I have a question about obtaining credit that is unique to my situation.

First, my situation:
I'm 25 now. When I was in college from '98 to '02 , I made some
careless and irresponsible choices and did not pay some bills. I was
moving from place to place, and never reported my changed address. So
I lost track of my accounts and who was owed what. I had no idea who I
owed money to, but I knew that interest on past due accounts is
accumulating somewhere. And I had no money to pay for it. That ruined
my credit.

Now 3 years later, I'm a (internet-made) millionaire. I need credit for my
business and personal use, but when I apply, I get rejected because of
the poor credit record. As far as I know, I should only owe a few
thousand dollars to various companies. I would like to find whoever I
owe, pay them, and have that information removed from my credit
report.

First, how do I find who I owe so that I can pay them? Second, how do
I go about paying my debts and clearing my name so that I may obtain
credit?

There are so many shady "debt negotiators" out there. I don't want to
deal with them. I don't care how
much it costs, or what I need to do, I just want to actually pay off
the debts and hopefully
repair my credit.

Thanks bradical :)

Here was my original comment:

Get a copy of your credit report. www.freecreditreport.com is an easy
way to do so. Then contact each of your creditors one by one. It is
better to dig up their phone numbers, even if the credit report tells
you to contact them by mail. Take good notes when you talk to them. Be
perfectly honest. In most cases, you should be able to "settle" the
amount for less than what is currently owed. Pay off everything. Or,
if you think something is incorrect, dispute it. Once you do this, it
will be much easier to obtain credit. There isn't really a good,
alternative short cut to this process.


I would add that while you could go for a credit card where you pay in
advance, and this would help your credit somewhat, you're better off
in the long run if you clear up your credit report now. Creditors like
a good current credit history, but your credit past weighs heavily,
too.

Best wishes,
Kriswrite

There are credit card issuers that grant you a starter card get by
placing a fixed amount of funds with them, in advance.

For example, you place $5000 with them on account. They grant you a
card with a $4000 limit. You use the card, pay every month and build a
credit history of on-time payments.  They can't lose because they have
you $5000.

"Re: First, how do I find who I owe so that I can pay them? Second, how do
I go about paying my debts and clearing my name so that I may obtain
credit?"

Go to a credit reporting agency such as http://www.equifax.com or
http://www.experian.com and run your credit report.  They will list
the companies that you owe money to.  They will also give you
information on how to contact them so you can repay the debit.  Once
you pay them off, it should show as settled on your report within a
resonable amount of time.

Second, if your running a business, you may consider signing up for a
Dun & Brad Street #, that will help your business get credit.

Get your credit report from the 3 major credit reporting agencies -
TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.  Contact every creditor they show
as past due and make arrangements to pay off the debt.  The creditor
may then adjust your status to paid in full.  However, the creditor
may or may not report the updated status, it will be your problem to
chase them.  Also, paying off the debt will not erase your late
payments.  You will still have a low credit score and difficulty
getting credit for years and years.

First,

Dont be so cheap and only give $10 for such a hard answer a
millionaire should give more.

Secondly,
As mentioned here check your credit report and contact the banks.

Third,
Contact this guy he is great credit consultant 845-356-2266 he would
be a help to you.

Fourth,
American Express and other banks have credit cards that you can be a
JOINT (not additional) USER so ask your friend with good credit to add
you as a joint so you can start building your credit with a
satisfactory pay rating.

Get a copy of your credit report. www.freecreditreport.com is an easy
way to do so. Then contact each of your creditors one by one. It is
better to dig up their phone numbers, even if the credit report tells
you to contact them by mail. Take good notes when you talk to them. Be
perfectly honest. In most cases, you should be able to "settle" the
amount for less than what is currently owed. Pay off everything. Or,
if you think something is incorrect, dispute it. Once you do this, it
will be much easier to obtain credit. There isn't really a good,
alternative short cut to this process.

Kriswrite

Thank you all for your helpful comments. I apologize if the $10 for an
answer was too low, as one comment suggested.

Since all the other comments are from "just commenters, who want to
help but can't "answer" questions, you could suggest that
kriswrite-ga, who is a GA Researcher (blue user name), post her
comment as an answer.

you got it, kriswrite if you want to post as an answer, i'll be glad
to give the $10 to you.

Bradical, thanks for the great rating...and the tip! I appreciate both.

Kriswrite

I am late, but I'm adding this because I hope I can help anyone else
who comes across this question. First of all, realize that cleaning up
your credit is a harrowing experience, regardless of how you go about
doing it. Secondly, it's helpful to go into the situation that
everything can be fixed.

Please check out www.creditboards.com

It's a very helpful FREE (to users) message board that answers any
possible question you could have in a helpful environment. The site is
somewhat overwhelming because there are so many topics to read and so
much information, so I'll try to summarize.

When dealing with past creditors and especially collections agencies,
the burden of proof legally falls on them with regards to whether a
debt is valid or not, so sometimes they'll "lose" your papers or, in
the case of SOME collections agencies, "forget" about verbal
agreements that were made. If possible, ALWAYS conduct your business
by mail so as to create a legal paper trail....you can document when
and where you "talked" with someone, their response, and have evidence
that they received your correspondence.

Next, it is perfectly legal and within your best interest to ask a
creditor to change information on your report. First, with any debt,
dispute it. It doesn't matter whether you recognize it, whether you
paid it, anything, just dispute it. It gives you a chance that have
old, bad information fall off if they decide not to re-validate it,
and if they do send you "validation" it gives you updated contact
information and typically a copy of the agreement and an itemized bill
of what you owe. These are helpful :D When they return the information
to you, go over what you have in front of you. The FCRA (Federal
Credit Reporting Act) and FDCPA (Fair Debt Collections Practices Act)
have VERY specific guidelines as to what constitutes validation of a
debt. Like I mentioned earlier, the burden of proof falls on the
company, so if they can't prove that you owe, then per the FDCPA, the
information has to be removed from your credit report. It's not fair
for them to collect payment on a debt that they aren't accurately
keeping track of.

FInally, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Companies don't make money
off putting negative information on your credit report, so ask if you
can pay off a debt in exchange for them deleting the bad information
off your report, or pay 25-50% of the original amount in order for
them to mark it asa regular account that's been "paid as agreed,"
which in credit report speak is MUCH better than a debt marked as
"paid in full." Don't let collections agencies intimidate you. They
send letters in the mail and may call you at home demanding that you
pay. Read up on what's legal and what's not and use it to your
advantage. Some data show that over 50% of debtors pay the full amount
after they gete the first "scary" phone call and end up giving the
agency money and still haveing negative marks all over their report.
They (collections agencies) buy debts drom creditors, so they are
willing to take ANY money you give them. Them telling you that they
are "authorized" by the creditor to take 50% etc is doublespeak. They
are "authorized" to take any amount they're willing to accept since
they legally own the debt.

NB: Be aware of your state's Statute of Limitations. They can be found
at http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-State.html as well as
other sites that can be found on Google (where else?). These are
important, especially if you owe relatively large amounts ($1000 as
opposed to $100 for example). Some may try to sue you for the debt,
which is why your "paper trail" is important and better than phone
calls, should you have to talk to an arbiter or show evidence of "who
said what" in court.

Ultimately, this is a very brief (yes, brief) overview for something
that's very intricate (managing your financial record). Please go to
creditboards.com (or any other free, reputable site) and get the
details that best fit your situation. Good luck!