Zombie Debt

Even Zombies say, "Zombie debt bad!"

Zombies are more popular now than at any time I can remember. There are new zombie movies coming out, zombie games, zombie parties, and even self-defense products for the upcoming zombie apocalypse.  There is one more Zombie Threat you must protect yourself from, ZOMBIE DEBT!

Zombie Debt is a collection that has been “termed” off your report. In other words, it has reached its seven year expiration and been removed automatically from your credit report. Then collectors try to call and collect on “Dead Debts” or “Zombie Debts.” It is as if the seven plus year old debt has risen from the grave and come back to haunt us. Imagine your old debts doing the slow zombie shuffle to your door yelling, “Pay me, pay me!”

Zombie Debt Collecting is becoming more common. This is particularly true with people who don’t track their finances well and don’t follow their credit report. Bill collectors are taking advantage of their naiveté and making threats about legal actions if payments don’t start right away. These tactics are working in the lower income communities. Typically they are going after old credit card debt.

Consumers need to know their rights in regards to credit reporting. I present a workshop in the community and at my credit union titled, “The Myths of Credit.” The presentation goes over the top ten myths of credit and an emphasis is put on managing and understanding collections. Too many people don’t understand that a collection can only be collectable for seven years and not beyond that. However, these collection agents continue to attempt to collect debts that are well beyond the seven year period. Also, once families go into an agreement with the collector on a Zombie debt, they need to stick to it and make their payments as the collection agent could now make this a new collection for nonpayment due to the payment agreement/promissory note the consumer might sign.

How should a person handle collection calls and avoid Zombie Collections? Regrettably, it is not as simple as shooting a zombie in the head and ending the threat.

Before a collector calls:

1.       Access your credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com. You can access all three bureaus’ reports here. You will never be in the dark about your credit status. You will always know when a collection has gone on to your report and when it expires. This is a free service.

2.       Sign up for CreditKarma.com. They will notify you of any changes in your score and provide the info for those changes; such as a collector “re-aging” a collection or putting an old expired collection back on your report with a new date to make it appear current. This is also  a free service.

When a collector calls:   

1. Don’t admit to anything. Don’t agree to payments. Your agreement to making payments  or even acknowledging the debt could provide the company the legal right to collect the debt and may reinstate a dead debt and make it a real Zombie!
2.   Make them identify themselves and the details of the debt they are collecting; dollar amounts and the date the collection became active on your credit report (AKA First date of delinquency: The legal term for the first day a debt goes on your credit report). This date can clue you into whether they are collecting on a Zombie debt.
3.  Don’t fall for the traps. Agencies will sometimes “re-age” the debt, (reporting the debt to the credit bureau as if it’s new). They might promise to wipe off the “red checkmark” on a credit report, of sometimes do a “bait and switch” where they tack on the balance of a zombie debt to a new credit card offer. 
4.  Ask them to validate the date and amounts of the collection and send them to you in writing. This should also include asking them for the credit card agreement you signed. Double check the statute of limitations in your state. Generally, seven years is the accepted period of collection. If the debt was discharged thru a bankruptcy they cannot collect it.
5.  If you have determined that you are not responsible for the debt due to age of the debt or other written agreements such as settled or paid in full, write a letter to the collection agency and inform them that you will not pay the debt and share the reason for it as well as any copies of evidence you have showing the debt is no longer collectible.
6.  Collectors often like to threaten payees with court. “If you don’t pay this, we will take you to court!” With most modest credit card debts it is just not economically feasible to hire attorneys to go after the payees. This is a common threat with Zombie debt. If your debt is expired and the collector makes this threat, it is an empty threat with nothing to back it up. No one is going to spend big money ($500 per hour!) to hire an attorney and pay for court costs to collect small expired debts.  
7.  Check your credit report annually. Review it and compare it to the previous year’s report and determine that all items on the report are current and valid.

