Real Estate
Joe Petrowsky's Blog: How a Client Used Her Rights & Negotiating Tips to Settle Credit Dispute
There are many companies around that abuse the system, this was one of them, but the public has rights as well.
This is what showed up when I ran a credit report. The prospective borrower told me she has contacted the creditor many times and the answer was the same. We will not discount the debt, pay us the balance we show as due. She always asked can I get an accounting of how you got to this balance and how much did my car bring in at the auction, as they had indicated that the car was auctioned off.
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I was sure that without this item being settled, we couldn’t get her a loan. The credit report indicated a balance of about $7,000. The obligation was 5 years old. It was a bit tough to get a real number.
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I asked her to file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Protection, the Attorney General’s office, the Better Business Bureau, the CFPB and numerous online sites that would accept information like this.
Within one week, someone called her indicating they represented the creditor for the obligation and said they wanted to settle the debt. I had schooled her enough with the necessary questions. She wanted documentation show how they arrived at the debt and proof of how much the car sold for at auction.
The person wanted to know if she would be willing to do a settlement without all the paperwork. While all this was going on she sent me a text, what should she do. I told her to have them make a written offer as to what they would accept and ask if he had the written authority to settle the debt.
It turns of they were a law firm and they would accept $2500. Now we were getting somewhere. I had her send a proposal, offering $1500 as payment in full and a written commitment that they would correct the credit report. What do think they did? There are many companies around that abuse the system, this was one of them, but the public has rights as well.
The matter has been settled, the credit report correct and her credit scores are looking really good. I was now ready to give her a preapproval letter.
image courtesy of stuart miles/freedigitalphotos.net
