I barely have any credit history, which already makes getting any sort of financing hard enough, but to top it off, I also have two negative accounts on my experian credit report and I have no idea what to do about them. One is a collection account, apparently opened by my old community college, saying I have $1,088 past due. I have no idea what that is from, since my tuition was paid for with government financial aid money. Yeah, I did very poorly in those classes and pretty much destroyed my GPA, but that is why I didn't sign up for further classes. That doesn't explain why I would personally owe the school any tuition money. It should have just made me ineligible for any future financial aid. If I were to contact the school regarding this year old account (that I was never informed of until I actually took it upon myself to check my credit) does it sound like there might realistically be some way to wipe this off of my report? Does anyone else have similar experience? The other is also a collection account, opened by the US department of education, saying I have $81 past due. That one is a bit more my fault, as I didn't keep tabs on when my student loan payments would stop being deferred, although I was NEVER contacted or billed when they were. Eventually I got a phone call telling me the first payment was three months late, so I paid it off immediately and have been paying them off on time, ever since. Once again, does it sound likely that I can have that wiped from my credit report if I call the department of education or if I make a dispute? Those two things are keeping me from being qualified for ANYTHING, thus leading me to believe it could be a very long time before I actually start building real credit... I hope someone can help me!
You might read the fine print on your first one. It could be that you have to repay the amount if you don't get a minimum grade point in the class. If you didn't, then that might be what they are trying to get their hands on. Chances are, especially with the government, you signed or clicked on something that spelled out all the legal terms and conditions. Calling the school would be the first place to start, in any event: a) if you have the documentation and it explains what you should have done and, more importantly, what your rights are and b) if you don't have it, then perhaps they can explain it to you or send you a copy. The $81 charge sounds like a legitimate, if unfortunate, entry based on your story. You were late, it went to collections (and your credit report), you paid it, it shows paid (presumably), so there it will sit for seven years unless you can talk them into removing it. Realistically, if you pay them and can't get them removed in the process, then you're screwed score-wise for 2-4 years. After that, they play less of a factor in your score. If you don't pay them, you're still screwed until they come off so, do what you think is right. Experience might be the best teacher, but it sure has a high tuition.
If you failed or dropped any classes, Pell Grants are one example of a grant that can be partially reversed, and it is conceivable you owed the school money. My daughter learned this one the hard way. As the other poster said though, you should call the school and find out exactly what it was for.