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Save The Date!
Meriwest Spring Pre-Owned Car Sale
Sat-Sun: April 12th and 13th
Chesbro Financial Center, San Jose, CA

Sale Hours:

• Saturday, April 12th:
  9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday, April 13th:
  10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Event Location:

Chesbro Financial Center
5615 Chesbro Avenue
San Jose, CA 95123

Take advantage of this special event!

• Low auto loan rates
• Huge selection of over 200 quality vehicles
• Up to 100% financing available for qualified buyers*
• Fast and friendly service
• Trade-ins welcome
• Plus PRIZES and more!

Learn More

Electronic Money – The World has Changed

There once was a time that “Cash was King.” It was acceptable in any transaction up to any amount. When buying a car back in the day, someone might take more than ten thousand dollars with them to pay for the transaction. Paying debts with large amounts of cash was not uncommon. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, there were only three ways to pay for something; cash, check, or a wire transfer. The popularity of charge cards had not begun.

In the 1960’s charge cards or credit cards became a normal part of our financial world. Now we had a fourth way of paying for our wants and needs; a credit card. “Buy now and pay later” was the motto of many back then. It was a popular option for those with limited cash, as credit cards allowed them to purchase expensive items and pay for them at a modest interest rate over time. Credit cards changed the way we looked at cash. Cash dollars were no longer a necessity in a transaction.

The 1970’s and the introduction of the ATM was what really set us on the path to electronic money. An ATM made it possible for someone from out of town to get cash from their account without having to write a check and show several forms of ID to get it cashed. They could go to the ATM of the nearest bank and, for a small fee, access their account and get up to several hundred dollars from their account. They did not have to go to the ATM of their bank. Banks would exchange the money electronically between them to settle the transaction.

After the ATM card, came the ubiquitous debit card. The debit card was originally created by a Frenchman, Roland Moreno, in 1974. EFT/POS (Electronic Funds Transfer/Point of Sales System) or the debit card system as it is popularly referred to, changed how we all exchange money for goods and services. Suddenly, if we had the cash in our account, we could pay for any item if the merchant accepted EFT. Cash money was no longer a required part of monetary transactions. In 2011, only 27% of transactions were of the cash type and it is expected to drop to 23% by 2017. Another number that is expected to drop is the use of paper checks for payments; only 7% of transactions in 2011 involved a paper check.

There are convenience stores and other markets that are refusing cash and moving to 100% EFT transactions. Considering that merchants must pay a small fee for each transaction, why are we going to 100% EFT?

For years, checks were the way we paid for things when we did not have the cash readily available. That system worked just fine but it had pitfalls. What were the dangers of accepting a check?

·         It took several days for a check to clear. Prior to electronic check clearing in the late 80’s, it took even local checks seven days to properly clear. An out of state check would take two weeks !

·         We never knew if the money to pay the check would be available on the date the check cleared.

·         Once the check “Bounced” back to us, it would take a couple of days to get the check back to us. Taking time away from recovering on the bad check.

Checks could be stolen, duplicated, or altered. If a merchant took a bad check, the merchant paid for it and took a loss. With electronic transactions, particularly with PIN style transactions where the accountholder must enter their PIN code in order to complete a sale, it gives the merchant much more confidence that the person processing their transaction is not a fraud. Electronic transactions reduce the amount of fraud losses for merchants.

In a few years, paper checks will be a thing of the past!

Happy Holidays to everyone! Stay safe this season.

Can 25 FICO Points Keep Me from a Good Interest Rate?

This really depends on how much credit you have to manage at once and what your current credit score is as it relates to the credit tiers. If you are near the edge of a tier, than yes, 25 points could affect the interest rate you may have to pay. If you have only one credit card, it would be difficult to maintain a high score and utilize more than 30% of the card’s available balance. The 30% rule is still valid, meaning that to maximize your score you should not utilize more than 30% of your available consumer lines such as credit cards. As your credit usage increases above 30% you will likely have a corresponding decline in your FICO score. That is not to say you cannot ever max out a card. They would not allow you such high available balances if you could not max them out. But, before anyone maxes out a card, they should have a plan on repayment. Consider your budget and manage your money so you can pay a larger amount than the minimum payment monthly. This will pay the card down faster and help build your score.

