Hi, I've been lurking on the site for a month or so and trying to scoop up as much knowledge as I can. Here's my situation, I was out of work for a while in late 06/early 07 and really screwed my credit up good. I stopped paying on my accts and they eventually got charged off. I've moved around quite a bit since then and when I pulled my report my address of the last few years wasn't on there, which probably explains why I haven't gotten any letters from DC's and such in years. I am thinking about trying to buy a house in the near future but want to pick the brains of some of the people on here first. I am far away from the SOL since the state I live in has one on the longest ones SOL's. According to my TU report, all but one of the debts are going to come off my report in the next 4-12months. Of the credit cards (4 total) they are all charged off but one shows a balance while the rest state a balance of zero. These all come off in 10-12 months according to the TU estimate. I have 2 medical bills with the same DC that total under $1000 and have 4-5 months left on my report. I also have one acct with Midland Funding with 4 years left with a balance just under $600. I haven't applied for a secured card (or unsecured) to start rebuilding my credit because I didn't want to have my address get into my report and then get crushed with letters and such from whoever purchased the charge offs and three other debts. I haven't sent any verification letters yet because I didn't know if me popping my head up might cause a problem. I would like to communicate with them by email but wasn't sure if I was able to get a PFD emailed to me, if that would be valid/admissible proof if they reneged on the deletion. I would prefer to get the Midland one deleted, since it will be on my CR for a long time to come but have read about the general lack of success trying PFD's with them. My current score is 639. Do you think it is worth addressing these debts that are on my CR or just waiting 12 months til the Midland one is the only one remaining? If I decide to try to settle, even though the SOL is far away, do I have any leverage on a settlement amount with them due to the fact that these are soon to drop off my CR thus giving me less incentive to proactively take care of them. If I make a payment to one of the creditors (I have no idea who even owns the debt now) will that negatively affect my report or score by either extending the duration it will be on my CR or any other adverse result. Sorry for the long winded post and thanks in advance for any info you can share.
Your situation is unique. Most of us see the SOL expire before the 7 year reporting period does. In your case, unless you have the funds to make payment on these accounts, you may just want to lay low with respect to the accounts that will simply fall off over the next 12 months. If you're looking to purchase a home shortly thereafter, the midland acct will need to be taken care of, at a minimum by being paid off. However before just jumping into a payment to the CA, you may want to try the DV route. Starting the process closer to the time you want to buy, i.e. 3-4 months may be a better idea though......it puts you closer to SOL and the debt is that much more stale...less of a chance debt can be proven yours and less time for CA to be able to go after you for it. Have you looked at the inquiries section of your reports? If these other CA's and OC's who are reporting are peeking at your reports, it will show up in that section. Do you have any accounts in good standing reporting?
