In my divorce last year I took the debt for the equity in the house, except my ex-husband's student loans and a vehicle in his possession. He did not pay for the truck, and it was repossessed and sold at auction. There is a balance of just under $4000 due. At first the agency actively tried to collect it from me as a co-signer, until I told them they would have to take me to court because my divorce agreement says I'm not responsible for it. Frankly, I can't afford it. My ex has no fixed address or phone number, doesn't pay child support and won't discuss financial issues with me period. I could sue him for violation of the divorce agreement, but he can't pay anyway, and I don't want him back in the same state. I have generally good credit aside from this and a few other late payments during the divorce. I tried to request the reporting agencies remove it and sent copies of the divorce decree. Understandably they will not. I believe the loan supercedes the divorce agreement. The worst part is the balance still shows as active. Is there a way to get it removed from my credit reports? If I don't find a way to pay it, will it remain longer than seven years since it is active?
I'm sorry to hear about your struggle. Unfortunately - creditors do not have to abide by a divorce decree. The good news is that they only have 7 years from the DOLA to report it. The bad news is they can sue YOU, get a judgment against YOU and garnish YOUR wages (not saying they will, just that they could). Is there any way you could PFD with small monthly payments? You could later sue your ex for breach of contract and get a judgement against HIM.
The person I was dealing with at the collection agency was fairly sympathetic to my plight, and I have not been contacted by them in over a year. I do realize they could sue me, and I hope it does not come to that. However, I recognize my liability and the possibility it could happen. I would probably try to pull money out of the equity to pay the balance in that case. I also realize I can sue him and get a judgement against him, but that seems like a hopeless case at this point, no chance of collecting. Actually, I'm looking at several issues I will have to sue him for some day, i.e. not paying children's medical, etc. in hopes if he ever has property I can claim against it. But I'm not ready for that fight right now. If I never pay it and it stays active but no one collects on it, my biggest fear is that it will remain on my report indefinately.
It is no longer active once they repo it. The DOLA is the date he made the last payment regardless of whether or not it is considered active.
Make sure you check the laws of the state where it was repossessed. In some states, they can't come after you for the balance. There are also laws about what has to be done when it's repossessed. Unfortunately, you wont' know if all of those laws were followed, since he got any notifications. Even if they can come after you for the balance, there will be a statute of limitations when they can collect. Find out what it is. If they try to collect after that you can tell them to pound sand. It should come off your reports 7 years after the date of delinquency, so at least it won't be there forever.
