Sears, please review account and forgive

With all due respect, the fact that you are in financial straits is
your problem; not Sears'. It's a business and its business is NOT
that of a charity. I sincerely doubt that they will take your request
seriously. I also don't think the fact that you are a "long time
customer" has in any way earned you the special treatment you seek.

I used to work for a cc company.

If it was a long term customer we'd remove a late fee of a month or
maybe two.

But not if they were continuing to purchase during that time and only
if they were a little behind. And we would cut off any new credit
until they were paid off.

Note this was the mid 90s so things may have changed.

It reminds me of my friend who works for one of the cell phone payment
centers. People run up a 4000 bill over 3 months and claim their kid
ran it up.

One month they'll work with you but if you ignore it until the service
is shut off it is a problem.

We have been through the same sort of thing - a few negative thing on
our report (late pmts) . The mortgage co we were working with allwoes
us to present proof that we were always on time and current with our
utilities, and allowed us to oput an explanation letter in our file (
in our case,my hours had been cut and it only took a couple of weeks
to out us behind) as to why those late pmts were there. Becuase it was
nothing huge, we did get the loan. So even if Sears can't help you ,
this might be another route you can take.

If you need more proof, read section 609(c)(2)(E) of the NEW Fair
Credit Reporting Act that President Clinton signed in September of
'96.

"...a consumer reporting agency is not required to remove accurate
derogatory information from a consumer's file, unless the information
is outdated under section 605 or cannot be verified."

Notice the wording above, "is not required to remove." It is very
interesting that the law does not say that accurate information "can
not" be removed, but only that the credit bureau is not required to.
Now, there is law that says a creditor can not knowingly add wrong
information to someone's file, but the subject of removing accurate
information is mysteriously avoided. The truth is the FTC and the
bureaus themselves spend a lot of money trying to convince consumers
otherwise. Why? Lobbyists and money of course! It makes more work for
the credit bureaus, thus increasing their labor costs. Bureaus save
millions of dollars a year by convincing consumers that the consumer
is virtually powerless. But congress worded things to leave the door
open, and in at least one case drafted law allowing for it,
specifically.

wow, debt forgiveness. Like Bono wants for Africa. Wow, i'm calling
MasterCard right now. I want in on this.

I think it may be possible for the credit card company to expunge the
late fees, but it's totally up to their discretion. I'm not sure how
Sears conducts themselves in these matters, but I would't give up all
hope.
Perhaps contacting Sears Credit directly and also expaining briefly on
all three credit reporting agencie's records the whys and hows about
these late payments. Perhaps give some supporting evidence.
Mortgage companies may overlook a few late payments, but not a pattern
of paying late over a long period of time. If you're dealing with your
own bank for a mortgage there may be more of a chance they may make
exceptions also...
Anyway I do hope you resolve this issue. I too believe people deserve
second chances and it can't hurt to pursue any avenues open to you.

Good Luck and keep us posted!!!

If you're trying to improve your credit, I'd advise ou to call the
company directly .. .not go through this site. You can try to make a
payment arrangement . but they won't remove your late payments.

He keeps saying "I know you are my mother" because there is another
woman in my STBX's life and it really seems, after this weekend, that
he is trying to force her into my son's life, even though he has told
him he doesnt want her around very often. So now, not only do I have
the fun parent to be compared to..I have the fun parent's - fun
girlfriend to compare to as well.

Can I ask how old your son is? It may have been posted before but I
don't recall.

My step son is 9 years old. Between me, his father and his mother I
am the disciplinarian. His mother buys him new things all the time...
name brand clothes, video games, movies, toys... you name it he gets
it. My husband and I don't believe in buying the kids a bunch of
things just because. We also don't believe in 9 year olds wearing
head to toe Tommy, Nautica, Adidas, Nike... In the end my step son
has more respect for me than he does his father or his mother. Also
he would rather stay with us than his mother. Children appreciate the
discipline. They learn something from earning what they receive.
They find pride in buying their own things with money they worked
for.

Your son knows that he can play dad for a fool. 'Whatever I want, Dad
will give it to me. *sucker*' Kids are far from dumb. Your son also
knows that you have rules and you teach him things because you love
him. It's just like the poem I posted on my blogger.

"Make a memory with your children,
Spend some time to show you care;
Toys and trinkets can't replace those
Precious moments that you share.
Money doesn't buy real pleasure,
It doesn't matter where you live;
Children need your own attention,
Something only you can give."

Let Dad spend all the money, you just give your son all the love you
can give. Love wins out over materialism in the end.

Starlight is giving you much better advice than I ever could, based
upon experience. I hope you read it.