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Started By
Message
Finally got my credit out of the shitter
Posted on 1/6/14 at 12:49 pm
Posted on 1/6/14 at 12:49 pm
Took me a few years out of college due to some incorrect debts associated with me that I had to argue and lack of credit history, but I am finally in the "Good" range.
It is like a giant monkey is off my back.
My American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card is in the mail. 2 years ago they would have hung up on me if I had applied for an AmEx.
What I did:
-Applied for cards I could actually be approved for (very, very crappy ones with very, very low credit)
-Slowly added a couple more as my credit grew.
-Paid off each completely each month.
-Paid off my car.
-Contested medical debts from college and was successful. (my dad's insurance company who covered me in college was trying to say it wasn't their debt, but I won that argument swiftly)
-Note to college kids: Don't get stitches twice and break bones being a drunk idiot in college. Medical bills blow.
It is like a giant monkey is off my back.
My American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card is in the mail. 2 years ago they would have hung up on me if I had applied for an AmEx.
What I did:
-Applied for cards I could actually be approved for (very, very crappy ones with very, very low credit)
-Slowly added a couple more as my credit grew.
-Paid off each completely each month.
-Paid off my car.
-Contested medical debts from college and was successful. (my dad's insurance company who covered me in college was trying to say it wasn't their debt, but I won that argument swiftly)
-Note to college kids: Don't get stitches twice and break bones being a drunk idiot in college. Medical bills blow.
7
Posted on 1/6/14 at 2:09 pm to TheCaterpillar
Congrats sir 
Posted on 1/6/14 at 2:15 pm to TheCaterpillar
quote:
Medical bills blow.
Yes, yes they do.
A large reason my credit has been in the shitter most of my adult life. It's fricking horrible having bad credit.
Congrats on working your plan - I know how hard it was.
BTW: I'm gonna go before congress one day and argue to have medical collections not counted in credit scoring.
Posted on 1/6/14 at 2:26 pm to TheCaterpillar
quote:
Medical bills blow.
Yep.
I had great credit, but when my wife got pregnant, we had some medical bills (obviously), the insurance told us that everything was covered, then we get some bills in the mail, I call them, they say they would take care of it, then 5 months later I get a letter from a collection agency saying I owe the hospital money for the bills. Insurance company said it was my fault. Not sure how, but now my credit took a bit of a hit. Sucks.
Posted on 1/6/14 at 2:55 pm to Salmon
quote:
the insurance told us that everything was covered, then we get some bills in the mail, I call them, they say they would take care of it, then 5 months later I get a letter from a collection agency saying I owe the hospital money for the bills. Insurance company said it was my fault. Not sure how, but now my credit took a bit of a hit. Sucks.
Exactly what happened to me. I was covered by my dad's insurance when I was injured. Then 1 year later I was out of college and on my own insurance through my job. I got several bills from collection agencies through the mail and the issue was the "date I made the claim/got injured".
Insurance company was straight up lying. My dad is an attorney and got a friend of his to write a letter contesting it and threatening a lawsuit. They caved immediately and paid it off, but it didn't help my credit at all. Still had $4,000 bad debt on my record even though it was paid off.
The system is so screwed up. In a couple years it will be 7 years removed from that though, so will disappear from my credit report.
BUT
I am FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Posted on 1/6/14 at 2:57 pm to TheCaterpillar
Pretty much the same thing here. Nearly three years of spending with wife in school and no income, now dual income and restructuring/paying down the debt has seen my credit score skyrocket.
Posted on 1/6/14 at 2:58 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
BTW: I'm gonna go before congress one day and argue to have medical collections not counted in credit scoring.
Good luck!
They should at least have more laws regarding communication of those debts and when/where they are passed off.
I had no idea the hospital was claiming my insurance company didn't pay. They sent me an email that went to my spam folder and 1 letter that went to my college apartment I had long since left. That is the entirety of the their communication and it ruined my credit.
Posted on 1/6/14 at 3:00 pm to TheCaterpillar
Also, having a few really close friends that are CPAs and Finance guys has helped. Always bouncing ideas off of people that actually do this for a living.
Don't try to handle things on your own if you aren't 100% positive what you are doing. That is the best advice I can give.
Don't try to handle things on your own if you aren't 100% positive what you are doing. That is the best advice I can give.
Posted on 1/6/14 at 3:34 pm to Salmon
quote:
Not sure how, but now my credit took a bit of a hit. Sucks
I had some old medical collections and a BS AT&T collection on my report about 2 years ago. I did some research and then mailed them "goodwill letters" using a template I found on the MyFico "Rebuilding Your Credit Forum." It took a couple months but I got everything removed from my report by sending the letters. My score jumped big time.
Posted on 1/6/14 at 3:56 pm to TheCaterpillar
Are the 3 credit bureaus completely private? How are they regulated? I've always been terrified of something like this happening. It seems so backwards that they are an absolute necessity to borrow money, yet you have next-to zero control over them. Your life can be put on hold over a shitty insurance company or even an innocent mistake. Just seems like a faulty system. But hey, I guess nobody has a constitutional right to borrow money...
Posted on 1/6/14 at 4:07 pm to TheCaterpillar
I just got done doing my 7 year sentence. At 18 I screwed up on a credit card and finally settled with the company to pay in 10 installments. Knocked it down to zero at 19/20 years old.
I was left with 2 red flags on my credit report, late-payment and transfer of account to debt collection agency.
I purchased a used tahoe in 2011 for a great price, only to find out the interest rate was sky high, leaving me with a $475/month note.
After 7 years of spotless credit transactions (ATV, SUV, etc), I re-financed my Tahoe 2 weeks ago with a 3% interest rate at $219/month.
Feels awesome..
Posted on 1/6/14 at 4:25 pm to Meauxjeaux
quote:
BTW: I'm gonna go before congress one day and argue to have medical collections not counted in credit scoring.
I'd rather just fix our HC system where one doesn't use insurance for minor visits but I guess that is a debate for another board
Posted on 1/6/14 at 5:26 pm to TheCaterpillar
That's awesome. You should be applauded for your hard work.
Posted on 1/6/14 at 9:00 pm to Polar Pop
quote:
I purchased a used tahoe in 2011 for a great price, only to find out the interest rate was sky high, leaving me with a $475/month note.
You didn't know what the terms were before you signed the purchase agreement? Sounds like you screwed yourself.
Posted on 1/6/14 at 9:03 pm to TheCaterpillar
quote:
I had no idea the hospital was claiming my insurance company didn't pay.
This is why you have to follow up with both the hospital and the insurance company. The debt is legally yours, you can't sit back and assume it's being "taken care of".
Posted on 1/6/14 at 9:08 pm to foshizzle
To elaborate, health care providers like to work directly with insurance companies because they know good and damn well that 99% of the public has no clue how to decipher a medical bill. It's much easier to work directly.
But the patient is still responsible.
But the patient is still responsible.
Posted on 1/6/14 at 9:34 pm to foshizzle
quote:
You didn't know what the terms were before you signed the purchase agreement? Sounds like you screwed yourself.
Not placing blame on anyone but myself.
I knew what I was getting into, needed a new truck at the time and had the money to spend.
I could have worded that better, I was just stating that the sky high interest rate was one of the downfalls of my screw up at 18. Not bitching about a "surprise" interest rate.
Its all good now, though. Lesson learned, money in the bank
.
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