First off, Im a single mother and Ive been out of a job for 18 months. Ive been paying my rent and phone bill with child support and barely getting by. I messed up and screwed my credit up when I did have a job and now no one will hire me because of my credit. Im not sure how Im supposed to improve my situation and get back on my feet. All I want is to be able to take care of my son and be independent, but after months and months of active job searching, im losing hope.
I have an equifax report that says I have several medical bills in collections. I want to pay these off, they're not huge bills. Do I need to send them a letter to settle? Or should I just call?
I also have two credit cards (one is carecredit for med bills) that charged off, but are not showing up on the collections area, just the negative accounts.
Im confused because one says I still owe a balance, but the other does not. Why is that?
Do I contact the original companies? I dont have any information on the CA for these debts at all.
Im sorry if this post inst clear. Im a little scatter brained and very overwhelmed with all of this. I know virtually nothing about how to fix my financial situation and I am stressed out. I cant ignore the constant phone calls and I cant pretend everything is ok anymore.
Please help.
Hi sarhshack,
You can always repair your credit report, even if you have hit a rough patch. So there's no need to lose hope. You should call the collection agency and explain your situation to them. If they agree to settle the debt, you must follow up in writing. You must send a "Pay for Deletion Letter". This letter is a written agreement with the CA, to remove the debt accounts from your credit report, after receiving the payment. The CA should send a confirmation in writing, stating that they accept the terms of the agreement.
For the credit card debts, you can contact your original creditors, if the name of the collection agency is not mentioned on your credit report. Your creditor will be able to tell you, whether they still own the debt. If they say that they have sold off your debts to a collection agency, you should send a "Debt Validation Letter" to the CA.
Keep me informed about any progress.
Hi sarhshack, I totally agree with rachael. I also think that You can always repair your credit report, even if you have hit a rough patch. So there's no need to lose hope. You should call the collection agency and explain your situation to them. If they agree to settle the debt, you must follow up in writing. You must send a "Pay for Deletion Letter". This letter is a written agreement with the CA, to remove the debt accounts from your credit report, after receiving the payment. The CA should send a confirmation in writing, stating that they accept the terms of the agreement.