Credit Report Question

Johnshan1 · Nov 27, 2005

Hey all, I am about to refinance my house and want to get the lowest rate possible of course, so I want to resolve a medical bill I have on my credit report, heres the deal: On my credit report I have a collection for a medical bill with a date of June of 2000. At that time I was a minor. Am I liable for this bill even though it was my parents who actually were paying the medical bills until I turned 18 and was legally an adult? I did the dispute with the required TransUnion and Experien who were showing the negative collection. Equifax does not show anything of the sort therefore I did not have to do anything with them. Advice would be great, thanks. -John

KM2 · Nov 27, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

It's been a long time since I had a law class but I remember something about minors can't enter into contracts. Meaning you can't be held to a any agreements made as a minor. So you shouldn't have to pay the bill, but your parents probably do. Good luck getting it off your credit report they are a pain to deal with. If the bill is big enough I would get an attorney to clear this up.

Johnshan1 · Nov 27, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

Thanks for the input. It should be plain as day- my date of birth is known info to them and so is the date of collection. I am hoping that contacting them and bringing this to their attention I can cure this. I am going through the correct avenues right? I am contacting the credit reporters TransUnion and Experien. I do not want to go through the collector or the medical doctor right, I just want to rid the record of collection with these 2 agencys. Someone correct me if i am wrong, thanks

Boomyal · Nov 27, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

Still may have to have an attorney write them a little note to get their attention.

Wimperdink · Nov 27, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

if the bill still has a remaining balance and you are now of age they can still put it on your credit record. If it was paid off you may have a case. Regardless there are law agencies that will make an attempt to get rid of it for you anyway. My wife ended up with a medical bill that ended up on my credit record. We were newly married at the time and still awaiting her SS #. I put none of my information on their records and still somehow its popped itself into my credit history. Go figure. Good luck with yours and google "lexington law firm". Lots of reading there and other places regarding this issue.

Johnshan1 · Nov 27, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

Interesting. We will see what happens however I still do not see how they can add anything to my credit report as a minor.

Bob_VT · Nov 27, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

You have ststed the key items yourself...

am about to refinance my house and want to get the lowest rate possible

If it is a "refinance" then the credit company will consider your mortgage history very heavy along with your performance with your other obligations during the time you have had the mortgage. Your over 30, 60, 90 lates will affect your rates.

technostingray · Nov 28, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

Originally posted by KM2: It's been a long time since I had a law class... There are agencies that are paid to deal with these kinds of discrepancies and considering the stakes it would be prudent to obtain the highest credit rating possible. Ask your banker.

technostingray · Nov 28, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

QUOTE]

Dang these gremlins...

Homerr · Nov 28, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

I don't think it will even be an issue. If it comes up during the re-fi, just explain it to them. In my experience, medical bills aren't really looked at.. unless of course it's into the thousands. I'm betting a lot of us had a medical bill or two shipped off to a collection agency without your knowledge. Then several months or even years later, it pops up on your credit. I've had a few of those happen when my lazy @ss insurance company didn't pay a bill then the doctor office ships it to collections. They do this relatively quick nowadays so you have to be diligent on your insurance company to pay up. As far as being a minor and your credit report.. that's a new one on me. I don't know what they can attach to a minor's report. I'm thinking since YOU weren't responsible (your parents were) then it shouldn't affect you.

I am going through the correct avenues right? I am contacting the credit reporters TransUnion and Experien. I do not want to go through the collector or the medical doctor right, I just want to rid the record of collection with these 2 agencys.

I would most certainly contact the original creditor (the doctor)... they are going to **** and whine that they sent everything over to the collections.. BS!.. they have records... and they can show whether you were the responsible party or not. DISPUTE the bill in a certified letter to the collection agency. Make them prove the bill was yours. If they cannot come up with proof in 30 days, then the bill is invalid. Also dispute the bill at the credit reporting agencies. Same rules apply.. if they cannot prove the bill was your responsibilty within 30 days, then they remove it. It would be much better if you could get a letter from the doctors office that the debt wasn't yours. It will speed things up for the credit reporting agencies. Worse case scenario... Pay the fee and have a lawyer write them a nasty letter. That will usually take care of it. I've done my fair share of fights with the credit reporting agencies when they mixed my name with my families. It took years to straighten it out and prove them wrong. Good luck with the credit reporting agencies. Be vigil and send EVERYTHING in certified writing only. DO NOTHING over the phone. H.