Quick Example: In Debt Forever

Credit Card Balance:      $2,500

Interest Rate:                 18%

Minimum Payment:        $  45

Years to Pay Off               10 (120 payments @ $45 each)

Total Payments:            $5,400

Total Interest Paid:         $2,900

Now you have actually paid a total of $5,400 on that original $2,500 balance, More than twice what you originally owed. In this example, a $100 monthly payment at this rate would pay off the balance in 31 months, 75% faster!

Your credit report shows your high balance usage on all of your cards. It also indicates how you have made payments. If there have been any late payments, delinquencies, etc. Lenders look at this data. It tells us if this person has the ability to pay off debt or live with it by paying their minimum payments.

Now, let’s say someone has a car loan, a home loan, and couple of credit cards. They have installment and revolving credit in their financial portfolio. This person can utilize a higher level of their credit cards and still maintain a high score due to the other accounts they have.

FICO looks at your total credit usage. As you gain experience and manage your credit where you have no late payments and have maintained credit cards and other credit given to you, and paid back balances, you will see your score get stronger and more resilient and less effected by the credit line usage factor.

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Credit Myth in California: If I get a divorce, I am not responsible for my spouse’s debts.

Credit FACT: California is a community property state. A spouse can be liable for debts entered into by the other spouse during the marriage, even if they were unaware of them. In these community property states, debts entered into during the marriage are considered community debts, and both spouses can be liable.

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Special Events

Family Financial Education: Identity Theft Workshop

This is a great workshop for the whole family. This one hour workshop is worth a lifetime of identity protection knowledge. You will learn how to protect your identity from thieves and hackers.

March 20^th at 6:30 PM

Meriwest Credit Union Main Office

5615 Chesbro Ave, San Jose CA 95123

To RSVP: Greg Meyer Gmeyer@meriwest.com or 408-365-6328

Credit Union Pre-Owned Car Sale

Take the Car of your Dreams and put it in your Garage!

All Day March 23^rd and 24^th   

Meriwest Credit Union Main Office

5615 Chesbro Ave, San Jose CA 95123

For more info: Link to Car Sale Page

Federally insured by NCUA. We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Law and Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
Copyright 2013 Meriwest Credit Union. All rights reserved.

Consolidating Debt with Personal Loans - Good idea?

The New Year is nearly here. A lot of us are thinking about our finances and how we can improve them in 2013. Personal loans play an important role for those who are trying to get out of debt quickly. Properly used, they can be an easy way to paying off high interest credit card debt. If they are used improperly, they are a fast ticket to a lower credit score.

Let’s keep in mind that bill consolidation, from the standpoint of a credit union, means eliminating debt, building credit scores, and creating a consumer solution that can be easily managed based on the member’s income. Depending upon the extent of the member’s debt, we will often ask that they close several of their outstanding credit cards. Why? It will do no good to consolidate their debt and have them run it back up. We will take a look at their credit and income to determine what credit can be retained by the member and what they would need to close in order to receive the loan or line of credit for the bill consolidation.

Often, CU’s will recommend a member gets credit counseling prior to their consolidation. Credit Counselors teach the member how to budget, to use their online banking to manage their finances, and help them understand the consequences of extensive debt and its effect on their credit scores. It can also be helpful if the credit union offers workshops on these subjects as Meriwest Credit Union does. For more info on personal lines of credit, click here.

Any bill consolidation should offer you a lower rate of interest than that which you are currently paying and a more affordable payment. Currently, for someone with a 740 FICO score, we can offer 15% on a personal bill consolidation loan or 10.50% on a personal line of credit. Please keep in mind the line of credit is adjustable and when rates go up, which they will, this rate could rise rather quickly.

One of the dangers of bill consolidation is irresponsible borrowers. A person can get a consolidation loan, consolidate their debts into a more reasonable and affordable alternative and then go out and acquire more debt. This completely defeats the purpose of bill consolidation and puts them on the fast track to a low credit score or worse.

