailbox there will be a lot of new return receipts. And hopefully next week I will see some letters from these companies. Fingers crossed.
I received my first return receipt and it feels so good. Will my letter even be looked at or read? Most likely not the first one, but the fact hat the ball is in the collection agency's court now feels good. I am doing something finally, and it feels good to be in the power position.
Also, I got word that the USAA pilot program for their secured cards has begun. It was a post on a very wonderful forum, so I am hoping its true. I have emailed the credit card division to see what is being said, and if I can get in I am going to get a card for both my husband and myself. Yay!!! Its so exciting!
Hopefully today when I go to the mailbox there will be a lot of new return receipts. And hopefully next week I will see some letters from these companies. Fingers crossed.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Finally!
I got our scores!!! They are not great, but not bad either. And they are up from 2 years ago which is really nice because I basically did nothing over the last two years. So here they are:
Starting Score: Hers: 3/08 TU-525 EX-504 EQ-524, His: 3/08 TU-571 EX-533 EQ-527
Current Score: Hers: 1/10 TU-579 EX-572 EQ-549, His: 1/10 TU-576 EX-565 EQ-563
And now we have our bank accounts with USAA which gives me a ton of piece of mind. I want to develop a relationship with that bank because we later want to try and get our mortgage with them, as well as our life insurance and property and car insurance.
I did apply for a few credit cards that were unsecured, and got denied for them all. :( It was stupid for me to apply, but I figured I would give it a shot with the scores and see what might happen. I also put in our application for secured cards with New Millennium. I have paid the fees, and now I am just waiting to get the cards and info on how to fund our accounts. I got two cards (Visa and MC) under my name, and added my husband as an Authorized User. I will do the same with him under his name, me being the Authorized user, once I can see that they report the two cards separately. It is very important that they report separately, and if they do not then I will likely close down the master card and keep the Visa, and move my security money to a different bank.
I also sent out the last of the letters this morning. We have everything organized and ready for the next round of letters. Let me tell you, organization is the key to all of this!!! We went to Staples and bought a little plastic file box, some file folders and file hangers, a big box of security envelopes, a ream of paper, ink for the printer, and a multi use stamp for stamping all dates on our copies. Its a bit of an expense, but those things are so important to keep everything in line. Whether you have two baddie trade lines or 200, you have to be organized to get this task accomplished. I have all of the trade lines I want taken care of entered into a data sheet on excel. I have a file folder for each account so I can keep copies of all correspondence. I am keeping a copy of every letter I write stapled to the return receipt in those files in case I need to dispute anything. And I have estimated how much it is going to cost to pay for deletion on all of my trade lines I want gone and set that aside in my accounts. That way I can ensure the day the company says "yes, we will delete your bad entry" I can rush out and send them the certified funds for that account.
Well, sadly we are now in the wait-and-see timeframe. I hate this part. I want things to happen so fast. Its frustrating to not have it happen quicker. All of my letters are sent out and I have absolutely no idea who is going to respond and who is going to ignore. I don't even know if anyone is going to accept my PFD offer. I sure hope they do, but who knows. Its so much to work on, and I just want to be successful with it. And not get sued in the process. :( Not that I am scared of being sued, but it is going to cost me more time and money which is no fun.
Starting Score: Hers: 3/08 TU-525 EX-504 EQ-524, His: 3/08 TU-571 EX-533 EQ-527
Current Score: Hers: 1/10 TU-579 EX-572 EQ-549, His: 1/10 TU-576 EX-565 EQ-563
And now we have our bank accounts with USAA which gives me a ton of piece of mind. I want to develop a relationship with that bank because we later want to try and get our mortgage with them, as well as our life insurance and property and car insurance.
I did apply for a few credit cards that were unsecured, and got denied for them all. :( It was stupid for me to apply, but I figured I would give it a shot with the scores and see what might happen. I also put in our application for secured cards with New Millennium. I have paid the fees, and now I am just waiting to get the cards and info on how to fund our accounts. I got two cards (Visa and MC) under my name, and added my husband as an Authorized User. I will do the same with him under his name, me being the Authorized user, once I can see that they report the two cards separately. It is very important that they report separately, and if they do not then I will likely close down the master card and keep the Visa, and move my security money to a different bank.
I also sent out the last of the letters this morning. We have everything organized and ready for the next round of letters. Let me tell you, organization is the key to all of this!!! We went to Staples and bought a little plastic file box, some file folders and file hangers, a big box of security envelopes, a ream of paper, ink for the printer, and a multi use stamp for stamping all dates on our copies. Its a bit of an expense, but those things are so important to keep everything in line. Whether you have two baddie trade lines or 200, you have to be organized to get this task accomplished. I have all of the trade lines I want taken care of entered into a data sheet on excel. I have a file folder for each account so I can keep copies of all correspondence. I am keeping a copy of every letter I write stapled to the return receipt in those files in case I need to dispute anything. And I have estimated how much it is going to cost to pay for deletion on all of my trade lines I want gone and set that aside in my accounts. That way I can ensure the day the company says "yes, we will delete your bad entry" I can rush out and send them the certified funds for that account.
Well, sadly we are now in the wait-and-see timeframe. I hate this part. I want things to happen so fast. Its frustrating to not have it happen quicker. All of my letters are sent out and I have absolutely no idea who is going to respond and who is going to ignore. I don't even know if anyone is going to accept my PFD offer. I sure hope they do, but who knows. Its so much to work on, and I just want to be successful with it. And not get sued in the process. :( Not that I am scared of being sued, but it is going to cost me more time and money which is no fun.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Denied
Well, I applied for myself for a bank account with a local bank that has secured cards available. I was denied. :( This is sad and was probably stupid for me to do since it pulls a hard inquiry on my report. But I wanted to see if I could get approved so I could get started with a local branch to build a relationship.
I'll have to wait till later to do this again, and make sure I am prepared for it.
***UPDATE***
I started thinking about credit unions and such, and remembered that I have been a member of USAA for over 9 years. They have a bank, lets ask them. I called up and found out that not only can I get a savings account but I can get a checking too and they are coming out with a secured card this year! OMG thank you lord!!! This is better than anything else!!
I'll have to wait till later to do this again, and make sure I am prepared for it.
***UPDATE***
I started thinking about credit unions and such, and remembered that I have been a member of USAA for over 9 years. They have a bank, lets ask them. I called up and found out that not only can I get a savings account but I can get a checking too and they are coming out with a secured card this year! OMG thank you lord!!! This is better than anything else!!
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