If it's valid, you don't have a dispute. You can't remove it. It will stay on the report for 10 years. Seriously. What are you going to say in the dispute? That you didn't really file for bankruptcy????? If you filed and got your debts discharge, you can't dispute that. There is nothing to dispute.You can only dispute items that are NOT valid. And it stays on for 10 years. There is no difference in how long a bankruptcy stays on a credit report by state. They are ALL 10 years. So are judgments if you had any judgments against you prior to the bankruptcy. Late payments stay on for 7 years.Regarding Credit Repair Companies (since someone suggested that) Here is the scoop on them. Don't be fooledJodie Bernstein, director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection in Washington, D.C., observes that while "there are legitimate, not-for-profit credit counseling services, the FTC has never seen a legitimate credit repair company." In the past, bogus credit repair companies would use clever schemes to get a debt temporarily dropped from an individual's credit file."What most credit repair clinics and credit doctors do is dispute all derrogatory credit information to the three major credit bureaus on behalf of the consumer," says Rudy Cavazos, Jr., director of corporate and media relations of Money Management International, a nonprofit debt repayment assistance organization headquartered in Houston.. If the creditor does not respond to the disputed item in an timely manner, usually 30 days, they by law the credit bureau would have to remove the disputed item(s) from the consumer's personal credit history.That's great -- on Day 30. But what happens on Day 31? "On many occassions, the creditor will finally respond and have the derogatory information placed on the unsuspecting consumer's personal credit history once again," Cavazos adds. "During the next credit solicitation, the consumer will notice that the credit repair clinic or credit doctor did not delivery what they promised. Rule of thumb: Only time can resolve derrogatory credit. Even when you payoff the delinquent account. Today credit bureaus receive millions of pieces of information on a daily basis. Errors and oversights can occur. We recommend that each consumer check their personal credit report at least once a year, especially with the rising credit identity fraud cases involving the Internet."Another technique used by fraudulent credit repair companies is called "file segregation." The consumer is advised to apply for an Internal Revenue Service "Employer Identification Number," which has the same number of digits as a Social Security number. They are then told to provide the EIN as their Social Security number when applying for credit. Because the new number isn't linked to the consumer's old credit report, that report and any negative information it contains won't pop up in a credit check.What the credit repair companies won't tell you is that anyone who has two EINs and uses them simultaneously is committing a felony under federal law. Also, having a blank credit history raises doubt in the eyes of many lenders, says Jim Frannea, president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service, a nonprofit organization in Orange County, Calif."What if you're a lender and you pull up someone's credit report and there's nothing on it," Frannea says. "What if that person is 40 years old? What would you think?"Bad credit cleanupNow let's go back to Cellini's problem. Like most credit and debt situations, the cleanup is complex. A single problem may have several solutions. Here's an excerpt from a staff member's recommendation:"Have you tried to contact the credit card companies to work out a payment plan? ... Bankruptcy over a $5,000 debt will bruise you for a lifetime and just plain is not worth it. Do all you can to get the debt satisfied ... it may take a lot of imagination, but it will be worth it to re-establish your credit."Here's a differing opinion from another reader:"I suggest you do nothing. Certainly the advice not to file bankruptcy demonstrates a firm grasp of the obvious, especially for such a small amount. However, if no one is bothering you, the statute of limitations in which your creditor would have any legal recourse to collect could be as little as three years depending within which state you live. In six years the account drops from your credit report. Paying now will restart the statute of limitations and in certain situations prolong the negative credit reporting, especially if you are offered the opportunity to 're-establish' the account."So who's right? Actually, they both make legitimate points.The first response touches upon one of the basic guidelines of credit repair: working out a payment plan with your creditors. In doing so, consumers can often use the same tactics offered by legitimate credit counseling groups. Rather than attempting to pay a little extra on every debt, counselors will often suggest paying off the higher credit debt first to bring down your interest rate as a whole.
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09-10-2007, 12:42 PM
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