I am so sorry if this post is too personal....but I have only a week to fix this...

Wow! Just tonight found your forum and man, do I need help. Anywho, I will try to make this all short and to the point. Hubby and I are refinancing the house to get money to clear up charge offs starting from last Dec (2001). We got a finance company to give us a loan but they say our debt ratio is too high and part of the package is for them to have title company issue checks directly to creditors. OMG. How normal is that? It is Ameriquest Mortgage.

I was going to handle all the settlements in my own good time and really negotiate hard but now I have one week to negotiate. I have two deals done as of today(out of 4 total) but I did not ask either of the two to agree to take the debts off report. I have letters from these two (collection agencies) stating what the settlement amounts will be. The other two I am going to track down and negotiate tomorrow. The first two were so happy to hear from me! Man were they excited. I am expecting the same from the other two. Now, do I go back and press for deletion with the two I negotiated today? The checks will be cut sometime next week. Also, when I negotiate the other two, do I just state out flat that I will pay X percent AND I want them deleted? Do I say that simultaneously?

One of the two I have not reached yet is NCO (Nextcard). I read the posts about them going out of business and is that any leverage with them? They are the only ones that I have not heard a peep from via mail. We changed our phone number so I have not heard from any of them via phone since last Jan. Oh btw, Nextcard did call in Jan and threaten a lien on my house which is illegal in the state of Texas. can I do anything about that? I did NOT record the conversation but I have the ladies name and the date she called. That is neither here nor there I suppose. My big question is what steps do I take in a hurry to get these the debt settlement amounts and do I request deletion. Shoot, I am just all by myself here and need some help. I appreciate any advice you all can send my way and sorry to be so lengthy.

One thing that strikes me is that any of your "Charge-off" accounts have anything to do with your "debt ratio". If the charge-offs are reported correctly they SHOULD NOT SHOW a 'PAST DUE/CURRENT BALANCE."

Could any of these accounst be CapOne or 1st National Bank of Marin?

This is not uncommon, I'm presently dealing with CapOne's inaccurate reporting.

FYI- understand that paying the charge-offs still means that these entries will continue on your credit report as "Paid Charge-Offs" for 7 years from the initial delinquency.

Yes the mortgage guy did say that paying them off was to change the debt ratio only which is interesting. I thought they would have been more concerned with paying them off before mortgaging period! Not just to change the debt ratio. I appreciate your response! Yes one is Cap one and I am dealing with them today. I am for sure requesting removal on that one considering what I read from Christine.

This is the only thing I will say about this. you have 4 chargeoffs and from what I gather none of them have been calling or bothering you. You refinance your house and with only 1 week want advice. My advice is you should have waited before you jumped in and screwed yourself. all of your leverage is gone. You are gonna have crap credit for the full 7 years now. You gave up your rights. What you should have done is come here or creditnet.com or cardreport.com and then taken the next 3-6 months and learned your rights and there is a chance you could have beaten some of those bills. If they are gonna sue you or something that is another matter but I cannot believe someone would put their house in jeopardy over some crappy CAs. I hang my head in shame.

Hold on a second. Please say one more thing! I can get out of the refinancing deal for the house. It is NOT a done deal. Should I? Is there hope that if I wait to refinance, that the creditors will agree to settle AND take them off my report? If there is, I will undo the deal (right of recision is good until Wednesday). Please. Let me know what I can do to fix it! It's not too late! Thanks for your input!

Good luck trying to negotiate deletion for settlement, most CA's and OC's won't budge.

Even if you do settle for deletion you should be set to pay very close to what you actually owe.

It is also going to take much, much longer then a week to get this done.

The worst thing you can do is tell them you are buying a house or refinancing or such.

You want to contact them with the sobbiest story of your lives and make them seem you are nearing broke, I did this with Capital One and Providian and they caved with us only having to pay 50% of what we owed. Once I got the settlement in writing I then recontacted them about their FCRA violations and said I would sue if they didn't remove the tradeline once paid.

It took me about 3 months of contacting the right people and alot of threats but they are now going to delete upon payment.

I might add I was disputing and writing these companies at least once a month racking up FCRA and State violations against them.

Once I paid them as stated in their letter I was going to sue them for their violations to force removal.

I'm afraid to say this but you kinda screwed yourself with this deal, if you want to stop the refinance and try and do it like others have it is going to take you a while and it may or may not work.

I wish you luck!

Tac

I just had a long talk with hubby and had him read these posts. He still thinks that in the situation we are in right now, at this moment, we are dangerously close to the edge. No savings, no back-up. One little financial disaster and it is over for us. IF we do refinance we will be in the same boat BUT with extra money in the bank (or under the mattress lol). A cushion. We have NO cushion right now. Nothing. Now given that information, does it change anything? I KNOW we are stupid. We have been stupid. It is obvious. It's just really bad to be stupid and have no cash, no credit, no nothing. At least be stupid with some cash, huh? Yes? You all have been so helpful, if for no other reason to spur some thought and good debate about our financial life. I appreciate all responses.

