How can you repair credit after sickness?
Problem
I have been living in Milwaukee for past 30 years. I was suffering from blood cancer and was unemployed for several years. I am completely fine now and want to get back to work. As I was without any job for past few years, so it was not possible for me to pay off my debts. Some of my creditors have sold off my accounts to debt collection agencies. My credit is in a terrible condition. I have no idea about how to get out of this mess. Some of the negative items ought to have disappeared from my credit report by now, but they are still showing up. How can I improve my credit? Will it help if I pay off the debts now? Please advice. Thanks in advance.
Solution
Good to know that you have recovered from cancer and are completely healthy now. Be happy that you are back to normal life again. God has given you new life and you should make the most of it. I really appreciate your wish to improve your credit and lead an organized financial life.
At present, you have 2 issues to deal with – debts and credit report. Order your credit reports from the 3 credit bureaus – TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Read through your credit reports minutely and check whether or not there are any mistakes. If you find any wrong information on your credit report, then inform it to the bureaus. The negative items that are more than 7 years old should drop from your credit report. If you find such items on your credit report, then dispute the items with the bureaus. However, it is important to keep in mind that student loan debts will remain on your credit report till you repay them.
Your second problem is dealing with the collection agencies (CA). You will get the name and contact details of the collection agencies from your credit report. If you find that there are some debts on your credit report that you don’t owe, ask the collection agencies to validate the debt. If they fail to prove that you owe money to them, send a Cease and Desist letter to the collectors.
Next, check the Statute of Limitations (SOL) period on the debts that you actually owe. Under FDCPA Act, the collection agencies can’t sue you for a debt that has crossed the SOL period. So, if you have any debt that is well past SOL period and the CA is threatening to sue you, then send an Expired SOL notification letter to the collection agency.
You’ll need to repay the debts you actually owe. For that you should plan a smart budget. Thereby you can know about your net income, expenses, and the areas where you can save money to pay off your debts. You can enroll in a debt consolidation Milwaukee program to repay your debts comfortably. Under this program, you’ll only require to make a single monthly payment to the debt consolidation Milwaukee company. This will help you reduce your debt burden. So, get help of debt consolidation Milwaukee to pay back your creditors.
Finally, paying off your debts will not increase your credit score instantly. Your score will increase as you go on making timely payments on your debts. Try to add positive credit information on your report and your financial health will definitely restore in around 4-5 years.
About the author : Ryan Smith is a contributory writer associated with the Debt Consolidation Care Community and has written several articles for various financial websites. He holds his expertise in the Debt industry and has made significant contribution through his various articles.
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