Re: old credit card debt

Posted by MCM bait (66.149.179.202) on March 17, 2004 at 19:46:59:

In Reply to: Re: old credit card debt posted by DonM on March 17, 2004 at 18:49:42:

No, you are not dumb. :-) All of us stand on equal footing in this forum, is my guess.

Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (or at least the one that your loan company used). They are Experian, TranUnion and Equifax, and all three are online. You are eligible for a free report from each because you were denied credit. Order the hard-copy to be sent to your home, which only takes a few days.

Normally, Why Chat recommends that you opt-out of pre-approved credit first, then dispute entries a few weeks later. But since you are in the process of a loan approval, perhaps you can strike quickly and will be ok.

Opting out does not affect credit you apply for, only those nuisance letters that you get in the mail offering credit cards you never asked about. It also keeps the credit agency from automatically reporting your attempts to get a loan to your other creditors. Just call 1-888-5-OPTOUT and follow the voice prompts.

Once you get your credit reports, look for any negative entries. The report itself will tell you how to dispute those negative tradelines. Just dispute them as "obsolete" or "inaccurate," and request that the agency send you an updated report. Make sure you send the dispute forms back to the CRA (credit reporting agency) by certified mail, return receipt requested.

Some people are lucky and the entries come off in a matter of days. Some take longer, and some are "verified" by the creditors. The ones that come off you can forget about, at least for now. The ones that come back verified and refuse to budge are the ones you may have to pay to get your loan.

As anyone here will tell you, a paid collection entry isn't a good thing. But if your loan officer will accept a paid collection, then perhaps its worth the trouble. In another two years or so, they will drop off your report anyway. The statute of limitations doesn't apply to credit reports, but the reporting period is only 7 years from the date of default. If it's been 8 years, it *must* come off your report when you dispute. If it's only 5, you may have to live with it another couple of years. But some people just get lucky and get it to dispute off before the 7 years is up.

Good luck!

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