Originally posted by picantel
This is the only thing I will say about this. you have 4 chargeoffs and from what I gather none of them have been calling or bothering you. You refinance your house and with only 1 week want advice. My advice is you should have waited before you jumped in and screwed yourself. all of your leverage is gone. You are gonna have crap credit for the full 7 years now. You gave up your rights. What you should have done is come here or creditnet.com or cardreport.com and then taken the next 3-6 months and learned your rights and there is a chance you could have beaten some of those bills. If they are gonna sue you or something that is another matter but I cannot believe someone would put their house in jeopardy over some crappy CAs. I hang my head in shame.


Don't you think that is a little rough? She stated she just found the site. And whose to say she wants to 'beat' those bills, my hubby has a lot of things on his report he would love to pay off but simply won't b/c where is the incentive? They won't be removed. We are trying to use violations to pay them but get them removed. How did she give up her rights. Regardless of when she asked for help, she asked. No need to bash her b/c she did not know where to turn sooner. I think you SHOULD hang your head in shame for treating someone with such distaste and disrespect.

No, it is not her fault at all that she just found and learned about this site, this site is great for people to learn about how and why credit is what it is and how to get some power to deal with these things on your own.



I would also reccomend www.creditnet.com as some of the best people in all sorts situations can be found to help you out.

It is sad to say that in only 1 week there isn't much you can do but this isn't to say what you can do now in the future after finding this site.

Reading from your post it seems that the way you described is the best way for you and your situation, although it may not be the best way to pay off these debts and clear your credit to boot.

Bad credit doesn't happen over night and it takes even longer to turn that bad into a good.

Rest assured you've found the right place and I apologize if my post personally might have offended you, I am here to help as our most people here.

Good Luck!

Tac

There is no need to hold back in your opinions. I didn't want anyone to hold back, that is why I put this all out there for you all to scutinize. I just need honest input. That is all I am asking for good or bad. It is wonderful you all posted, period! Thanks Tac to you personally!

It would only be a bonus to be able to get any of these debts off the credit report. But paying them off is a must. They are our debts for sure! I was just hoping that in paying them, they would also disappear but that isn't the case. You all have made that clear. I know that once they are paid, they are there for 7 years. Period. And that that 7 year period can't even begin until they are paid.

We are refinancing to pay them and to get some cash in hand. That was the goal. I would rather that I personally pay them with cash in hand from the refinancing but the mortgage company is telling me that that ain't happening. They want to send money directly to them. I am fighting right now to get them settlement amounts. I don't want them to pay the whole darn thing. Now that would be a waste, given the fact that they are on the report for 7 years regardless. That is my goal this week. Just to get letters saying what they will settle for. LiKe I said, I got two done on Thursday. I have two to go.

One of the two remaining is Nextcard. I can't find who has the account. I am not letting the mortgage company send a payment directly to Nextcard when they have sold the account. I gotta work on that. The other to be settled is Capital One. I tried calling them all day yesterday and waiting on hold the whole time. Iwill try again tomorrow. Please, if anyone thinks, with all this information given, that I should stop the refinancing deal, now is the time to speak up. I have until Wednesday to rescind. Thanks again so much you all!

Originally posted by beckygoo



We are refinancing to pay them and to get some cash in hand. That was the goal. I would rather that I personally pay them with cash in hand from the refinancing but the mortgage company is telling me that that ain't happening. They want to send money directly to them. I am fighting right now to get them settlement amounts. I don't want them to pay the whole darn thing. again [/B]

Becky, I had a similar situation, but the broker had everything placed in an escrow account, the checks were issued to me but in the companies names. I was told the checks were valid for 6 months. That way I had time to negotiate. Is that possible for ypu? If I got a settlement from the company for less than the check amount I had to get it in writing and give taht the attorney, he would then re-issue 2 checks 1 to the creditor and 1 to me for the difference.

I don't know that is possible but the SOUNDS AWESOME! I am going to ask first thing tomorrow. It is going to have to be all right for Nextcard at least till I find out who they should pay. Thanks so much! Tell me about your experience with that will you? Do you regret it at all?????? Any other pointers?

Originally posted by beckygoo
I don't know that is possible but the SOUNDS AWESOME! I am going to ask first thing tomorrow. It is going to have to be all right for Nextcard at least till I find out who they should pay. Thanks so much! Tell me about your experience with that will you? Do you regret it at all?????? Any other pointers?


Actually Becky, I did not ask for them to do that, they just did it. I recieved an 'A' paper conforming loan and any past due accounts that I owed had to be paid. I was under the assumption that they would pay the creditors, but once my recision period was over they handed me my paperwork plus about 12 checks. I had already negotiated all but one, but since those checks were good for 6 months that gave me ample time to negotiate. I have now gone from about 20 derogs on each report to 0. Now keep in mind, most came off just by disputing through the credit bureaus. Since they were all paid none of them took the time to verify.