We must also consider that closing out a credit card account can lower your credit score. Closing out cards that we have had for a long time will negatively effect our credit. When those credit lines are removed we lose the available line as part of our balance ratio calculation (for more info on this, see our blog “Your Fico Score, Mystery No More”) and we lose the history of managing that credit after a few months. Opening a new line can offset some of the FICO points lost to closing a line.

Don’t want to close the line of credit? You have some options. You can cut the card in half and simply not use it thus leaving the account open. If you are a disciplined person, you can lock your credit cards in a drawer and avoid using them; out of sight, out of mind.

Homeowners have another option available to them; the Home Equity Line of Credit or HELOC. The HELOC is line of credit based on your home’s equity. Typically, it has a lower rate than unsecured personal loans and may offer tax advantages for some homeowners. It is handy for home improvement, bill consolidation, and a myriad of other uses. As a matter of fact, Equity Lines of Credit are worthy of their own blog! We will have one for you on that next year.

Alternatives: There are offers from credit card vendors to transfer balances at a lower rate. They encourage borrowers to use a credit card check to pay off debt at other vendors and transfer that debt to their card. Consumers need to be mindful that the low interest rate offered on these is usually a teaser and may go up in time. Some cards may offer a lowered rate for the life of the transferred debt. These can be a pretty good deal provided the borrower is responsible and does not incur further debt during the pay off period. But don’t miss a payment! You could be subject to penalty interest and see your preferred low rate rise well above 18%.

Some things to consider before combining balances on another credit card:

-          Do you have adequate credit limit for the transfer?

-          Is the Introductory rate a temporary Teaser Rate or fixed for the term of payoff?

-          Is there a fee for the balance transfer? (this increases your cost of borrowing.)

Finally, before considering any consolidation, can you buckle down and get out of debt on your own without help? Can you rearrange your budget, be disciplined in your spending, and commit your spare dollars to paying off your debt? If one eats out for lunch everyday, it can cost over $35 a week. Bringing a lunch from home can save $100 a month. That money can go a long way toward paying off debt. On any credit card or loan, you can make larger payments and any amount you pay over your monthly interest gets credited against your principle, thus reducing the amount of interest you will pay the next month. Keep that cycle up and you will pay off your debts a lot faster.

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Reality Based Budgets for Teens and College Students – Jan. 16^th

Our next Financial Education Workshop will be Reality Based Budgets for Teens and College Students. It is a post college simulation of renting an apartment, buying a car, and developing a spending and savings plan. It is a fun and interactive session for the whole family and really opens the door to discussions about managing money. If this is something you or a member of your family needs, please feel free to join us. These workshops are open to the public.

Reality Based Budgets

6:30pm January 16^th at our Chesbro Main Office Location

5615 Chesbro Ave, San Jose CA 95123

Please RSVP with Gmeyer@meriwest.com.

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Hungry for more information on Money Management? Check out Len Penzo’s Financial Blog. Len provides excellent financial insights with a sense of humor.

Managing Holiday Credit Card Debt

Imagine yourself at a department store. You are approaching the check out. How are you going to pay for this purchase? Are you using your debit card because you planned your holiday spending? Or are you using your credit cards because your only plan is to spend and eventually pay it back?

When it comes down to holiday spending, we have a choice.

Choice #1: We can go into the holidays financially blind and spend to our heart’s content and put our heads in the sand and deal with it in the New Year. This is the way a lot of people approach the holidays and they pay for it monetarily and emotionally. Not only that, but their credit scores take a hit as their credit card balances rise. Their monthly costs go up because the minimum payments on their cards increase due to larger balances. This reduces their spending power until they pay off some of that holiday debt!

Choice #2: Go into the holidays with a spending plan that let’s you buy thoughtful gifts for your family and friends but does not allow you to break the bank. That is really the best course of action. A plan is always better than winging it and winging it with money is never a good idea. To make this action effective, you have to save before the holidays come. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking to a savings account.

