I am 27 and between the ages of 18-21 when I was in college I racked up overwhelming credit card debt that I was unable to pay. These charges remain on my CR and even now I am not in a position to pay them. It has been at least 5 years since any activity on CC accounts I am referring to. I want to repair my credit but would like some advice from experts about where to begin. I reside in Oklahoma. I would appreciate any advice and help. Thank you.
First of all, check and see what the Statue of Limitations in your state is. Whether they are in or out of SOL may impact what you want to do next.
OK. First of all, you have no incentive to pay. Everything should be past the SOL. However, if you ever get a call, DON'T TALK to them. If you make an agreement to pay (and they will claim you did), the SOL clock (not the reporting clock) is started over again. Have you checked your scores? If this stuff is that old, it may not be affecting your score that much. If you really want to get it off, dispute the tradelines with the CRAs as "not mine." A lot of the credit cards may not bother to verify since it's so old, and it will be dropped. The only problem is that some of these companies may come after you. If they do, don't pay. Let them sue you and you can assert the SOL as defense. But just pull your scores first and see if it's even an issue.
I think it's good to have a hard copy report from each bureau to see what they're reporting, but I don't think they all include scores. I haven't done it for a while, I check mine online. To get a hard copy report, you call each bureau. It depends what state you live in whether you can get one free or not. Most of them cost about $8, I believe. If anyone has ordered reports lately, feel free to chime in here and correct me. There are various places on the web to get your reports and scores. But the reports don't always show all of the information you get on the hard copy reports I get mine through Privacy Guard (privacyguard.com). Right now they're running a special, two months for $1, I think. You get one score, you can add the others on for about $10, I believe. If you search the board, you will find some more sites. PrivacyGuard is the only one I use. I hope someone else can give you more advice on this. Good luck.
Yes you can call the CRA directly. You are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months. You may also apply for a free report if you are denied credit. You can reach the CRA's at: 888-397-3742 EXPERIAN 800-685-1111 EQUIFAX 800-916-8800 TRANSUNION Each CRA has an automated process to order your report. TUand EQX will deliver in 6-8 days while EXP takes 8-10 days. gluck, low
I guess this is the first step. I was able to get my credit report from experion and equifax but transunion said i have to request a copy of my CR by mail.
I assure you that you can request this over the automated telephone system at TU. I did it myself last month. Any updates? eric
I got my CR from experian and equifax this week. I so not know what to make of it. it looks like gibberish to me. what should i do next?