OMG! You just gave me one of the best pieces of news I have heard! You mean that after you paid them off, you got them cleared off your credit by going thru the bureaus? Wow! That is more hope than I had had. I am thinking of hiring (don't throw shoes at me) Lexington Law after I get them charge-offs paid and seeing what they can do. What does anyone think of that?

Becky, I think you will have much more success on your own. I have heard good and bad, more bad, about Lexington. But in my opinion if you study you can invest a lot more time than they will. Therefore you will get better results. What kind of things is on your report?

Becky turn your e-mail on.

Well I was going to e-mail you but I will just tell you here. Your best bet would be as Pic stated to try and dispute everything right around the holidays, the bureaus will be distracted and they will have less days to recieve verification so on and so forth. I have never dealt with Nextcard but cap1 is difficult. I have worked on family members' credit and have not had a whole lot of luck with them. Plus I have read they will not settle for deletion. At best an R-5, that is not to say you can't get it removed though. I am just letting you know that it is easier said than done. Even though I do have clean reports per se' (I say that b/c Equifax keeps merging my report w/another so sometimes it's clean sometimes it's not) it did take many many months of working on them.

charge offs. We had just had it about December of last year. Every penny was going out to pay charge card bills. Big ones. We had been living off cc for years and not facing responsibility. So I picked the ones that I thought would hurt us the least and we just quit paying. Now, we have some income we can actually put away for retirement and the kids college. BUT we have no money for a cars or if hubby were to lose his job. We have ok cars right now but they are going to need some major repairs coming up, if we have to keep em. And hubbies job ain't lookin so secure. We need money in the bank and we need it now. So we are refinancing. It is only going to raise our interest rate 1 percent and we can (if we play our cards right) refinance in one year. The refinancing is going to pay off charge offs and put money under the mattress to pay for car repairs and emergencies. I think that is the right thing to do but......my thinking has been wrong in the past :) If anyone wants to say anything about this missive I have typed, now is the time. Please! I appreciate your reply tnobles!!!

I don't know how to turn on my email! I tried emailing you but it said I can't. Sorry!!!!!

Becky go to profile to turn your mail on, mine must not be on either. You can email me at Tnobles26@aol.com

I hate to be harsh but I have to. I just do not see the point in making more debt to pay off debt especially when it sounds like you have kids and now you are putting your house in even more danger with a refinance. I assume you will have to shell out closing costs again making it worse. the best thing to do is list your state of residence, each amount of chargeoff and the cc it is owed to and the chargeoff date.

I am going out of town till Tuesday night. I will do that for you Tuesday night. I want all the help I can get on this. Thanks so much!

Ok I am back. My husband already chastised me for putting too much of this situation out in public so I am kinda hesitant about posting the charge-offs. It adds up to quite a sum. I can list the charges off's if you like.

MBNA (NCO financial services has it) Charge-off. I cut a deal with them for 50 percent.

Capital One (charge off) a much smaller amount of money under 2000. No deal yet.

Nextcard (charge -off) a large sum. Can't find anyone to talk to about settling it. They are out of business.

BOA- charge-0ff We were offered a deal and now when we called to talk about it, they are reniging.

Target Visa-charge off-cut a deal for 60%.

I think that about sums it up. How does this information help?

State is Texas.

This is what I would do. go to http://www.cardreport.com/wwwboard/wwwboard.html
Why chat over there knows about this stuff the best and Texas is very pro you. You will need to post this info again along with the exact chargeoff dates and date of last payment. I believe that in texas they cannot garnish your wages and I think your homes are exempt from liens. Also, the SOL in texas on ccs is only 4 years. I was asking for the info to make sure none of your owed ccs is a nasty company such as discover and amex. They would sue you and spend 5k in airfare and hotels to collection $300.
If you need to deal with capital one then go to creditnet.com and their discussion board and ask for the phone number to mr. eugene cooke. Tell him you have alot of debt and you were thinking of bk but would like to save your credit and see if you can work out something. He has been known to cut a new credit card with the debt on it so you can try it over again and of course ask him to remove the negative card or it is not worth it but first try the cardreport site.

I forgot to add. Do not worry about providing info because unless an occasional troll joins nobody will jump on you no matter what you do and nobody can help without this info. Just do not provide if you join the other forums your real name. Make up an alias. The CAs and OCs do watch these forums and they have been known to print out the forum dialogue and bring it to court.

quote from beckygoo...At least be stupid with some cash, huh? Yes?
Yes. Okay, you don't have to be stupid, and you've come a long way by reading here. But you do need to start getting some reserves. Even pre-paying your mortgage would be better than the re-finance. Borrowing from creditors is how you got to this place.
You have a home, you have vehicles (even what some may consider to be a major repair is much less than $250-$500 per month...keep the cars!) You're right that you need to have a "cushion". It wouldn't make sense to take on more debt to create it.

As far as the charge-offs...

from picantel...
I believe that in texas they cannot garnish your wages and I think your homes are exempt from liens. Also, the SOL in texas on ccs is only 4 years.

