Sasha wrote to me through the GetOutOfDebt.org site and asked the following question. If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form. I’m happy to help you totally for free.
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“Dear Steve,
I just found out about 4 months ago that i owed on hospital bills that i thought was taken care of. I contacted the creditor as soon as i found out and since my income was low the hospital agreed to write off a big portion. But I am paying on the remaining portion for 4 months now. How do i get that to go on my credit report so my score will be better.
How do I get the creditor to improve my credit report if I have been making payments.
Sasha”
The Answer:
Dear Sasha,
You don’t. But it is helping to improve your credit report because this debt is not going to a lawsuit, a judgment or a wage garnishment.
Unless a creditor has a reporting agreement with a credit bureau in exchange for pulling credit reports, there is no requirement that any creditor ever report an history about any debt.
Credit bureaus are not a comprehensive repository of information. They only list the information that is given to them by their merchant customers or information the credit bureaus gather from court records. Many financial transactions in life are not reported to the credit bureau. Things like utility bill payments, telephone service, payment to the local car lot, medical bills, gym memberships, etc. are not routinely reported to the credit bureaus.
It sounds to me like you were very lucky to be able to negotiate a repayment plan that you can afford that will allow you to repay the remaining debt you owe.
