Hello helpful people, new member here

[bruceinsac]

Hi there people!

I've been lurking around these forums for a month now, finally decided it's time to repair my credit. Also decided to take a second to say how incredibly helpful most people seem here. I count myself among the very lucky to have found this board!

For those who might be interested:

I lost my job as an I.T. instructor back on 2001 about a month before my first child was due. I'd always been leery of credit, but with a great paying job I jumped in feet first. With the discontinued medical insurance, it was all I could do to get the baby born without finding out if there really is a debtors prison. At that time my creditors were totally unwilling to work with me on temp. lowered payments so they were allowed to slip. I never heard from these creditors more than 1-2 times in 11/2001 - 2/2002.

When I recently ran my credit report there are huge #'s of inaccuracies. OC and CA both reporting & aging the accounts. Every single one appears to be "new debt" as I read it. From what I have read these are unenforceable due to SOL and 90% of them likely should be off my credit report by now.

I have saved a nice chunk of $$ now and want to PFD, or total removal. As i am really interested in getting a home. I know most here think I'd be crazy to pay, but my conscience is bothered by not paying to some degree. My question now is: Is it to my advantage to DV or is it thought that a PFD on this past-SOA / Reporting period with a firm letter might get their juices flowing. Cost isn't an issue here I insist on one of these outcomes: TL deleted, PFD, or I hire a lawyer. Any thoughts?

Also I'd love some assistance deciphering the report but was afraid that is too much of an imposition on you kind people.

[Ahntara]

Don't be silly. We are here to help.

If you wish to pay your debts, by all means, do so. There is value in taking care of your responsibilities that goes beyond what happens to your CR or score. If your priority is to obtain a mortgage loan, paying may hinder the achievement of that goal. I'd urge you to decide what you actually want, in what order, and then proceed.

Most CR's contain a key that helps you to read it. There are also format issues specific to each CR or kind of CR.

In general, there are 4 sections of all CR's: Personal Information, the 'credit' portion with tradelines, Public Records & Inquiries.

Tradelines contain the same data regardless of format: The Data Furnishers name, account number, date opened, date last reported, credit limit or highest credit reported, balance, past due amount, type of account, ECOA designation, months reviewed, rating, historical designations under 30, 60, 90 day counters & a notation field which may, or may not, be filled in.

The 'date last reported' confuses many on collection accounts. This may be the date that the CA acquired the account. So it may appear to have been re-aged. But this doesn't constitute illegal re-aging. This date does, however, cause a collection account to impact your credit score - that's a different issue.

The FCRA has strict guidelines for how long derogatory data may appear on your CR. You can find this in the FCRA 1681c, Subsection 605(a)(©. You may wish to read this for yourself. It says that collection accounts (any other adverse item of info) may appear for 7 years plus 180 days from the 'beginning of the commencement of the delinquency'. Nothing can legally alter that time period. On this board, we call this the DOFD (date of first delinquency). The DOFD is currently only displayed on one CR, Equifax. TU has an 'estimated date of removal' from which you can count backwards and find the DOFD. Experian only has a 'date of status' or 'status date' that doesn't relate to anything except their own records.

The FCRA 1681s-2, Subsection 623 says that DF's need to supply CRA's with the DOFD within 90 days of providing the TL. No where does it say they must publish the date or provide it to consumers. But they definitely have it. You simply may have to call them and request what month/year they have been provided.

"...unenforceable due to SOL..."

SOL is state law that determines how long a valid lawsuit may be filled to recover money owed and details the ramifications should judgment be granted. It has no bearing on credit reporting, which is regulated by the federal FCRA. So, although you may not get sued on an old debt, if it's within the valid Reporting Period in the FCRA, it may still appear on your CR.

That's a start. You can take it from there and ask for additional clarification. Welcome & good luck!

[OMGWhatHaveIdone]

Welcome here Bruce! I'm glad you made the decision to take the plunge and make your first post. Tons of helpful people here. As you've been "lurking" a month, I'm sure that you've read until you thought your eyeballs would pop out. That being said, ask away! Whatever you need to know....someone can help you. Please don't think your questions are putting any sort of impositions on anyone here. Many volunteer their time and resources because they've been where we all are now and someone helped them along the way. They are just paying it forward.

Asking questions yields results, which is what you want in terms of repairing your credit. Please don't be shy and again, welcome to CIC!

[bruceinsac]

That you for the informative reply. Most of the things you mentioned I am fairly aware of but still enjoy a bit of reassurance I am reading it correctly!

I know the usual M.O. of people is to not read,Read,READ! before posting. But I'm really going to be trying hard not to ask easily searchable questions. I understand paying the CA won't in & of itself help my credit scores. I'd need written proof they intend to honor the PFD to gain any real benefit. Is that correct?

Right now I am wrestling with my ethics: I have enough $$ at present to PIF all accounts but since they have no right to collect, and more importantly 4 of 5 HAVE NO RIGHT TO EVEN REPORT THE DEBT after these 7.5 years. Those that are not are literally on their last month or 2 before that date.

Don't be silly. We are here to help.

If your priority is to obtain a mortgage loan, paying may hinder the achievement of that goal. I'd urge you to decide what you actually want, in what order, and then proceed.

My main goal is to purchase a home within 4-9 months. I used 4 months as a start date as ALL neg. TL's would most certainly be past the 7.5 year reporting period.

I'm not sure I understand why you feel that credit repair & the house are seperate goals & possibly at odds with each other? What set of options do you (and any others who want to chime in) see in the cards for me?

OMGWHID: thank you for the warm welcome!

[OMGWhatHaveIdone]

I'm not sure I understand why you feel that credit repair & the house are seperate goals & possibly at odds with each other? What set of options do you (and any others who want to chime in) see in the cards for me?

OMGWHID: thank you for the warm welcome!

Bruce,

If you haven't already done so, read this thread by Methuss about the kinds of things that can affect your credit score. This is especially important if you want to get the best possible rate on a mortgage. The lower your score = the higher interest rate you pay. Pay special attention to the types of groups people get lumped into, depending on their credit report. The things you try to do today, can place you into a different group tomorrow. That can be either good or bad.

It's great that you possess a terrific set of morals. However, with debts as old as yours are, they really should just be left to fall off on their own. Send a dispute letter to the CRA's and request that they delete the four that are past the reporting period. Don't forget to send in proof of ID with your letter and any proof you have that the debts are long past the reporting period. Once you get that done, then focus on getting the rest taken care of. Do all of this in small batches so the CRA can't come back and say they missed something. And, as you know by now from reading the boards, always send CMRRR. CA's can't sue. That doesn't mean they won't try, but you can always send them a sweet FOAD letter. Will they resell to another JDB? They just might, but as long as you have something that shows proof of the DOFD, then you can tell those CA's/JDB's to FOAD too. DVing in your case would be a waste of time, given both the SOL and the RP is past.