This is true, I used to be in debt (charge-offs) in Texas. Judgements/garnishments only apply to child support, etc...not "revolving debt". I received this info from a lawyer, but you can check it out for yourself if you're in doubt.

That being the case, I would build my "cushion" and then go about how to get those nasty charge-offs off the reports. In the meantime, just put the reports out of mind and quit looking for new ways to get in debt.

I know that most people think that it can't be done, but I've found that the best strategy for climbing out of debt is to stop using the credit industries' wealth-robbing system. They've done a good job of hoodwinking the general public into believing that we need them, when in reality they're stealing our future earnings! (okay, off my soapbox now).:rolleyes:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, you all the best! Thanks so much for all the useful responses. I got a hold of Cap One today, emailed Mr. Cook per the directions at Creditnet, waiting to hear back from him.

You are quite right about the Texas laws as far as I have read. No liens, no garnishes, and 4 year sol (whatever the heck that is worth, a lady at Lexington credit said it is a worthless law cause any activity is defined as little as a letter from a CA, starts the 4 years all over again).

Anyway, don't think I am not taking all your words into consideration. I love that that quote "don't secure unsecured debt". Seeing as how this is my first time thru all this and definitely my last, there is no getting better the second time around. It is learn as you go. I am going to send dispute letters to all creditors around the 25th of November, whether they get settled or no. I have a good feeling about the Nextcard one, so I am putting it at the bottom of my list to settle. It is just tough living in a cash only world. Would not dream of selling or mistreating either of the cars. Best thing ever happened to us is getting them paid off and still having them with an engine and a transmission :) My debt problem never was with cars, however. It was living the high life otherwise on an average salary. I am currently looking into getting a regular 9-5 job instead of my wonderful self-employed one. Shame to have to sacrifice that in order to recover, but such is life for most people. I think MAKE MORE MONEY is going to become my credo and perhaps help me to solve all this.

Just musings on a lovely fall night. Thanks all!

The lady from lexington is either a moron or a crook. I am thinking both. Unless you make a payment, and often times even this does nothing, the SOL does not start over with a letter. She is trying to trick you into taking on their services. They have a reputation for being crooks so do not ever call them again. Man it gets my blood boiling when these people lie and cheat to take your hard earned money.

I pick moron.....

I've been really busy and just read this thread. I think Picantel wrote " hate to be harsh but I have to. I just do not see the point in making more debt to pay off debt especially when it sounds like you have kids and now you are putting your house in even more danger with a refinance. "

Several posters had similar thoughts, and I have to agree with that - in general.

To tell you what to do I would have to spend 10 to 20 hours to review the mortgage application, the budget, the credit, the current mortgage, the appraisal, what you do for living, who you work for, how much you make, in what position, where you are, any medical problems, etc. etc. etc.

It does make sense to consolidate current debts into a mortgage if it will save you $$$ and you will have PAID DOWN your mortgage to the current level in a few years.

Unfortunately, most people not only fail to pay down the mortgage, but they are in the exact same financial situation in a couple years again. Most people refinance their credit card and auto debts into their home every few years.

On moral obligations to pay your old debts:

I just finally collected a $2,500 judgment I got for ARM Computer, after 1.5 years of collection efforts. They refused to pay me, I had to hire a California attorney, they refused to pay him, he had to eventually levy their bank account.

This is BUSINESS. ARM Computer counted on me being out of state or whatever to NOT go through the collection efforts. I even spoke with their president prior to hiring the attorney.

I think your only obligation is to your family, especially to your kids. I do get those e-mails from desperate people who are foreclosed on and don't know where they and their kids are going to live the next week, after the eviction.

Well, I just have to say something about what Beckygoo said earlier about how the 7 years starts when they are all paid.

This isn't true. The seven years starts when the account first went delinquent.

I really suggest you go to the www.ftc.gov website and read the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and hunt down the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act).

You will find your eyes really opened. The next step would be to go to www.creditnet.com go into the credit forum and read the top three posts if you haven't already done so.

There are numerous ways to get those chargeoffs, once paid, off of your report later on. It won't happen overnight.

When I started my credit journey, my reports were so littered with derogs (about 20). Now I'm down to five and this took me 8 months of very diligent hard work. The other stubborn ones are due to fall off next year and then I'll be clean. You are going to have to make credit repair a hobby/part-time job in order to get those reports clean enough.

To make an observation on one of your posts about how you need to make more money. You don't necessarily have to go out and get a 9-5 you may not like just so you can live a certain way. Cut back on the extravagant lifestyle and living beyond your means and do what you really want to do in live. That will make your life richer beyond compare.

It took me almost my 7 years of credit hell to realize that I only need credit for one thing...to rent a car or get a hotel room and not to live.

I really don't like to advertise creditnet, since they are a huge part of the problem.

You'll notice all those deceptive ads, and creditnet advertises ANYTHING to make a buck, even creditcards that I complain to the OCC about and that are subsequently prohibited. Creditnet has no limits and no ethics and is a stictly FOR profit Chinese corporation with some very dubious "partnerships" with scummy credit repair companies such as Lexington.

