Need some advice

[Qwerty99]

Hello Everyone, First time poster here. I plan on enlisting in the US ARMY as a reservist or in the National Guard. Before i can do that i need to get my finances in place and explain my poor credit history. I need to do this so i have a shot at getting a security clearance.

I've gone through all 3 credit reports and have made a list of creditors i need to pay off. How should i rank the creditors in my list? Which ones do i tackle first? Also many have been charged off and sent to collection. How do i go about tracking down the current owner? I usually wait for them to contact me, but i need to be pro-active and get this done.

Also i have one letter from a lawyers office that doesnt show up on my credit report. Is that any less important because its not on the report? I apologize for all of the questions, im new to this and want to make sure i do things correctly so i can enlist with a better job than peeling potatoes. I opened several accounts in college while getting my degree in engineering. Being 18 asnd away from home for the first time and having CC wasnt good. I wish i was more educated back then on how credit works. I though i could max the cards and pay them when i got a high paying job out of college. Reality was it took me 3 years to find work. 3 yrs of not paying bills. Everything went to collection and lawyers all withing 3 months of eachother. It'll be a great burden removed when these bills are paid off.

[guiness56]

I just retired after 25 years and went through the same thing with my last clearance renewal.  What the military wants, and what you will need to do if you want to enlist, is to see either all the debt paid or arrangements made to pay it.   You will  need to explain why you have a debt that hasn't been paid in 3 years.  Not saying you do but they are big on why.

I can see the reasoning behind that.  If you have a lot of unpaid debt they can say you are not a responsible person.  If you have a high amount of unpaid debt you may be considered untrustworthy.  More likely to take a bribe.

How soon are you looking to enlist?

How new is the newest negative and how old is the oldest?  What is your states SOL for debt?

They don't expect you to pay debt that is not yours.

Get all 3 credit reports from annualcreditreports.com.  Make a copy or 2 to be used as working copies.  Everything you do, write on the report next to the TL what you have done.  Paid, disputed, sent letter, etc.  Keep copies of EVERYTHING YOU SEND.  Showing that to the investigator will be instrumental.

Look for obvious errors, like accounts that aren't yours.  If you are 100% sure they are not yours, dispute with the CRAs as not mine.

Can you list some of the accounts as they appear on your CR?

[Qwerty99]

I believe all to debts mine. Between 2003 and 2005 I was unemployed and out of college. Even when I got a job I was living beyond my means. My debts are a private student loan and several credit cards. I do have a government loan that is current. I also have opened 3 new credit accounts to rebuild my credit. Those have been current since opened about a year ago. Several of the debts are old. I have one that is due to come off my report in feb. the others are about 5 yrs old. It's too bad it's taken this long to be in a position to pay but I can't look back. Trying to clean up my mess. I plan to enlist by end of this year. I know this isn't necessary to enlist but it is if the job I want requires a clearance. I figured it would be easier to be get it squared away early.

[Qwerty99]

*I believe all the debts to be mine.

[guiness56]

Actually, they do pull your credit to enlist.  They won't wait to see if you need a clearance first.  Everyone is required to have at least a Secret.

Since you aren't enlisting until the end of the year you could send out some DV letters and PFD.

Need to know your states SOL for debt.

[Qwerty99]

Im in MASS. Im sorry im not familiar with the above abbreviations. After doing some morereading it seems i shouldnt just pay the reduced settlement offer. is this correct?

[Qwerty99]

guiness56 - is everyone in the ARMY required to have a sec clearance? i thought it depended on your MOS?

[guiness56]

I believe everyone in the military has to be eligible for a Secret.