Just a quick FYI that today, July 1 2009, is the day that student loan hell gets significantly cooler for millions of Sallie Mae's indentured servants.
The Income Based Repayment Scheme is, on paper, going to rock your world if you have high student loan payments but crap wages and/or a family to take care of. The Scrub has written all about Income Based Repayment (IBR) previously, so go there for all the yummy sweetness.
But now the Scrub wants specifics from you. Did you try to sign up? How has it worked for you? Was your lender all over it, or were they trying to act like they don't know anything about it? What was your old payment and what is it now under IBR? Does IBR kick as much butt in real life as on paper? Or is it a paper tiger?
Leave a comment and let the Scrub know.
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Equifax Online Dispute is Pretty Easy, Worth Praising
The Scrub has a few minutes of free time to spare, so he thought he would throw out a post in praise of Equifax for how easy their online dispute process is now.
Back story: The Scrub found some stupid crap on his Equifax report that should not be there. Basically, a PITA creditor is physically unable to accurately report the status of this account.
In a just world, the incompetent asses would be banned from credit reporting until the end of time...perhaps beyond the destruction of our universe just to ensure that future creatures do not have to endure this travesty.
In our world, they just "accidentally" report completely wrong stuff to all three bureaus whenever they feel like it. With impunity.
Enter the Scrub and a serious dose of "punity".
Normally, the online dispute process is obscured. MyFico.com doesn't even let you do it anymore (which was pretty damned upsetting because the letters take forever to send and get results from). They just help you draft a letter.
Equifax, however, lets you dispute all sorts of crap with a simple click. The Scrub was able to dispute an alleged alternative/former name (seriously, the Scrub has never been named "Heffrey"...) as well as the wrong crap from the PITA creditor.
Getting results from the disputes may be hit and miss (maybe someone out there is calling the Scrub "Heffrey" behind his back???) but the process could not have been any easier.
Just make sure that you save the confirmation number from your credit reports AS WELL AS the dispute number for when you want to check your results online.
Back story: The Scrub found some stupid crap on his Equifax report that should not be there. Basically, a PITA creditor is physically unable to accurately report the status of this account.
In a just world, the incompetent asses would be banned from credit reporting until the end of time...perhaps beyond the destruction of our universe just to ensure that future creatures do not have to endure this travesty.
In our world, they just "accidentally" report completely wrong stuff to all three bureaus whenever they feel like it. With impunity.
Enter the Scrub and a serious dose of "punity".
Normally, the online dispute process is obscured. MyFico.com doesn't even let you do it anymore (which was pretty damned upsetting because the letters take forever to send and get results from). They just help you draft a letter.
Equifax, however, lets you dispute all sorts of crap with a simple click. The Scrub was able to dispute an alleged alternative/former name (seriously, the Scrub has never been named "Heffrey"...) as well as the wrong crap from the PITA creditor.
Getting results from the disputes may be hit and miss (maybe someone out there is calling the Scrub "Heffrey" behind his back???) but the process could not have been any easier.
Just make sure that you save the confirmation number from your credit reports AS WELL AS the dispute number for when you want to check your results online.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Scrub is Going on Hiatus for a Bit
The Scrub has been posting light recently.
No s#@$! What is going on, Scrub?
Sorry. This is mainly due to the ridiculous workload of summer classes in law school, but there are other things going on in real life that are taking precedent right now.
All you guys need to know is that the Scrub is going to return, probably within the next month or so, when he is finished with the summer semester. In the meantime, feel free to explore the archives for more information on credit repair than you could shake a stick at. Make use of the search function at the top of this page, or you can click on the information for beginners to the right of this entry--------------over here----------->
The Scrub will still be answering emails about specific credit repair questions, so you can always ask the Scrub a question and get a thoughtful, possibly correct answer within a day.
Thanks for reading, and the Scrub will be back soon.
No s#@$! What is going on, Scrub?
Sorry. This is mainly due to the ridiculous workload of summer classes in law school, but there are other things going on in real life that are taking precedent right now.
All you guys need to know is that the Scrub is going to return, probably within the next month or so, when he is finished with the summer semester. In the meantime, feel free to explore the archives for more information on credit repair than you could shake a stick at. Make use of the search function at the top of this page, or you can click on the information for beginners to the right of this entry--------------over here----------->
The Scrub will still be answering emails about specific credit repair questions, so you can always ask the Scrub a question and get a thoughtful, possibly correct answer within a day.