I'd also appreciate it if tnobles stopped soliciting here - that's something more appropriate at creditnet.

And there is no need to hunt down legislation that regular people will never understand.

The FTC "plain English" version on accuracy and aging (http://www.bayhouse.com/credit-forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1124)

Originally posted by Christine
I'd also appreciate it if tnobles stopped soliciting here - that's something more appropriate at creditnet.[URL]



EXCUSE ME!!! Soliciting what, I would really like to know what it is that you think that I am soliciting? I think you need to know what you are talking about before you accuse someone of something. I have given Becky my knowledge the best that I can. And Becky can most certainly tell you that I have in no way asked her for payment. If you would like me to not come to this site, I can most certainly comply with that but I do not appreciate being falsley accused of something. I have not contributed much to this site, b/c I do not like bash a thons. I simply told Becky to e-mail me b/c she was asking for help and someone was degrading her for wanting to PAY her bills. You may now cancel my membership. Thank you.

"I would really like to know what it is that you think that I am soliciting?"

I think you're soliciting business. And I don't think you're qualified.

"I think you need to know what you are talking about before you accuse someone of something."

Nope. It's my obligation to put a stop to that as soon as anyone starts requesting e-mails. BayHouse is a place for people to get help, not to get in more trouble.

This is a PUBLIC forum for the purpose of SHARING experiences. There is absolutely no reason to request anyone's e-mail.

Several readers have told me that they were asked for payment or a percentage once they started to e-mail privately with soliciters at creditnet. Those solicitors have no business, no web site, and very little experience. They're hard up for a buck, and possibly intend to use the data they obtain for illegal purposes. It's happened.

Besides, I can't imagine what you would tell Becky privately that can't be discussed here. I highly recommend that noboy give out personal info and especially not credit reports to someone who offers to "help" privately.

It's best to keep your e-mails private.

"You may now cancel my membership."

There's nothing to cancel, as there are no dues. :)

Originally posted by Christine
"I would really like to know what it is that you think that I am soliciting?"

I think you're soliciting business. And I don't think you're qualified.

"I think you need to know what you are talking about before you accuse someone of something."

Nope. It's my obligation to put a stop to that as soon as anyone starts requesting e-mails. BayHouse is a place for people to get help, not to get in more trouble.

This is a PUBLIC forum for the purpose of SHARING experiences. There is absolutely no reason to request anyone's e-mail.

Several readers have told me that they were asked for payment or a percentage once they started to e-mail privately with soliciters at creditnet. Those solicitors have no business, no web site, and very little experience. They're hard up for a buck, and possibly intend to use the data they obtain for illegal purposes. It's happened.

Besides, I can't imagine what you would tell Becky privately that can't be discussed here. I highly recommend that noboy give out personal info and especially not credit reports to someone who offers to "help" privately.

It's best to keep your e-mails private.

"You may now cancel my membership."

There's nothing to cancel, as there are no dues. :)


For your information Christine, I come to these sites to LEARN. I told Becky to e-mail me b/c I had just went through the same situation of refinancing to pay off old debts. Becky asked me what I had done. I have never come here or to any site soliciting anything. Why would I not discuss it here? B/c there was a post telling her how shameful it was that she was actully going to pay her bills. I do not particularly care to be bashed for discussing with her how to pay her bills by refinancing her house. I can promise you, those several readers that e-mailed you NEVER included me in their e-mails because I do not do 'business' on the internet. As far as being qualified, I have done credit repair for people HERE in my home town and I can also promise you that none of them have any complaints. I would never solicit anything via internet b/c there is too much information out there for people with access to the internet. And no I do not have a 'web page' b/c again I do not do business via internet. And I am not hard up for a buck. We are not rich but we are definitley not hurting for anything. And I have never done anything illegal in my life except for a few traffic violations. Anyone who would send anyone personal info like acct. #'s and ss#'s that they have never seen face to face much less met, is not too smart. You can rest assured that I have never solicited anything on your site or any other for that matter.

Oh, and let me also inform you that I am not in the business of 'credit repair' I am in the buisness of 'debt settlement' All of my business is SENT to me by local mortgage companies. When a person is settling their debt by refi. the mortgage companies call ME. I in turn negotiate their debt and I attempt to get the tradelines deleted meanwhile. I am paid by the mortgage company, not the client. I do not know how the mortgage company charges them but that is not my business. I am simply offering a service that would benefit their clients. They have a choice whether to call me or not and their client has the choice to use me or not. So I have NEVER recieved money from a 'Client'. I very rarely meet the client, everything is sent to me by the mortgage company. It is up to their clients if they trust the mortgage companies judgement to send me their personal information. So I will reitterate the fact that I do not solicit my 'buisness'.

ok, ya'll I just have to jump in here and say that tnobles has gone way out her way to be helpful and offer advice. All the people that have posted here on this thread have been helpful, but tnobles went above and beyond. And, NO, she has never once offered to help in exchange for money, just out of the goodness of her heart and because I think she enjoys doing it! What other reason would there be? She has not gotten anything from me, except for now, my friendship. What a super lady she is. Very compassionate and wise.