eeboater · Nov 28, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

I work at a mortgage banker... I know that there are ways around this problem. First, has the bill been taken care of? If so, it is possible for the mortgage company you are refi'ing with to have their credit reporting agency do a "Line update" or a "supplement" to the credit report. What this does is has the credit company (the company that actually issued the credit report) contacts the company in question - in your case the medical company, and checks whether the account has been taken care of. If it has, they will update the report the lender is using so that it does not show the derogatory information. Chances are it will not fix your credit score to the point that it will change your rate. There are tons of things that go into your rate from the Loan-to-value amount to the number of times you have been late on your mortgage. The rates are usually grouped in ranges. As an example, if you are between 620-680 for a credit score, you will be lumped into one rate. As you can see, if you are at a 631 and you get rid of that collection, your score goes up to 635, no change really. I would go to a trustworthy mortgage broker or bank and sit down with them and talk to them about your options. Another option that may not be known is that you just need to provide written verification that the account is clear. Some investors will accept a piece of paper showing that the account has a 0 balance and disregard the derogatory information on the credit report. They do that because they know how hard it is to deal with the three Credit Repositories. I have seen hundreds of credit reports. If the only thing you have that is derogatory on your credit report is that one collection, you are in very good shape. If you also have made your mortgage payments on time 100% of the time you are in even better shape. No Bankruptcy's and Foreclosures you are in fabulous shape. Talk to your lender... see what they can do for you. Sean

MudIsFun · Nov 28, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

As a Loan Officer I have to agree with EE... Many of the lender I work with do not even look at a collection if it is listed as Medical Payment Data. They know how the insurance companies work IE Short pay the bill and have the doctor send you to collections. Many DR's offices will send you right off to collections when they are short payed and not even let you know that they never received the full amount. You find out about it only after running your credit report. Good luck in your refi. Kevin

Homerr · Nov 28, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

MudisFun and EE hit it right on the head! I'd start bustin' some heads. Go to the original creditor and start there. H.

KRS · Nov 28, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

How big is the bill? If it's $20, then the mortgage lender probably won't care. If it's $200+, then you need to do it. Good luck, let us know.

Johnshan1 · Nov 28, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

Thanks for the info guys. I have never missed a payment or had a late payment on anything. I have carried a 4 year auto loan to term with no missed payments, currently have 2 more auto loans half way through their terms as well, along with 2 credit cards. What baffles me is that the last lender I spoke with said I did not have any established credit, and said I needed to pay this medical bill off, also if I wanted my home re-appraised I would need to provide proof with receipts that there is any merit to an apprasial at all. I kind of told him off and said goodbye as I felt that the guy didnt know what he was doing. The amount is $312 and as you guys said, it all boils down to the doctor billing the incorrect insurance company and it never being resolved. As I went to buy my home I found out about it. Now we would like to refinance as my wife now holds a full time job, where she was in school when I bought the house we had to use just my income, which brought us a higher interest rate. We will see what happens but as you guys said above im not sure how much the lender will actually take this into account- I guess thats a question I need to ask them. I am not going to hire an attorney or pay the bill, in another year it will be off my credit report regardless. I guess heres my next question, we have enough equity in our home to pay off all of our debt- (high interest credit cards) would it worth it to take out money when we refinance or just stick to lower monthly payments on the home and write a check each month ourselves and pay these debts off? Im pretty sure I know the answer would just like some input. Thanks guys,

Homerr · Nov 28, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

Your debt-to-income ratio will determine whether you can pay those debts off with the re-fi or not. The lender will look at all of that. They may require you to roll it all together so your debt-to-income is lower. A $312 medical bill is chump change. Don't sweat it. Go to the source and get the actual bill that shows who's responsible. This isn't going to go away overnight even if you have the proof in your hands. Give it some time. I'm betting the lender won't even blink an eye on the bill. Most of them don't anway... then there are others want to know the results of your last prostate exam before they'll loan you anything

H.

eeboater · Nov 29, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

John, Wow, if you have that kind of a payment history, I'm thinking that the lender you went to sucked major booty. You sound like exactly our target customer. In fact, I am willing to bet that if I printed this thread off and took it to one of my loan officers, they'd be asking for your number. I say, go to a different lender. Try to avoid "banks" per say like a US Bank or a Chase because they do not have as many options as a mortgage banker does. Here's what I mean. I don't want to sound like I'm plugging our company per se, but being in the mortgage industry for over 6 years now I have seen what the differences are in the different lenders. We are a mortgage banker, and as a result, we have several different investors that we can send our borrowers to. For example, right now I can think of 11 different lenders we could run a borrower through. Each lender has different guidelines and requirements that they have set to qualify you with. Since there are investors available to a mortgage banker, there are more cubby-holes you can be put in. Compare that with a regular bank, like US Bank, where they have one set of rate sheets, and one investor to work with - themselves. Sean

Johnshan1 · Dec 2, 2005

Re: Credit Report Question

Thanks guys for all the help. I have gotten the TransUnion to remove the info from my credit report! Very easy to do! I checked my report tonight and low and behold the collection is gone- just like they said

Now I need to hear back from Experien, cant wait to see what they say. Im physched that it was that easy, ive heard all the horror stories but I guess if you have a legit reason they will listen. -John

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