Everyone told us to get a second opinion, but we knew that a second opinion was gonna cost money. And when you have depleted all of your money on the first vet, what’s left to pay for a second opinion? I know.

A miracle happened and we were able to get that second opinion. The new vet was able to find what was wrong with our little beagle just by taking a few minutes of her time and examining my dog and getting to know her. There were no expensive X-rays, blood work, or anything else needed to confirm what the other vet should have found right away!

She had a huge tumor in her throat that was clearly visible once you opened her mouth and actually looked back there. Crazy. The cost of that second opinion was a mere fraction of what we paid the first vet for his wrong diagnosis–not to mention he had her scheduled for surgery to remove a gland that didn’t need to be removed.

I don’t want to even imagine what would have happened once he got her in the operating room and realized his boo-boo. Oh geese. I can go on and on…

Since her tumor was inoperable, we did end up losing her shortly after. It’s been over a year and I still miss her EVERY DAY.

There are some excellent vets out there, and then there are some that are out there strictly for the almighty dollar. Through our whole ordeal, we were fortunate to meet several awesome vets that we will use from now on, especially the one that gave us our second opinion!

Just out of curiosity, what food are you feeding Phoenix? Has your current vet gone over his diet at all? When my beagle was diagnosed with cancer, I started reading up so much on dog food. If you haven’t read up on it, now’s a good time to. It may just help ya out.

I’m sorry for the late response. I’ve been away from the site for a little while, but I plan to start posting more soon. I hope when you do read this, Phoenix is doing well and is running around like his old self! If not, please try to get that second opinion!

Send that letter via certified mail. They have 30 days to validate this debt as being yours. If they do not, contact Experian by certified mail and let them know that you contacted the collection agency in writing and they have not validated your debt within the 30 days. It’s best to send them a copy of the DV letter you sent and a copy of the certified mail receipt. By law, they are supposed to remove anything that can’t be verified.

If they do not remove it still, I know legally they have to put a consumer statement next to this negative information. I wouldn’t go for that though. I mean, it is really NOT YOU. In my opinion, you shouldn’t even have to dispute this or put a statement in there. You aren’t the one that went to the radiological group in the first place.

If Experian still does not budge, I would then contact the FTC and tell them what is going on. They are the ones that handle complaints about the CRA’s. I know, it sounds like a bunch of red tape, especially for a $153 negative that is not even yours.

I am hoping that once you contact Experian by mail that they will remove this and you will not have to go any further. I am sure a good lawyer that specializes in this stuff would certainly get that negative off right away, but I can just imagine how much that would cost…way more than $153.

Sure, $153 may not seem like a lot of money. But, that negative could be costing you a job, a decent rate on a car loan or a mortgage. Just imagine how much money that all could add up to. I am not one for lawsuits and I really like to keep things simple. However, if you have done all you can on your own and still can’t get this negative information that is not even yours off of your credit report, hiring a lawyer may be what you need to do.

As far as the incorrect address, I would continue to dispute that too. Usually the addresses are a lot easier to get off than credit information. I have had a few incorrect addresses deleted from my files just by disputing them directly with the CRA’s. You probably already know this, but remember to keep everything in writing when dealing with creditors. It will only help you in the end.

Here’s a copy of a sample DV letter.

Good luck!

I’m glad your mom called the State Senator’s office and hopefully followed up with the Attorney General’s office too. This really does need to stop. From what I am seeing, this is happening far too much with Experian. I wish I would have did something right away when my mix-up happened, but I didn’t. I was just so worried about getting it cleared up that I didn’t pay mind to much else—I should have though. Now if it happens again to me, I will take action!

Geese, I have been holding off on reviewing my credit reports for months now for fear of another Experian mix-up. Reading this today makes me really not want to do it.

I really do hope that this all gets cleared up quickly so that you can get your mortgage that you should have been approved for from the get-go.

Good luck with it all!

Yuck. I hope that the whole Experian mix-up didn’t cause problems with you getting a house. That was my biggest fear! I can’t imagine sitting somewhere like a bank or car dealership and they come out with this huge credit file with all kinds of crazy stuff on it that doesn’t belong to me. I’m glad I pulled mine at home because my reaction was not good!

Just make sure that you do not dispute this stuff online and call them immediately. Like I said before, it is pretty sad that this happens so much that they know exactly how to fix your credit file as soon as you bring it to their attention.

Experian will send you out an updated version of your credit report when they do fix it. Just make sure EVERYTHING is correct on it when they do.

Good luck with it all. Buying a house is stressful enough. Now you have to deal with this on top of it. I don’t think it is right and something does need to be done about it!

I need to pull my Experian credit report again soon to see where I stand, but I will admit that I am nervous to see what they have done this time!

There are a ton of nice condos really cheap here in South Fla but the fees are too much and will probably continue to rise. I am definitely not going to buy a condo here.

$4500 to move in to a rental is a whole lotta cash! Luckily your mother-in-law was there to help ya out.

The way I look at it is that $4500 could go towards a down payment for your own place. I know the required down payment for an FHA loan is 3.5%, and to buy a decent priced home anywhere in Florida, (especially North) that is about what we both plunked down just for move-in costs in a rental.

And the mortgage, taxes, and insurance would still be lower than we pay in rent. I pay the same amount you do and it includes nothing but base rent. I pay all utilities on my own.

Yeah, as you can see I have done some major Rent vs Buy calculating lately.

Chris,

You have the right idea. All we owe is $5400 on our car. That is it! I originally had a goal to pay off the car quickly after filing BK, but it never happened. I do make it a priority to pay the car payment on time so it will look good when it comes time to get a mortgage.

You know, I probably wouldn’t be so excited to buy another house a few years ago when prices were insane, but prices are just so low right now. It is actually a lot cheaper to own a little house with a nice size yard than to rent a little 2 bedroom apartment in my area.

Plus I don’t have to worry about rent increases and restrictions every year. I am sure your friend feels the exact same way I do about apartment living, especially if he has ever owned his own place.

Interestingly he said the same thing about buying a house.

You can do it. Make a plan and get the plan done one step at a time. First step is get rid of existing debt.

To move this time, I paid:

$1200 x 3 = first, last, security
$100 app fee
$500 pet fee
$300 elevator fee

That’s $4,500! I had to borrow it from my mother-in-law in order to move, too. Terrible.

You are right, making goals and working to achieve them has definitely been helping out.

JoEllen – I am sorry to hear about your dogs. I know it must have been really hard! I never knew much about canine cancer until my pup’s diagnosis.

I quickly began learning everything I could about it, and it shocked me to learn that so many dogs die each year from some form of cancer. It’s sad.

Your 4 dogs, along with the rest of the pups that have left us, now have one sassy little beagle up there to keep them company.

May 2011 be a great year for everyone!

IMO, setting goals and getting to work on your future is “the cure for what ails ya” as they say. It’s important to look forward and keep moving in that direction.

May 2011 be your best year ever!

However, my beagle was young and did suffer up until the end. I think that is what bothers me the most. I wanted to know why cancer chose her. I was angry and sad that it did, and felt helpless because there was nothing that we could do to help her.

I know she is in a much better place now and doesn’t have to deal with all the pain anymore. Knowing that is what keeps me going. I just miss her a lot.