Next year in January, you may want to open a “Christmas or Holiday Club” account for your holiday savings if your bank or credit union still offers that. The old club accounts had money automatically transferred from your checking account and was cashed in before the holidays and paid out to the accountholder to pay for gifts. Lacking a “Christmas Club” type of account? Open a savings especially for your holiday spending and set up an automatic transfer from your checking account each month. The automatic transfer happens without any action on your part. Just remember to enter it in your check register or monitor your online banking so you don’t overdraw your checking. When the holidays are here, draw the funds from your savings and spend it to your heart’s content.

If you must use credit to pay for your gift giving, let’s consider some things that might save us some money. Let’s assume you plan to pay this newly incurred balance off in six months. How much do you plan to spend on gifts? That’s the starting point. Take that amount and divide it by six and add that to your current monthly payment on that card. Can you afford that payment monthly for the next six months? Then you may have the right amount to spend on gifts. Is it too high? You need to adjust your spending plan, not your time horizon for pay off! Remember, extending the pay off time for any balance adds more interest to your debt. Paying interest is like renting money. Who benefits when you pay interest? Certainly not me or you. The bank does! If this sounds like a good idea, you use way too much credit and need an intervention!

But, if you really like making that monthly payment and the cost is no object for you, then you might be more inclined to take Choice #1.

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Our next financial education workshop will be “Real World Budgets for Teens” and will be presented at our Chesbro Main Office on January 16^th at 6:30pm. Real World Budgets takes a teen and their parents thru a post college simulation of managing money, a job, and the payments that come with independence. I hope you can join us.

Please RSVP with Greg Meyer at gmeyer@meriwest.com or 408-365-6328.

Click here for a list of all of our financial education offerings.

Check us out on Facebook! WWW.Facebook.com/MeriwestCreditUnion

Moving and Credit

There are some things that can happen to our credit when we move and it can be very troubling. Lost or misplaced statements may mean missed bills. On utilities it is not so bad as we typically have a couple of months to pay our cable or water bill. However, our credit runs on a 30 day cycle and missing a payment on a Visa card can hurt our FICO score pretty dramatically. There are some tips below for getting your mail forwarded properly.

  

When we move, we buy a new home and may go to multiple lenders to access a loan at good terms or we may have multiple inquiries for rental housing. Typically, those multiple inquiries from home lenders will be treated as one inquiry for our scoring. They will appear as multiple inquiries on our credit report and will remain there for two years but only have an effect on our score for one year. Inquiries comprise only about 10% of our total FICO score.

Another thing we do when we move is close accounts. A bank may be a regional bank, but its Visa or Mastercard is accepted worldwide. There is seldom a need to close a VISA or M/C unless the terms are unfavorable. Closing these cards reduces one’s credit score and your borrowing capacity; sometimes eliminating years of experience from a record. Be selective and careful when considering closing a credit card. Consider closing a card if a card has a small line of credit or is related to a regional or specialty store that is not available in your new town.

Clean up your old records before you move. This is a good time to shred old records and prevent ID thieves from getting their hands on them.

Here are some mail forwarding tips:

Before you move:

1. File your forwarding address with the post office at least two weeks before you move. Not only does this get your bills and statements sent on to your new home it prevents identity theft. Old statements in a mailbox are like candy to an ID thief. The post office will mail a letter to your old address to verify this change.
2.  While you are at the post office, get a change of address kit from them. Sit down at home that night and send a change of address to every company that sends you a statement or a bill. Some statements only come quarterly so be sure to check. Make sure you have the effective date of your move correctly entered. With some bills, creditors and financial institutions, you may be able to change your address online or over the phone. Note on your list who you called and to whom you sent a notice.
3. During your move: Ask a neighbor, landlord, or friend to check your mailbox to ensure the forwarding and address changes went thru and pick up any mail that does not get forwarded.
4. After your move: Contact the new tenants or homeowners and provide them with you contact data in case any of your mail fails to get forwarded in the future. 

