Trying to clear up husbands debt - now that it's 1/2 mine

[Summers_rj]

Hi all....I see there is a lot of great advice on here, but needing a bit more help.

First off, I guess I should state for the record that we live in WI (yes, one of those god-forsaken states where we share Everything - even debt). We are trying to clear up my husbands debt and it is worse than we thought.

I know the first steps are to get the credit reports and look through them, now the next step I am a bit confused on. Do I contact the CRA or the CA first?? All of his cards that are past due are in collections.

Also, for almost a year now, we have been making monthly payments to two of the CA. I would assume that because of doing so, we have just agreed that we owe all of it, right?? They keep saying that our payment amount is like 1/2 of what is owed, but will this show up as bad on the CR?? One of them says they will mark it as "paid in full" even though we only paid a portion. Does this work??

We also found out that he has been getting a lot of letters from CA at his mother's address. She has been kindly disposing of them for the past I don't know how many years now. So thanks to her, we really didn't have a clue what was going on. (She was doing that because some of the cards, we think, could be hers taken out under my husbands name).

Lastly, when I pulled the Experian report it shows a list of different names that the accounts are under. Now, my husbands' deceased father is on this list. What could this mean?? That they had a joint account??

I am hoping for any/all advice on this matter. We just want to be able to get rid of it.

Here is what the reports are showing:

Chase: Charged off/past due 180 days/ $6,269 Write off and $3,469 past due. Stay on record until 11/2011. Account closed.

Asset Acceptance LLC (Big pain in my A$$): OC: CitiBank Status: CA $12,372 past due. on record: Dec. 2011

Bank of America: Charged off. Past due 150 days. $1,184 write off. purchased by another. Stay: Oct. 2011

Bank of America: Charged off. Account transferred/closed. Purchased by another. $1,585 write off.

Bank of America: CO - past due 150 days. $3,372 write off. $1,968 past due Nov. Account closed - stay until Mar. 2012.

Bank of America: CO - 150 days. $4,514 write off. Purchased. Stay until Nov. 2011.

1st Resolution: Providian. CA: $3,247 past due. Stay Nov. 2011.

Hudson & Keyse LLC - Bank of America: CA: $3,031 past due. Stay Sept. 2011.

NCO FIN/22: NOC/Lasgne of MBNA: CA: $6,509 past due Stay Nov. 2011.

Wash Mut/Providian: Account charged off. $2,096 written off.

Thanks all in advance for your advice!! Is there any hope for us??

[zfire]

You will need to dispute all wrong names and also old addresses.

This is a must. Do this before you do anything such as disputing the debt

with the CRA's. There are some primers here *stickys...that you should read completely..FIRST.

I mean don't do anything until you have read and read and read. That's my best advice. Don't take action until you've got

a good understanding of what you should do.

Also:

Don't talk to a collection agency *CA on the phone...EVER.

Find out your states SOL.

If anything has passed SOL and you haven't started paying it, don't start now.

As to what you've been paying, you are probably stuck, as I think you've re-set

the SOL on those.

[gypsie]

There is ALWAYS hope. Relax and know it's going to take time.

You've got all 3 reports? -one from each CRA. The second step is to dispute the negatives with the CRAs. You can dispute in batches of 3 or 4 on each report or maybe focus on one CRA at a time until you've disputed all the negatives with each CRA.

Hopefully, you'll get rid of some of them that way- if the CRA can not verify with the data furnishers (the creditors that place the TLs on the reports) then the CRA will remove the TL.

However, before you dispute- it is a good idea to know if the TL that you are disputing is past the SOL. You don't want to wake up a CA that wants to sue.

As far as CAs...you send them DVs (debt validation). BUT, DV is a timely process, meant to be sent to a CA or JDB upon receiving their initial "dunning" or communication. As far as the FDCPA, it is only good- if done timely. However, you should NEVER pay a CA or JDB without having proper validation that a debt belongs to you.

As far as the CAs that you've been paying.....there's not much you can do about those, unfortunately. You can send a DV, but they don't have to respond to it.

For the CAs that you have not been paying, such as the one that has been sending letters to the wrong address- you can always play dumb.... and send the DV with the notion that you just happen to find them on your CR and you don't know what the TL is for.

Before you start doing anything though- READ READ READ!

good luck

[brokeinok]

Before you start disputing, you need to determine the SOL in your state and find out when the last payments were made on these accounts. Do not start disputing and sending DV letters until you know this for every account on there.

As zfire stated, start with disputing the incorrect names and addresses on the credit report but nothing else till you determine the SOL question. It is possible many of these will fall off after removal of the associated incorrect name or address.

As for the ones you've paid on, you are stuck with those, hopefully they will delete the TL once you are finished.

[Summers_rj]

Our SOL is 6 years in WI. From what I can figure from the CR, we still have until 2010-2011 before these start to fall off.

[brokeinok]

The SOL has to do with time limits on their being able to legally sue you for the debts, not when they will fall off your reports.

When was the last time you made a payment on each one? Figure that out, add thirty days and that is your DOFD (date of first deliquency) then add six years, that is the date the SOL will run out.

Another thing you need to do is find out if they are still owned by the OC or if they have sold them to a JDB.

[gypsie]

Our SOL is 6 years in WI. From what I can figure from the CR, we still have until 2010-2011 before these start to fall off.

Just to be clear,

The SOL has nothing to do with the 7 year reporting period for negative info on your CR

SOL = A statute of limitations is a statute in a common law legal system that sets forth the maximum period of time, after certain events, that legal proceedings based on those events may be initiated. In other words, the legal time limit for enforcing the collection of debt can expire and you may use the SOL as an affirmative defense in the event that a creditor attempts to sue you once the SOL as tolled. Each state sets their own SOL. SOL time begins with DOFD or DOLA.

AND, something of interest for you- is WI is a SOR state = Statute of Repose is a statute that cuts off certain legal rights if they are not acted on by a certain deadline. So, a creditor may NOT attempt to collect or sue for a debt that is passed the SOL.

[LadynRed]

I have an additional question - when were you married ? Your initial post title says 'now that it's 1/2 mine' .. Unless you were married while these debts were being racked up, YOU are NOT liable for ANY of it. Even in a community property state, pre-marital debt remains SEPARATE PROPERTY.

[Summers_rj]

We were married just over a year ago, but these debts are from 2004. That makes me feel a lot better.