I think it's a grand idea that we have exchanged emails because quite frankly, in between the posts that have popped up here, we have written a novel together. About credit, yes, but also about many other things that only two mothers with many of the same concerns could share. Our exchanges have developed into what I hope will continue to be a great friendship and what other purpose does all this communication serve really.

I just want to publically thank tnobles for all the advice and guidance she has offered me.

I'll just have to make it an official rule now: NO requesting of e-mails at this board.

It so happens that tnobles wants to get into "credit repair" - as per her own e-mail to me a while back. There are other boards to solicit - not at BayHouse.

The purpose of this forum is to SHARE problems as well as solutions, for the benefit of everybody, and to actively work on CHANGING credit reporting and scoring practices.

When you go to resolve you problem in private e-mail, chances of someone else pointing out that the advise you got may not be so good don't exist. After all, it's PRIVATE e-mail.

At a public forum you might get someone else pointing out potential problems with the advice you got.

A relevant thread is "Class action against Briggs & Baker for invalid Accord and Satisfaction? MBNA suits?" (http://www.bayhouse.com/credit-forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=777)

Hmmm. Interesting. Do you accuse EVERYONE of solicitng on your site? Glad to know I am not the only one.

I am not quite sure what your point was that I told you I was interested in getting into credit repair. I have seen alot of people come to this and many other forums that do it proffesionally but do not solicit. Is someone not allowed to come to this board if they do credit repair for a living? Forgive me for trying to help someone. Becky specifically asked me a question and I responded to her. You know that e-mail that I sent you was asking for your help because of the fact that that I am not an expert at it. Expert, no, knowledgable, yes. But like I stated before, I handle Debt Settlement. But I was not interested in sharing this with board b/c someone mentioned that you should hang your head in shame when you do not try to 'beat' your debt.

"I'll just have to make it an official rule now: NO requesting of e-mails at this board."

I hope that answers your question.

"Hmmm. Interesting. Do you accuse EVERYONE of solicitng on your site? Glad to know I am not the only one."

No, you're not the only one. There was "Bobby" and Bill Bauer. Most people are smart enough not to try that here.

There's only one person that I can recommend, and that's Big Beacon. He never solicited here, he's probably quite busy.

He definitely has brains and has shared some very cool stuff. That's the primery reason for this board.

Originally posted by Christine
"I'll just have to make it an official rule now: NO requesting of e-mails at this board."

I hope that answers your question.


Not really, which question.

Originally posted by Christine
"Hmmm. Interesting. Do you accuse EVERYONE of solicitng on your site? Glad to know I am not the only one."

No, you're not the only one. There was "Bobby" and Bill Bauer. Most people are smart enough not to try that here.

O.k. now my intelligence is being questioned. Now I understand why this site is not as active as others. I guess people are 'smart' enough to go somewhere that their intentions and intelligence will not be questioned.

Allright Christine, I have just reread the whole thread and I can see why you might think that I was soliciting. I told Becky to e-mail me after she posted that she was going to hire a company. My apologies. But in my e-mail to her, I told her exactly the opposite. I told her DO NOT hire anyone, to do it herself. So, with that said and the fact that I do not do solicit credit repair, I will no longer try to defend my intentions, nor my intelligence.

Originally posted by beckygoo
ok, ya'll I just have to jump in here and say that tnobles has gone way out her way to be helpful and offer advice. All the people that have posted here on this thread have been helpful, but tnobles went above and beyond. And, NO, she has never once offered to help in exchange for money, just out of the goodness of her heart and because I think she enjoys doing it! What other reason would there be? She has not gotten anything from me, except for now, my friendship. What a super lady she is. Very compassionate and wise.

I think it's a grand idea that we have exchanged emails because quite frankly, in between the posts that have popped up here, we have written a novel together. About credit, yes, but also about many other things that only two mothers with many of the same concerns could share. Our exchanges have developed into what I hope will continue to be a great friendship and what other purpose does all this communication serve really.

I just want to publically thank tnobles for all the advice and guidance she has offered me.


Thank you Becky, I appreciate that.

Well, I apologize for posting the link for creditnet as I can see you hold strong opinons about the deceptive nature of the site Christine.

I was merely trying to give Becky another avenue of information so that she could be as informed as humanly possible regarding what different people think of her situation on the internet, that's all.

No problem at all. It's just that occasionally I mention what's going on, it's been a long time.

It is really strange that there are some very knowledgable people posting at creditnet for the benefit of some corporation and without wanting to CHANGE how bad things suck.

I can only presume that their ultimate goal is to benefit financially somehow, maybe some do get paid, who knows.

