questions for a newbie that finally looked at his credit report

[t0od0pe4u]

So, I'm going through my credit report and have a question about one of my entries. I am not sure where to post it, whether it is a debt validation or not.

I have an entry that is on my credit report.

High Balance: $2813

Status: Transferred, Closed

Date Opened: 03/2006

Reported Since: 03/2006

Date of Status: 08/2008

Last Reported: 08/2008

Creditor's Statement: Purchased by another lender

In the payment history graph it shows 07/2008 as 90 days, then 08/2008 as CLS.

Now, I'm not sure what to do next because no collection agency has contacted me about this debt since 2008 and I live in California where the SOL is, 4 years written? I'm not even sure if it relates to this?

-Do I send a debt validation letter to the original creditor?

-Do I find out who the "other lender" is and send a debt validation letter?

-Do I dispute this entry with the credit bureaus?

What is the best thing to do next?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[credit911]

Now, I'm not sure what to do next because no collection agency has contacted me about this debt since 2008 and I live in California where the SOL is, 4 years written? I'm not even sure if it relates to this?

From what I learned from this forum, SOL has nothing to do with credit reporting.

When an SOL reached its expiration date, that just mean that nobody can legally sue you to collect hat debt. They can still however continue to collect.

Now, it seems that your account was transfered and sold to a collection agency.

They can report your account as "in collection" for the next 7 years from the date it became delinquent.

The original creditor should have noted "charge-off" and will continue to report as such for 7 years from the date it became delinquent.

I have charge-off's and collections on my credit report. TransUnion has an approximate date below each account where the info is expected to be removed. While I have not seen Experian's, I can say that Equifax doesn't have those dates.

[debtorshusband]

First, I would never send a DV letter just because something turns up on a credit report. In my view, Debt Validation is part of a carefully choreographed dance. The first step is when a Collection Agency contacts you about the debt, and informs you of your right to dispute, and the response step is to send a DV letter.

Second, until you are clearly past California's 4 year SOL, it might be best to lay low, and not risk waking the CA up.

Finally, I guess your best course of action depends on your goals. Do you want to open a dialog and pay off the debt? Then ignore what I said above.

Are you hoping the SOL will run out before the CA realizes it? Then lay low.

Is your main concern removing this from your credit report? I'm no expert on Credit Repair, so I'm not the best one to advise. You see, my experience is not with my own credit problems, but with my wife's. And it didn't bother me at all if her credit was trashed; that would just keep the credit card companies from sending her offers for additional cards, which would just end up with her getting in trouble again.

It's all well and good to have a clean credit report, but do you even need it at this time? If you're not trying to finance a car or get a mortgage, maybe it's easier just to wait a few more years until the item drop off (7 years from date of first deliquency, as credit911 said)

But regardless, even if your goal is to get this removed from your credit report before the 7 years runs, it would probably be wise to wait until the 4 year SOL to sue runs out before making waves.

Good luck.

DH

[t0od0pe4u]

I guess my question is, I'm not even sure when the date of first delinquency is in the first place.

"In the payment history graph it shows 07/2008 as 90 days, then 08/2008 as CLS."

And in all honesty, I don't think I can wait 7 years from 2008 to wipe this entry off.

So, my next step would be to basically wait for fall of this year, set up a payment plan, and get it squared away?

Edited March 13, 2012 by t0od0pe4u

[debtorshusband]

It looks to me like the account was 90 days late in 7/2008, so first delinquency would be 4/2008. So you're real close to the SOL expiring. But I don't know what CLS means, unless it just means Closed.

I think it's safe to say that most people on this forum are in situations where some event has left them unable to pay their bills. Now collection companies are coming after them, and often the best course of action is to stall and hope the SOL runs out before they get sued. For that reason, for most people, if a Collection Agency is not actively pursuing you, and the SOL has not yet run, it's best not to wake the CA up.

So, to me your case sounds like you should sit tight for at least a few months. Then, if you want to try to get items removed, you would try to negotiate what I've heard referenced here as a Pay for Delete. Again, credit repair isn't my thing, but you might have better luck posting a specific question in the Credit Repair forum.

So while I don't have a firm grasp on the particulars, I think I understand the philosophy. Once the SOL expires, you will truly be in the position of power. You have the money, they are unable to extract it from you forcibly (since they can no longer sue), so you can offer them a (small) sum in exchange for removing the item from your Credit Report.

Good luck.

DH