I just wanted to boast a little, because back in May 1997 I was in a car accident that spurned a host of crap that found me at the bottom of the pile. The Reader's Digest version is this:
I had just gotten a new job, and was on my way to move to my new townhome.
I was at a stop light, pulling my utility trailer, and a car plowed into me from behind, totalling my car and mangling the trailer.
I was given a claim # by (can I say it here since this is a true story?) [think "good hands" - not]
I went to the emergency room for neck injuries, car was towed home in pieces.
I got a rental car, and waited.
I had two claims reps: one for personal injury and one for property damage.
Personal injury rep kept trying to get me to sign a medical liability release, I refused to.
***Property damage rep offered me $1100 for my car, I refused that, too (he went on leave soon after and I didn't hear from him for months).
After 94 days, still nothing from either of the reps, but I was still in the same rental.
Rental company called and threatened to report the car stolen if it wasn't returned.
I found out that personal injury rep cancelled the rental after one week, but nobody told me.
***I returned car because the balance was $2400, so I thought I was okay since my card only had $300 available on it.
Three days later, still nothing from either rep, but my bank called me.
"Sir....has your credit card been stolen?", "no, why?", "because there are 12 rental car charges for $200 each on your card".
Rental company (think "we pick you up") decided to charge 12 times at $200 because under $250 doesn't require authorization.
Bank closed the account for being $2100 over my limit.
The next day, I got a collection notice for $847 from the emergency room for non-payment - personal injury rep refused to pay it.
I spent much of my time arguing with insurance company from work because I worked 7 am to 6 pm, and they're only open from 9 to 5.
I got fired for spending too much time on the phone.
I couldn't get a job because my life was becoming unglued. I hired a lawyer, but since I wasn't seeking $85k+ they dropped me (but I didn't know why).
Down to my last $100, I filed for personal bankruptcy, which was devasting. There went my 820 credit score!
I finally heard from property rep, and they appraised my car and found it to be valued at $6300, not $1100.
I got a check for $4800 and bought a used car, and finally found a job (the one I have now) in Oct 1997.
Seeing my wrecked car in the carport still...I was evicted.
After almost a year, struggling to get my life back together, insurance company called and wanted to settle claim.
I signed the medical release finally because I was tired of their crap, and I was spent emotionally.
They paid the $847 medical bill, had paid for my car, and said they'd pay the $2100 rental balance, but sent me a check for $1900. I gave up and cashed it.
Total payout to for bills and damages after 11 months of fighting: $8000. Total initially requested by me: $4400. But I still "lost" this case.
This all happened inside of one year....so many years later in December of 2002 I applied for a new home loan.
My credit score was bad because of the bankruptcy, but there was one other problem: 24 late payments for 120+days for a card that I never had.
I was rejected for my home loan because of the 24 late payments, so I researched it.
A big Bank (think "America") bought a small bank that had held one of my credit cards, and although it was legally discharged they "renewed" it a couple years after the bankruptcy.
The account was closed in Oct 1997, but the late payments started in 2000.
I disputed the error with the three agencies, and the Bank said they would remove the errors once I pointed them out.
I applied for a new home load and the 24 late payments were still there, so I called the bank.
Someone had put the charges
back on my credit report after they were removed, thinking that it was an error.
I called the Bank again and they said they'd remove anything up through Jan 2003.
I went back in March and applied for a home loan and was finally approved, but homes had increased almost $40k in that time frame.
I had three
new late payments beginning in Jan of 2003 from, you guessed it, the same Bank - one 30, one 60 and on 90 day late mark.
I called main office of Bank and threatened to sue, they finally decided to do what they should have in the first place - strike the record entirely.
So, nearly six years after my bankruptcy I was purchasing my new home with a credit score of about 560...pretty crappy.
I refinanced to a better loan after one year with a credit score of about 620 and have been on the same job and in the house since it was new.
Today, I requested a better interest rate for my bank card and they ran my credit report. My score was 817, and my rate dropped about 6% because of it.
The bankruptcy is gone from my credit report, and I am officially a home owner after my 60th of 360 mortgage payments, and my credit score is now returned to what it was before the accident.
What a long, hard road it has been!
***EDIT******Oh yes, I forgot to mention this: about four years ago I got an email from a guy who said he knew the personal injury rep that screwed me over. Turns out that my crooked adjuster was arrested for filing false accidental death claims where he created phony medical documents and police reports and paid out over $700k, the largest insurance fraud bust at that time. Doing a little research about what the email stated netted me this article (copied from a news web site):
http://www.mascotgraphics.com/article_one.htm
