How to handle paying off a repo deficiency?

[Anonymous]

I had a family member cosign with me on a used car loan in early 2005. The car was reposessed due to nonpayment, and iI want to try and get this cleaned up off my credit report. I'm not positive when the last payment was made, and my Freecreditreport.com account only shows the last two years history (the last payment was obviously before trhis).

The debt is still held and reported monthly by the original creditor, a local credit union. My question is ultimately whether or not the advice i've recieved about tackling this situation applies to my situation, and if it applies to original creditors. I believe if i'm near the SOL which is 5 years in Florida if im not mistaken, then I should let it be... but how can I determine the exact date the clock started ticking without waking a sleeping giant.

Should that not be the case, I know I should get validation of my debt before I do anything in the way of paying the debt, but would that be likely to invite a $4000 judgement against me?

Finally, I know a bit about the process of writing a PFD agreement letter, but would an original creditor be inclined to take such a deal, or would that only work for accounts given to collection agencies?

[llecs]

Welcome to the forums!

I'd suggest reading the following:

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

and What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

First and foremost, check to see if you are out of SOL. SOL starts at the date you first went delinquent. To find that date you can start by pulling your CRs directly from the CRAs. You can get all 3 for free once a year via annualcreditreport.com. Freecreditreport isn't related to annualcreditreport and there's nothing free about it, but as a member of that service, you do get unlimited copies of your report as seen from experian.com. Just open your latest report and click "Dispute information". Please don't dispute, but go through the motions without disputing and you'll get a free CR from EX with the full history.

The TL listed MAY show an est. drop off date. TO find the DOFD subtract 7 yrs from that drop off date. This estimation would also coincide with the payment history. It should match your reports' history per the first 30 day late that eventually led to the repo.

Know that some things can reset SOL. YMMV based on state law, but in some states a payment can reset SOL. A letter admitting to the debt can reset SOL. Even talking to them on the phone and admitting to the debt can possibly reset SOL. Check your state's law and see what can or what can't reset SOL and double-confirm the 5 years. Look under written contracts.

If the SOL is 5 yrs, and you believe it has past, then the DOFD would have occurred immediately after getting the car, so be for sure before doing anything. If not, you can get sued.

If you have the $$$ to PIF or SOL expired, then contact the OC and ask for a payment history. They'll give it to you. Look at it and if you agree, then send a PFD to that lender. If they agree, then you'll pay it and it'll disappear forever.

Both OCs and CAs can accept PFDs. Some never accept PFDs and some accept nearly all the time. Yet others do it with some cajoling. YMMV. Why accept it? They get their money and won't have to pay the fee to keep reporting it. Why not? Pain in the butt to deal with and maybe they already wrote it off as bad debt on their last tax return.

[Anonymous]

Getting a PFD is your best option, otherwise, if you are nearing the SOL (6 months), you can just deal with having it on your credit for another couple of years.  PFDs are tricky, as fewer companies are doing them-- credit reporting agencies have in the past, sanctioned or cancelled the accounts of their subscribers for performing deletions on debts legally owed as they felt should be reported.  The CRA's statement was that deletions can dilute the authenticity/validity of their reporting, which is understandable.  If you can PFD, jump on that as quickly as you can (and get it in writing)

Because the account is still with the OC, DV does not apply. 

[leah5570]

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@llecs wrote:

Both OCs and CAs can accept PFDs. Some never accept PFDs and some accept nearly all the time. Yet others do it with some cajoling. YMMV. Why accept it? They get their money and won't have to pay the fee to keep reporting it. Why not? Pain in the butt to deal with and maybe they already wrote it off as bad debt on their last tax return.

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Not to drag this away, but do the creditors really have to pay to report accounts? Like CA's, they have to pay to report? I never heard of that before, thanks for the new-to-me info!