As for tnobles, there's one of the less intelligent people who doesn't get it at all. Not now, most likely not ever. An average American :)

Originally posted by Christine
As for tnobles, there's one of the less intelligent people who doesn't get it at all. Not now, most likely not ever. An average American :)

And I suppose you are above average Christine? I do not think so. I agree with you about one thing though, you said that people give bad advise and need others input? I agree totally because you gave me some 'advise' that was so off base, if I was not intelligent enough to ask someone who knew what they were talking about, I would just be SOL. Of course I have noticed that you do not want anyone to seem like they may know more about something than you do so you make sure you piss them off enough to not come back. BTW I read 'your story' last night, you have not made the most intelligent decisions in life now have you?

Yeah, one of the most stupid things I've ever done is trying to get people to think and to publish my web sites.

As I learn every day, it's not possible to change anything. Thanks for reinforcing, tnobles :)

Try to get some class about you Christine and people may start to listen. I have seen you attack people time and again, I always thought 'well she is just having a bad day' but now I know you just have very little class. I do enjoy a good argument every once in a while though, I appreciate you for that.

Also, I see you whine about 'making less than min. wage' all of the time, it's no wonder why. If you treat your clients with as much tact as you treat people here there's you're reason why. Just food for thought.

You just crossed that fine line, you're getting personal. So, let's have it:

1) I posted at Pacific Bell inquiries after discharge (http://www.bayhouse.com/credit-forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1014) in response to Wondergirl sending me e-mail asking me to answer her posting at this forum (NOT a paying client) - after I had the nerve to not respond within 24 hours of her posting:

"You posted yesterday and today you sent me an e-mail asking me to answer your question.

Here's a clue: Nobody pays me to answer the questions at my forums.

It would be totally inappropriate to make my paying clients wait and to let the SOL on my own cases expire just because you have a question that is absolutely NOT urgent. It makes NO difference whether I reply today or in a week.

I'm busy today.

Oh, one more thing. While a lot of people have gotten checks from creditors and collectors after I answered their questions, none of them decided to make a donation.

So please excuse me for working on something else now."

The reason why I make less than minimum wage is because for every paid hour I work AT LEAST one unpaid hour, answering questions here as time permits.

I stopped accepting new clients entirely in July, for over 3 months. During those 3 months, I worked my usual 100 hours a week, mostly free of charge for existing clients.

As I had made the (financially unwise) decision to keep my services affordable, I recently worked over 30 hours for a new client who paid $285 - and we haven't even gotten the dispute results yet! Obviously, this is no way to make a living.

So, in response to my irritated posting to Wondergirl, tnobles sent me a private e-mail with the subject:

Donation

"hey Christine, I was just reading your post to wondergirl about the pacbell
thing, man you do need some time off,though I can definitely see why you are
grouchy, I would be too!! Look the reason why I was writing you was to tell
you I have read through your forum on several occasions and even asked a
question once before, which you answered and I appreciate it. Anyway I would
like to say this, I would love to make a donation b/c I am trying to do
credit repair for a living myself, and believe me I know how you feel b/c I
am not making enough to cover my overhead. So I can empathize with you, that
being said I cannot do anything right now because again I am not making
anything and my hubby is a car dealer so this is a slow time of the year,
come the end Jan. things will pick and I can send you something. I realize
that does not help you now but that is the best that I can do. But I would in
turn (can you put donation and wanting something in return in the same
sentence?) like your one on one advice on some real toughies on my hubby's
credit report, his is harder than any client's that I have worked on. But it
is most important for him to have the good credit in our family since he is
the 'breadwinner'. Anyway like I said, I know this does not do you any good
now but I will send you a little something as I get it. Take a break, you
need it, pamper yoursef (I know that is alot easier said than done) but then
maybe you being tired and pissed off is why you are so successful. Please do
not take this letter the wrong way, b/c I am sending it with the utmost
sincere regards. I think that you are brilliant at what you do and you have
alot of respect from alot of people.

Thanx,"

(supposedly real name withheld)


This should be the only non spam e-mail that I didn't answer.

What can you say to someone who's trying to sucker you into working for free and you KNOW what they're doing? I didn't feel like being rude, so that mail still sits in my inbox.

So, tnobles, I've got a few questions for you:

What's your "overhead" for your credit repair business?

Why do you think that you would be able to pay for my services with a DONATION - several months later?

When my clients pay me for my services, that's NOT a donation, that my pay. Needless to say, most of the donations I receive are for some kind of work I did for readers, but I'm NOT posting my client income under the donations, simply because that's not what they are.

BayHouse Donations (http://www.bayhouse.com/credit-forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13)

A donation does not generally require that one receive some benefit. That also appears to be a concept many Americans aren't familiar with.

Tnobles, you posted above

"But like I stated before, I handle Debt Settlement."

Do you have a web site? A name for your business?

What do you charge?

Are you sure you're not Bill Bauer? :) Just kidding, I know you're not Bill, but there sure are some similarities when it comes to sucking up and misrepresenting who you are and what you do.