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Our next financial workshops are:
Oct. 17th  - 6:30pm
Real World Budgets for Teens and College Students
Sunnyvale Financial Center at Fair Oaks and El Camino Real in Sunnyvale. 
RSVP with Gmeyer@meriwest.com


Oct. 24th  - 6:30pm
Credit Myths and Repair
Sunnyvale Financial Center at Fair Oaks and El Camino Real in Sunnyvale. 
RSVP with Gmeyer@meriwest.com

Does Good Debt Exist?

Good debt does still exist. Home debt, if you are not dramatically underwater is still good debt. Please remember that the majority of home owners have seen some degradation of their equity, but most homeowners are not underwater. The generally accepted number is somewhere between 20-25% of all homeowners have a home that is underwater. Most of these were either purchased or refinanced during the recent boom in prices, especially 2005 to 2008. It is a simple truth that 75% or more of all U.S. homeowners are not underwater. Homes purchased today with a reasonable downpayment of 20% or more may have some stagnant price growth in the near term, but historically, owning a home is a sure path to wealth creation. When you consider the tax advantages of owning a home and the increase in value even if it only follows regular inflation rates, new homeowners will incur good debt.

Is college debt good debt? Many are of the opinion that education is important and the resulting debt from financing it is still a good debt. That is provided the student finishes and graduates. Statistics show that lifetime earnings of those with bachelors and masters degrees are substantially higher than those with only a high school education. I have many former college students in my workshops who have not graduated and have substantial student loan debts. Those debts become good debt and will be well worth it when they finish their degrees.

Is all credit card debt bad debt? Not necessarily. Often, young persons will use a credit card like it is going out of style. They will pay for movies, dinners out, concerts, and other fun items with their credit cards. That is some bad debt; debt where you have little or nothing but memories to show for it. I think the responsible use of credit cards is in purchasing assets for your home or car. Use the card for furniture, needed appliances or a major car repair. That way, when you are on your couch writing a check for your Visa card payment, you are sitting on your asset. (A little finance humor.)

Vehicle debt can often be termed good debt. Your car is an economic development vehicle. It gets you to work on time and gets your kids to school. Is spending 2 hours plus on a bus or train daily the best use of your personal time? It is a matter of opportunity cost. How much is your personal time worth?

In the end, I think that the difference between good debt and bad debt is subjective. Our income, education, and cultural background all play a role in how we view the value, really the personal value, of our debt. 

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Our next financial workshop:

Today's Real Estate Market and Tips for Purchasing Foreclosed Property
Saturday, October 13, 2012 - 10:30 a.m.
Chesbro Financial Center, San Jose, CA

Late Payments will have you Hurtin’ for Certain!

Paying our Visa card or car loan late is not something we want to do, but sometimes due to our finances or forgetfulness, it does happen. There is no worse feeling than mailing that payment and knowing it will be at least 30 days late. We know that there will be a mark on our credit and many of us believe that mark will be with us forever! I can tell you it will not be with us forever.

Most loans and credit cards give us a grace period in which to make our payment. If we make the payment before or on the last day of our grace period, our payment will be on time. If you let that payment go one extra day past the grace period, your payment will be considered 30 days late by your lender. Be careful with the grace period. Pushing the cut-off date to the wire can lead to consequences, depending on when/how payments are processed. This should be a last resort, it isn’t advisable.

How does that affect your credit? It depends on how much credit you are utilizing and how it is managed.

• If you have a lot of credit like a home loan, an auto loan, and some credit cards that are kept current, one late payment won’t take you completely out of the credit market. Yes, your score will drop as a result of the late payment but because you are managing several other forms of credit properly, the late payment’s affect on your credit will not be too severe. As you make your future payments on time, the effects of the late payment will be mitigated by the good credit you are continuing to manage.

• If you have a limited credit file and that credit card is the only card you have; that late payment could have a strong effect on your credit score. The late payment, whether you have an extensive credit file or a limited one, will be with you in your file for the next seven years. But, surprisingly, it does not have the same weight upon your score for the entire time.

