I’m sorry, Tony, but I still don’t understand the facts. Do you owe this $348.00 fee? Do you understand how you owe (if correct) $348.00?

Are you in Louisiana where this debt collector is located? By the way, “verbal” disputes count for nothing.

If this debt is yours but you don’t know how you incurred the debt, here’s the question you must answer: Do you morally need to settle?

Chances are, you won’t be sued over $348.00. The law firm doing collections often scares people into paying more than just a simple debt collector barely speaking English & operating out of a boiler room in New York City.

Also, do you NEED to settle? Do you need credit forcing you to settle this one?

If so, write a CERTIFIED letter to the CEO and send the same letter (Cc:ed) regular mail to all other executives, asking for their help resolving a billing issue the billing department cannot resolve. If you still were an AT&T customer, that would help you. If I were taking on this challenge, I’d have to confirm some details, as I’m unclear about a couple items (perhaps crucial items).

You see, strategy is absolutely REQUIRED for every credit account. Too many people think credit repair is all about blindly firing off letters. Blindly firing off letters gets people sued.

My “guess” is that you’re not receiving much attention from the debt collector over $348.00. Confirm this debt on all your credit reports. Who’s reporting it? How is it reported by EACH bureau? Anything different from report to report? If you get to the point you need to settle or dispute, contact me.

Tony’s email below:

Good Evening Mike,

1. I was an AT&T customer until the end of March this year. I had a balance when I left, but paid on it here and there while I paid another bill, which AT&T separated from my house bill for over zealous cell phone use by one of my teen aged children. Needless to say, they were placed on prepaid for a while with the responsibility of earning their own funds for that prepaid account; they became a little more
disciplined with cell use. AT&T didn’t offer reasonable Unlimited cell
phone plans at that time. I recently completed paying that $600.00 plus bill and it does not appear on my major bureau reports. Then, I got hit with the collection I have been referring to. So, I presume, the 180 days of that balance shall have not passed until next week.
However, it is being reported as if it became delinquent in June.

2. The current outstanding balance of the alleged debt is $348.00. I am tarrying to see how I should proceed with resolving the issue.

3. The debt collector is: GREGORY J. BARRO, PLC
ATTORNEY AT LAW & ASSOCIATES
400 TRAVIS STREET, SUITE 1004
SHREVENPORT, LOUISANA 71101
(318) 221-6000
(800) 582-0965
FAX (318) 222-5493

4. I have not signed anything with collections or original creditor about a payment plan.

1. Debt collectors commonly say they will not negotiate and some do not negotiate. Once again, you need to look at every account strategically. You said you’ve paid “on” this AT&T debt…. Let me understand: you went delinquent on AT&T and AT&T assigned the debt to collections. Am I correct? You then began paying the Original Creditor. Is this correct? I’m a bit confused by the timeline on this account.

When did this AT&T go delinquent? That is, what month and year?

How much is the outstanding balance (with all their fees)?

Who is the debt collector (inside collections or outside collections)?

Have you signed anything with collections or original creditor about a payment plan, etc after you went delinquent?

In my mind, Tony, there is NO perfect phone provider. We choose one and put up with its shortcomings, knowing the grass isn’t greener on the other side. Whether it’s funky billing, rate plans, no rollover minutes, overage charges, text charges, etc, ALL of them know how to squeeze money out of us.

I’ve chosen Sprint and I know how to work WITH Sprint’s executives to get FAIRNESS. I don’t spend much time trying to resolve issues with frontline CS–they’re trained to get you off the phone with no resolution.

2. Those late pays more than 2 years old are not causing harm to your credit scores. You’re not delinquent, right? If debt collectors are not chasing you on this one, DISPUTE each late individually. INDIVIDUALLY. Do not dispute all three in the same letter. Hand write your dispute letters. You are disputing the LATE PAY notation, not the entire account. You have months of on-time bill pay. You have 3 lates showing that are inaccurately reported or NOT verifiable.

