Page 64 - Winning The Credit Game Bundle (CK Patrick)

52 THE CREDIT GAME

However, not all creditors do this automatically. This means that
you will want to reach a clear understanding with your creditor that
your account status will be changed to “paid as agreed” when you
have paid off your balance. This is the only way to ensure that this loss
on your scorecard has the best chance of being removed.
So how do you reach such an agreement?

GET IT IN WRITING

Any agreement you reach with anyone in your life involving finances
should be documented in writing. This allows a court to see clear
physical evidence that both parties agreed to these terms, and that you
are owed what you were promised for completing your side of the
deal.
It is also a good idea to communicate with anyone you might have
a complaint with in life such as an employer, doctor, or family member
in writing so that there is physical evidence of any problem they have
caused you, and of the fact that you let them know about this problem
and asked them to help you solve it at the time. That has nothing to do
with credit—it’s just good to know.
If things go poorly, being able to present a written, signed and time
stamped document showing what happened and how both parties
agreed to solve the situation is the best way to ensure that justice is
done. Any verbal agreement, such as an agreement made via phone
call or in-person conversation, is harder to enforce in court since the
different parties can give different accounts of what happened. Getting
something in writing leaves no doubt.
In the modern world, the easiest way to get an agreement in
writing is via email. Email has the added bonus of recording not only
the contents of your conversation, but the exact time and date at which
the conversation took place and the exact email address of the person
you are having the conversation with. That makes it easy to prove who
said what and when.
When having a conversation with a creditor about paying a bill
where late payment or nonpayment has harmed your credit score, ask