The effect of late payments on your credit score is “front loaded.” What I mean by this is that 70% of the effect that late payment has on your score takes place in the first 24 months after the late payment! After that initial 2 year period, you will see your credit score bump up and, as it becomes 36 months, 48 months, and further into your past, its effect will be diminished each year and you will see your score bump up each year until it drops off your credit report completely at the end of the 7^th year. You can help yourself further by making all other debt or credit payments on time. Good credit offsets bad credit.

By the way, there is one additional cost to paying your credit card bill late: Penalty Interest. In many cases, paying your card late will not only decrease your credit rating, it can cause an increase in the rate you are paying for credit! Your interest rate can increase dramatically. It not uncommon for your interest rate to go straight up to 29.99% or even more with just one late payment. Depending on how large your credit card balances are, this can cost you thousands of dollars in additional interest charges and prolong your time in debt. Most issuers will require you to have six months of on time payments before reducing your rate. You need to check with your card’s issuer to determine their particular policy on late payment penalty interest.

One late payment is a cause for concern, but it is not, by any means, the end of the world or end of your credit file. One of the ways you can assure yourself that you will not be late is to utilize your online banking and bill pay here at Meriwest Credit Union to set up your automatic payments. Simply fund your account with your direct deposit, set your payment schedule in online banking as a transfer or in bill pay as an automatic payment and let the free online banking payment service do the rest!

Questions? Ask the Meriwest Credit Union Guy at gmeyer@meriwest.com

Don't forget our Free Financial Education Workshops offered here at our main office in San Jose:

Free Financial Education Class: Real World Budgeting for Teens
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 - 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Chesbro Financial Center, San Jose, CA

 

Free Financial Education Class: Auto Financing 101
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Chesbro Financial Center, San Jose, CA

Hypersmash.com

Pay a Collection Fast and Put it in your Past!

  If collection agencies can buy my debt at a discount, can I pay it at a discount? Yes, often you can pay it at a discount but it depends on the age of the debt being collected. New collections are not typically discounted as they are being collected by internal collection departments or a business is using a collection agency as a vendor to collect for them. The collection is discounted when that debt ages and gets sold to an outside agency for collection.

 Contact the collection agency and test the waters of negotiation with them. Depending on how old your debt is, they may be willing to give you a significant discount. Often debt that is two years old or more is purchased from businesses and other collection agencies at 50 cents or less on the dollar. A $500 debt may be settled for half or less.

In your negotiation, make sure they will show your debt as paid or settled for a lesser amount. Either of these is preferable to an open and unpaid collection on your credit. Open collections will be a drag on your credit score for seven years. The “point cost” on your score will remain basically the same from day one to the last day of the seven years. Paying the collection changes the debt from open/unpaid to closed/paid. Paying an open collection has an immediate positive affect on your credit score. It will bump up right away and as it gets further and further in your past your score will improve with each passing year provided you don’t incur any further bad debt.

If you agree to an amount and how your collection will be listed on your credit report, the collection agency will want payment NOW and you should be prepared to cut them a check within a day or two. But, before you write the check, GET IT IN WRITING FROM THE AGENCY! Get the mutual agreement the collection agency made faxed to you, emailed to you, or snail mailed to you. Make a copy of the agreement and file the original. Attach your check to the agreement copy and you now have a contract with the collection agency.

Word to the wise: Never send a collection agency a check before you get your agreement in writing. A member of Meriwest Credit Union was in one of my workshops not long ago and complained about a major U.S. financial company. It is the sort of company that everyone believes is one of the most honest and forthright businesses in our nation. He received a call from them for a debt of $2,400 he had built up on his card. These had been business related expenses but the business had gone under in the recession and he was not going to be reimbursed for them. The financial company called him and said that if he paid $1,200 they would show his debt as paid. He mailed the check. The next month, they called him and asked when he would mail the other half of what he owed. He said the guy last month said his debt would show as paid. The fellow at the collection department asked, “Did you get that in writing?” Always get it in writing!

Free Financial Education Class: Real World Budgeting for Teens
Wednesday, June 13, 2012 - 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Chesbro Financial Center, San Jose, CA

 

Free Financial Education Class: Auto Financing 101
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Chesbro Financial Center, San Jose, CA

 

 

 

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