3. Yes, there is at least one legitimate company providing help with AU accounts. Obviously, you know how valuable this strategy is, Tony, but let me say that I strongly recommend you follow my suggestions. Even at $500-$1,000 I believe AUs have special value. However, I prefer FREE as I explain.

Many people (not you, Tony) mistakenly believe bad credit is not costing them a dime. They’re lying to themselves or they honestly do not know how badly bad credit is hammering them…and not just in the wallet either.

By now, everyone reading anything I’ve written (hopefully) understands the impact of low credit scores…and how expensive bad credit really is. For instance, (IF) they get credit for a car or home, they’re overpaying. (IF) they get a cell phone, they’re overpaying. (IF) they rent a home, they’re overpaying. In property management, I was forced to require MORE security (some non-refundable) PLUS first and last. In many cases, people wanting to rent (who willingly agreed to pay the extra) could not get the utilities turned on. It wasn’t the outrageous security the service provider usually demands. Credit scores were too low to get service EVEN with outrageous security deposits.

Of course, all insurance is tied to credit scores. And now more and more people know of employers pulling credit before hiring or promoting. Is all this “fair”? It doesn’t matter what any of us think. It’s what is happening. That 3-digit score is becoming more and more important, whether or not we like it. I might be more qualified to do the job, but the other guy with better credit will beat me out for the job.

I hear this all the time from people shocked to hear about employers using credit to hire.

Soooooooo, my point for making this long rant is that bad credit is damn expensive, whether or not people want to admit it. Still, I hear from people overpaying because of bad credit tell me that the worst cut of all came when one of their children needed them to co-sign for something and they couldn’t help. When it comes to our children, I can understand.

Not long ago, I talked with a lady whose college-aged daughter asked her to co-sign for her on her first apartment off campus. On the phone, this mother cried when she told me how bad she felt when she couldn’t help her daughter who never had asked her for anything.

One thing I’ll never forget is the sleepless nights…the worrying…the anger…and headaches resulting from my bad credit experience. I couldn’t put a $$ amount on the cost of bad credit when it came to my health and sanity, but the memories still haunt me.

Sorry to go way off topic, Tony, but we get many people hitting my blog for the first time and they don’t know any of this. Thanks for indulging me as I jumped into a side topic.

Hope this helps you,
Mike

2. I have a credit card account that has been paid on time consistently for the past 44 months. I had a late payment in 2006 out of ignorance, and one late payment in 2003, and one in 2004. What is a suggestion I might use to have the creditor remove the late payments before the time they said the account will change to a positive status (in 2012)? The account is listed as “Pays As Agrees” but, it yet shows up in the negative section of my reports. Yes, the balance to available balance ratio is high as well.

3. Somewhere I read about companies who serve AU accounts. Any info? 50 or 60 points would put me in a good position.
Thanks

1. Do you have any judgments on your reports? If so, judgments must be resolved before a mortgage lender will consider your application.
2. What “bad” credit do you have in the last 24 months?
3. How many “seasoned tradelines” (that is, open accounts in good standing) do you have showing on your reports?

Begin with my newest free CD titled “8 Secrets To A 680 Credit Score!” Please let me know if you have any specific questions.

Thanks for writing,
Mike

Thanks, Vickie!

Again, thank you, Sten.

Mike

I’m glad to have finally found a person that cares about the financial hardships of other people

Be Well
Sten

A rent-to-own opportunity will work for you. Lots of opportunities for RTO exist today from sellers with houses they can’t sell by no fault of their own. The key is to prove to a seller you can afford the monthly payment and down payment and that you will take care of the place. You also need to find out from an experienced mortgage professional how much time you’ll need before you can get a mortgage. Be aware, Sten, you absolutely must begin re-building your credit as soon as possible while confirming (once your BK is discharged) that all accounts discharged are reported accurately.

You need to check out my latest report, “8 Secrets To A 680!”

Hope this helps you,
Mike

P.S. Please let me know if you have any other questions.