How can I improve my credit that I messed up with unpaid magazine subscriptions?
The problem with simply paying off the debt does not remove the negative report from your credit history. They may show the debt paid, but it will still reflect late payments, or that it went to collections.
If you choose to go this route, be sure to get IN WRITING a letter stating that they will remove this debt from your history BEFORE you pay a dime to them!
Here is a better suggestion.
Send the creditor a demand to VALIDATE your debt. That means they must send you copies of you contract, bills, receipts, and anything that can prove you have a legal obligation to pay this debt.
If they do not respond back in 30 days, send a copy of this letter to the credit reporting agency, along with a demand to remove the entry due to lack of validation. They must remove the entry or risk a lawsuit for violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Be sure to send all letters by certified mail, so you have proof they were sent and received. Otherwise you have no proof to show the judge if you go to court.
Many of these magazine companies don’t even keep your contracts on file, and it will be impossible for them to prove your debt. Rather then spend a lot of manpower searching for these records, they will simply opt to remove the listing.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Cancel your magazine subsciptions.
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December 16th, 2009 at 7:39 am
pay them off
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December 16th, 2009 at 8:20 am
How many are we talking about? Pay them off, then make sure they reported paid to the 3 credit reporting places. You can also send a letter to put into your file.
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December 16th, 2009 at 8:52 am
The problem with simply paying off the debt does not remove the negative report from your credit history. They may show the debt paid, but it will still reflect late payments, or that it went to collections.
If you choose to go this route, be sure to get IN WRITING a letter stating that they will remove this debt from your history BEFORE you pay a dime to them!
Here is a better suggestion.
Send the creditor a demand to VALIDATE your debt. That means they must send you copies of you contract, bills, receipts, and anything that can prove you have a legal obligation to pay this debt.
If they do not respond back in 30 days, send a copy of this letter to the credit reporting agency, along with a demand to remove the entry due to lack of validation. They must remove the entry or risk a lawsuit for violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Be sure to send all letters by certified mail, so you have proof they were sent and received. Otherwise you have no proof to show the judge if you go to court.
Many of these magazine companies don’t even keep your contracts on file, and it will be impossible for them to prove your debt. Rather then spend a lot of manpower searching for these records, they will simply opt to remove the listing.
References :
http://www.comresinc.org/Forms/Credit/CLetters.html
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/bbcr.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.htm
http://www.fool.com/seminars/ev/?sid=0029&lid=504&pid=0000
Sample validation letter
http://credit.about.com/library/bl/Ltr_Val1.htm?terms=credit+agency+addresses
This is my pay and remove template letter
December 16th, 2009 at 8:57 am
You can improve it by paying off the debt if its not to late.
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