❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
Emerges from a nest of blankets and miscellaneous bedding to help you raise your credit scores this year. From now until mid-April are the most stressful months of the year for agencies that want to harp on you about debt collection. Why not increase their stress by demanding time-sensitive paperwork that could remove your debt entirely?
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
I was going to screencap me going through the process, but it worked so well the last time that I don't have the option to do it now, laugh.
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
Credit Karma has a neat feature that will let you contest a debt with just a few clicks and no additional information on your part. The agency that owns your debt must now verify that you actually owe the debt... and hilariously they sometimes can't prove that you actually do.
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
They have thirty days to provide the proper evidence. If they don't submit it in time, it gets scrubbed from your credit report.
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
Tax season means that you have a decent chance of your request being ignored and thus defaulted in your favor.
nihaowdy
can i replurk this bit of genius
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
It's free to do this and cannot harm your score. Downside is you can only do this once every thirty days, so start now to get a few examined before tax season is over.
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
fakeharmless: 👍
Tentessee
brilliant
multiverse🌱dad
this sounds like the consequences of packaging / buying / selling debt with no idea wtf is even in there and you love to see it
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
Other fun information about debt collection: who owns your debt? Look up the deets of the agency that's been sending you mail or calling every week. What state are they based in? Did you know there's a statue of limitations for how long your debt can be collected?
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
does this work for student loan debt too?
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
multiverse🌱dad
: DING DING DING. The majority of credit card companies will just sell in bulk and wash their hands of you. Debt is purchased for pennies on the dime en masse.
vast energies
this includes UNCOLLECTABLE DEBTS that they then try to collect, which is hilarious and not at all annoying
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
: No. Unfortunately the paper trail is absolute on student loans. Those are with us until the collapse of time.
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
cries blood
multiverse🌱dad
my mortgage was sold the literal month i got it and i have not bothered to learn who owns it now, because it's ephemeral and fake and means nothing anyway
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
multiverse🌱dad
: Once they do make contact with you, if it's your first time communicating with them, you can say you need proof of debt mailed to you. Again, they have thirty days to send it, and in the meantime cannot contact you in any way.
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
"Biz, my debt has been verified and now they want money from me. What should I do?" Check the statue of limitations for the state the agency operates in and is licensed by. I dodged a $5k debt for a few years and they had to give up once the clock ran out.
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
"But can't they sue you for that money?" To sue me, they would have needed to file paperwork against me in my state, send someone to my state to sue me in court, win the case, and then still receive nothing from me because I'm an unemployed and disabled mess. Unless the debt is personal, there is SLIM chance anyone thinks you're worth it.
%Cu+ie^_^ki||er
Yessss I have been hounded for a few years by a debt company for an unjust payment so this info is great for me ty!
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
%Cu+ie^_^ki||er
: Any questions come up, feel free to ping me.
%Cu+ie^_^ki||er
Also fuck debt collectors! They’re literal ghouls who do not deserve to sleep soundly 
%Cu+ie^_^ki||er
I really appreciate that! It’s been a total headache but I’m determined not to give them a cent of money that should not even be owed
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
My parents were debt collectors for thirty years. LOVE THEM DEARLY, but it sure was their job.
%Cu+ie^_^ki||er
LMAO IM SORRY...
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
NAH, ha ha, ABSOLUTELY VALID AND CORRECT TAKE. Like, luckily they never were aggressive about it, they'd pretty much mail out notifications and then field the calls from people wanting to make payments. They specialized in student loans and didn't own the debt themselves, just collected a percentage of the repayment.
𝕧𝕕𝕠𝕧𝕒
I've seen that feature on credit karma but I never understood exactly what it was for. Iiiiinteresting
thirty sickos.
question: i've got a collections agency hounding me about a debt that doesn't show up on my credit score. is there any way to get them off my back?
thirty sickos.
(if not, no worries - this is really helpful info, and i super appreciate it!)
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
thirty sickos.
: I'd probably need some additional deets about the debt in question to give the most pertinent advice. I'm heading off to bed, but do please feel free to DM me.
shrimp heaven
thirty sickos.
: hey you, i gotchu, it involves sending them a certified letter requiring that they send you (not the credit agency, you) verification of the validity of the debt. i had this problem thanks to a shady gym and the certified letter got the agency to shut the hell up
e l l e
I just listened to a podcast episode interviewing the author of a book about this with medical debt, "Never Pay the First Bill"
e l l e
he definitely mentioned the "sometimes they can't prove it's your debt or that they own it" part. i wish I'd known this two years ago when i got a surprise $1500 bill for an asthma test, i just finished the payment plan for it this month
pharadyne
Yes always dispute debt! (But also be aware that debt owed that's outside the statute of limitations can still be an issue for things like employment background checks, even if the collector is no longer collecting.)
Reverse Mermaid
i've got a debt that shows up on my credit report for a medical bill that was already paid by my insurance (because insurance is a nightmare), but the credit reporting agencies wouldn't remove it. does this credit karma thing still work for that?
❄️⌒[>。<] BIZ
Reverse Mermaid
: Yes! I did exactly that about two months ago.
Reverse Mermaid
cool! good to know, it's been a pain trying to get that taken care of, especially when like. it's not even real debt
[unpleasant]
Actually since this has turned into a general "debt questions" plurk, Iiiii have a weird one. I probably have debt I want to look into - I say probably because I live overseas now and none of the credit companies will do anything for me unless I mail a request from a US address.
[unpleasant]
I assume there's some kind of Credit Wizard I can talk to about representing me, but I have no idea who that would even be or what type of Wizard to try googling for. Does the Debt Wizard have any ideas?
Nadia
as someone who did work as a debt collector previously, chances are high you won't have to worry much about it. A debt collector has to have the legal right to collect debt in your current area of residence and has to follow the laws pertaining to collecting debt where you are.
Nadia
which means that the long and short of it is, if they don't have someone able to practice law where you currently reside, they can't sue you.
Nadia
if you want something more definitive, best practice is to find a lawyer in your area who specializes in consumer debt.
Nadia
and more in general, I can't stress enough to people to know your rights when it comes to debt. Consumers have a ton of rights and many debt collection agencies violate them because they know the average consumer doesn't know better and will fall for the fear tactics. Any company that can't follow the law doesn't deserve payment.
☕ Aro ➽
So which option would you suggest for maximum "prove it or lose it" impact?
So which option would you suggest for maximum "prove it or lose it" impact?
☕ Aro ➽
I'm guessing either "I have no knowledge of this account" or the one right below it about this collection account?
☕ Aro ➽
(I included the accuracy options just in case.)
☕ Aro ➽
(also these are from the credit karma dispute thing)
sleepwalker
does this still work if you're in a debt relief program? i am curious.
Jimmy
We
Jimmy
*We're gonna test this boys, lfg