Family ties...UGH! Need a little help with this one guys; I've been out of the credit repair business since I fixed my scores. My dad cosigned a mortgage loan with my sister some years ago, and he recently found out about a joint credit card account that was opened from the same bank in his name and my sister's. The reason he found out is he applied for a loan and was turned down because of a low score. Upon investigation, we found out my sister and/or her husband declared BK, and the account was charged off. Now I am trying to formulate a plan to remove the erroneous information, and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions. So far I've gotten him to request his three free reports, and for some reason the EQ never arrived. TU is the only one that lists the account as negative, and EX shows the account in good standing, but purchased by the BK settlement company. He sent a dispute letter to TU, which may have been a detriment to the situation but we'll see what happens. I'm thinking of demanding validation from the OC, and then disputing again. Any thoughts?
Well, it could get ugly. Technically, it WAS his account and it WAS charged off. So, for the time being, it is accurate. As such, I wouldn't expect much traction going the dispute route. Where it gets ugly is you might have to approach it as a fraudulent account charge which means, at the very least, a police report, which could land your sister in jail (worst-case scenario). You might think carefully about where, and how far, you want to take this before taking your next step.
How could it be his account if he never signed for it? Forgive me if I'm foggy on contract law, but if you don't sign a contract that places you under the obligation of seeing that an account is paid, how could you possibly be held liable for its condition? Indeed, the police route is not the desirable way to go here. Perhaps the bank had a representative dumb enough to offer a credit card to one account holder without notifying the other. Any thoughts?
Because in some states verbal contracts are viable,many states have a provision for it.Also remember a person who can't read or write can't very well sign a contract!Yes that is possible in this day an age.In some cases an x with a witness is enough.Not saying that this is the case in this matter.One other point If its family that screwed him is it better than a stranger?Most cases of this type is by family members rather than strangers.So a lot of it isn't reported!
You need to have your father complete a fraud affidavit from his local law enforcement agency. He doesn't have to say who used his name. Send that in to the credit reporting agencies and they'll mask it.
A signature is not required to form a binding contract. Acceptance is required. You can accept an offer without signing something. For example, if you use a credit card, you are showing that you accept the terms offered to you. Consider: Offer and acceptance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia It is interesting that the first time any notion of the OP's problem was made known to him was in the failure to get credit due to poor credit scores. If two people have a debt together and one BKs, it would seem sensible for the creditor to seek payment from the other debtor. But that hasn't happened. Perhaps there is more going on here than the OP knows about. Perhaps the creditor knows that it has problems with any claim beyond the one against the person who BKed. Of course no one knows, perhaps asking around will awaken their interest.
Well, yes. While you can demand validation from the OC you might want to be careful how you word it. A "normal" validation letter might actually work against you because original creditors are not required to validate and you could not take any action if they refused to comply with such demands. So if I were to craft such a letter I'd be sure I didn't use any references to FDCPA or even words or phrases that might sound like you are making such references. Just ask simple questions and ask for whatever information is available and there is a good chance you might get the info you want.
OK I guess I didn't state it clearly enough. My father never agreed in any form - neither express written consent nor implied verbal consent - to take on this account. As it turns out, what happened was the bank called and offered my sister a credit card based on the fact she had their home mortgage. The credit card was put in the name of her and my dad without notifying him. Apex, I will get started on a demand for verification pursuant to FACTA.
Will I be demanding verification from the OC or from the BK settlement company that the account was sold to?
