Hello all, I've been reading this board for about a week now - thanks to all for the great information! I'm just not sure where exactly to start and have a few basic questions I hope someone would quickly answer. I've downloaded my credit reports from each of the CRAs. I've disputed as many old addresses as I can, some have been removed. Now I want to start working on getting the bad stuff off. All of the derogatory entries are legitimate but I don't know the best way to tackle them. Some are 2-3 years old, mostly charge-off's. 1. Do I, or can I request a CA to validate an entry or is that option only available after they send me a letter? 2. I have a default judgment recently posted to my reports but I was never served. Do I go the courthouse and explain how the wrong person was served or send a letter to the atty's office requesting them to have the judgment removed? Here's what happened: The attorney's office served my father at his home. We have the same first and last names, different middles so our credit reports have occasionally had each others info on them, including each others addresses (so much for going by SSN's). When my father read the summons, he called the attys office and told them they served the wrong person, the blew him off. Apparently my credit report had his address as the (my) last known address so they served the papers there (I've never lived there). A guy shows up at the door one day and says, "Are you John Doe?' and my dad said he was, the guy dropped an envelope on the doorstep. Well, he was "John T. Doe" and I am "John W. Doe" So I'm sure the server thought he had the right guy, but he wasn't specific enough when asking the name. Now after reading all the information on these boards, I want to get the judgment set aside. I do plan to pay the debt but only after the judgment is removed. Any advice on these? Thanks to all of you that invest your time here helping us! I will return the favors when I become educated enough to do so. Respectfully, Rob
Yes, obviously it's mine. I'm trying to find the best way to handle it...go to courthouse or contact atty's office.