Thanks for reading, and the Scrub will be back soon.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Finding an Attorney is Easy If You Know Where to Look
Finding an attorney is not simply a matter of opening up the yellow pages and finding the ugliest, most obnoxious advertisement in the book. Many excellent attorneys and firms simply do not advertise their services that way.
No, the best way to go about finding an attorney in your state/city/village is to go to the Lawyer Referral Services Directory for your state.
Here is how it works.
1. You have a legal problem
Self-explanatory.
2. You explain the problem to the Lawyer Referral Services folks
Just use plain English. You can either do it in person, over the phone, or by submitting a questionnaire over teh internetz. Larger and medium-sized cities will have a local bar association that you can contact for help.
3. They match you up with an attorney desperate for clientele
Usually small firms/solo practitioners just starting out/just relocated to your area.
4. You typically pay the attorney a retainer and the fee for using the referral service (usually between $20 and $50 from what the Scrub has seen)
A retainer is just an advance on some of the fees you will be charged for using the attorney's services. Some attorneys are moving away from this though in lieu of fee-for-services... not going into that now though.
5. You now have an attorney pursuing your case
Which is what you wanted to begin with, right?
So there ya go.
***For more on this
A good place to start is to ask yourself "Do I Need an Attorney"?
No, the best way to go about finding an attorney in your state/city/village is to go to the Lawyer Referral Services Directory for your state.
Here is how it works.
1. You have a legal problem
Self-explanatory.
2. You explain the problem to the Lawyer Referral Services folks
Just use plain English. You can either do it in person, over the phone, or by submitting a questionnaire over teh internetz. Larger and medium-sized cities will have a local bar association that you can contact for help.
3. They match you up with an attorney desperate for clientele
Usually small firms/solo practitioners just starting out/just relocated to your area.
4. You typically pay the attorney a retainer and the fee for using the referral service (usually between $20 and $50 from what the Scrub has seen)
A retainer is just an advance on some of the fees you will be charged for using the attorney's services. Some attorneys are moving away from this though in lieu of fee-for-services... not going into that now though.
5. You now have an attorney pursuing your case
Which is what you wanted to begin with, right?
So there ya go.
***For more on this
A good place to start is to ask yourself "Do I Need an Attorney"?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Lifelock Loses Suit on Fraud Alerts, Decides They Will Keep Doing It Anyway
The Scrub has discussed identity theft protection before, but not in a legal context.
Well, now we have legal context.
Experian sued Lifelock, one of the more popular identity theft protection providers, over their practice of placing fraud alerts on client's files. Experian claimed that this was costing them money, and that Lifelock shouldn't be doing it anyway.
The court sided with Experian, although Lifelock may not comply with the ruling:
However, LifeLock CEO Todd Davis reportedly does not view the ruling as a hindrance. Davis is quoted in the report as stating of the issue, “It’s going to be business as usual until we hear they don’t agree with the way we’re interpreting this… We’re not worried that this is some catastrophic decision.”
Which is funny. The Scrub wishes he could do this with his student loan promissory notes.
"Mr. Scrub, you signed these promissory notes and you most certainly ARE liable for the full $2.6 billion we gave you to fund your education."
"Well Mr. Student Loan Guy, the way I read these promissory notes is that I don't have pay them back if I feel like my education was a poor investment that actually made me less employable to every employer I have applied to since the economy started to tank."
The Scrub has yet to learn the "cuz I felt like it" exception to court judgments.
Well, now we have legal context.
Experian sued Lifelock, one of the more popular identity theft protection providers, over their practice of placing fraud alerts on client's files. Experian claimed that this was costing them money, and that Lifelock shouldn't be doing it anyway.
The court sided with Experian, although Lifelock may not comply with the ruling:
However, LifeLock CEO Todd Davis reportedly does not view the ruling as a hindrance. Davis is quoted in the report as stating of the issue, “It’s going to be business as usual until we hear they don’t agree with the way we’re interpreting this… We’re not worried that this is some catastrophic decision.”
Which is funny. The Scrub wishes he could do this with his student loan promissory notes.
"Mr. Scrub, you signed these promissory notes and you most certainly ARE liable for the full $2.6 billion we gave you to fund your education."
"Well Mr. Student Loan Guy, the way I read these promissory notes is that I don't have pay them back if I feel like my education was a poor investment that actually made me less employable to every employer I have applied to since the economy started to tank."
The Scrub has yet to learn the "cuz I felt like it" exception to court judgments.
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