I was wondering when you were going to post the e-mail. As you noted, I told you that I was attempting credit repair. As you also noted I asked for your help. But what you are implying is that I asked for your help for free. Note: "in turn (for a donation) would like your one on one ADVISE" I explained to you that I would like to make a donation (I thought you deserved it b/c you were implying that you help people for free). I was also asking if you could help me with my hubby's credit once I made that 'donation' I did not ask for your help in the meantime now did I? As far as overhead goes, I have been taking from my settlement buisness to attempt credit-repair. Overhead, the cost of advertising LOCALLY, buisness cards, seperate buisness lines, software etc. Now, I have decided to abandon the idea b/c of the fact that I was turning away business from the mortgage companies (stupidly thinking that I may be able to make money at credit repair), I cannot continue to take away from my money making buisness to support a new one at this time b/c as I stated this is a slow time of the year for hubby. I was stupidly thinking I could ditch my present posistion for better money, but I was wrong. Therefore, I gave up trying credit repair. Oh and btw I do not need your help thank you I have managed to get hubby's 'toughies' removed on my own. And the part about being brilliant, I still think that. I think that you are a real spitfire, but when you don't know how to use it, it could only get you in trouble. I was not asking for your services, I was asking for your ADVICE in turn for a donation. I do not need anyone's services b/c I am quite capable myself. I wanted your advice b/c I thought you seemed pretty up and up on the law, and I knew that this particular tradeline was going to require a lawsuit, which I have no knowledge of. You are right donations are for your readers, as I stated you had answered a post and I do not mind giving a 'donation' for that advice. And as a matter of fact my debt settlement buisness has made me halfway decent money. Yes it has a name and no I do not have a website b/c again, I do not offer services via internet. My buisness is done strictly through the mortgage companies. I do not feel that I have misrepresented myself in any way. You most certainly may call my local phone company to see if my buisness is legit. I of course will not post anything on the internet that may get me in a compromising posistion but I will certainly show YOU a copy of my buisness license. As far as getting personal Christine, you made it personal by accusing me of something before you had the facts. So if you posting the e-mail was in some sort of way to shame me, it did not. Again I appreciate the fun. It seems that you enjoy a good argument yourself, since you have had many of them.

Oh and BTW, who's sucking up? And I have never told you who I am so how could I misrepresent that?

"Oh and BTW, who's sucking up?"

You were.

"And I have never told you who I am so how could I misrepresent that?"

That's the point, duh! Why don't you post your name and your town?

Looking back for where you wrote to Becky that she shouldn't hire anybody I saw a couple of your posts about your "business" that you apparently posted after I last reloaded the page, so I didn't see them until now.

I can't BELIEVE that you would negotiate debts without ever talking to your "clients." How on earth can you negotiate not knowing anything about the debt and your clients? Not knowing what they had done to resolve the problem? Not knowing what the results were of their efforts?

"Allright Christine, I have just reread the whole thread and I can see why you might think that I was soliciting. I told Becky to e-mail me after she posted that she was going to hire a company. My apologies. But in my e-mail to her, I told her exactly the opposite. I told her DO NOT hire anyone, to do it herself."

That in itself speaks for your qualifications. This is to everybody:

Whatever you do, do NOT negotiate on your own behalf. If you feel the overwhelming desire to call a collector or creditor, have your recorder running. But it's MUCH better to have someone else negotiate.

When I decide to help somebody, the first thing I do is get the power of attorney to do the negotiations FOR them. You got to be downright stupid to be IN the business and tell people to negotiate their own debts. THAT advice just floors me.

Tnobles does or did business like Lexington and Junum, or ClearCredit now. You can't just take someone's credit reports and start "working." Well, obvioulsy you can, but it's not the way to get good results, I consider it downright negligent.

And also for everybody else, I don't just "give advice" for 20 bucks or something. Most of the advice in the forum leaves a lot to be desired. There's just no way to tell somebody what to do without knowing what they have done, want to do, MUST be able to do, WHEN, and of course, review all 3 reports and the Beacon online data and of course you have to know how much CASH they got to settle.

And, as I posted previously:

"I've been really busy and just read this thread. I think Picantel wrote " hate to be harsh but I have to. I just do not see the point in making more debt to pay off debt especially when it sounds like you have kids and now you are putting your house in even more danger with a refinance. "

Several posters had similar thoughts, and I have to agree with that - in general.

To tell you what to do I would have to spend 10 to 20 hours to review the mortgage application, the budget, the credit, the current mortgage, the appraisal, what you do for living, who you work for, how much you make, in what position, where you are, any medical problems, etc. etc. etc.

It does make sense to consolidate current debts into a mortgage if it will save you $$$ and you will have PAID DOWN your mortgage to the current level in a few years.

Unfortunately, most people not only fail to pay down the mortgage, but they are in the exact same financial situation in a couple years again. Most people refinance their credit card and auto debts into their home every few years."

Giving people good advice requires spending LOTS of time finding out about their financial abilities.

Enough said, time to close this thread.

Oh, one more thing, please don't ask for posters' emails!