Charge-off/collection account

[thefisher5]

Hello,

My husband's parents put a National Grid account in his name shortly after his 18th birthday and they never paid it. We found out about it last year when I pulled his credit report for the first time and found it listed on his account as "charged off" for $8,190.  We contacted National Grid, they said the only way they'll remove it from his file is for him to get the police involved with his parents. He didn't want to do that.  We're in no position to pay this bill (it's from 2006). 

Opened: 7/2006

Date of Last Activity: 11/2006

Date of First Delinquency: 11/2006

Date Major Delinquency First Reported: 10/2008

Balance: $8,190

By my (limited) understanding, I think this should fall off his report this November (11/2006 + 7 years = 11/2013). Or will it stay until October 2015 (10/2008 + 7 years = 10/2015)?

Thanks,

TheFisher5

[grassfeeder]

I always understood it as '06 it should drop

[guiness56]

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@thefisher5 wrote:

Hello,

My husband's parents put a National Grid account in his name shortly after his 18th birthday and they never paid it. We found out about it last year when I pulled his credit report for the first time and found it listed on his account as "charged off" for $8,190.  We contacted National Grid, they said the only way they'll remove it from his file is for him to get the police involved with his parents. He didn't want to do that.  We're in no position to pay this bill (it's from 2006). 

Opened: 7/2006

Date of Last Activity: 11/2006

Date of First Delinquency: 11/2006

Date Major Delinquency First Reported: 10/2008

Balance: $8,190

By my (limited) understanding, I think this should fall off his report this November (11/2006 + 7 years = 11/2013). Or will it stay until October 2015 (10/2008 + 7 years = 10/2015)?

Thanks,

TheFisher5

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It will be excluded up to 7.5 years from the DoFD, in this case 11/2006.  The earliest will be Nov 2013 the latest will be May 2014.

[RobertEG]

Eventual exclusion of the charge-off from his CR does not cure the matter.

While it will shield the unpaid debt by a simple pull of his CR, there remains the issue of asserted, unpaid delinquent debt, which lives on until the debt is discharged.

Upon future apps for credit, if asked whether he has any unpaiid, delinquent debt, CR exclusion is not a basis for answering no.

Was he a signatory to the debt obligation, or simply listed as a beneficiary of the "account"?

If he is not legally obligated, I would pursue that as the basis for removal.  It looks as if they are just going after him without legal basis.

Filing a police report relates to an assertion that someone used his identity to secure debt in his name.  That is not the situation, and thus not the course to follow.

Bad advice.

[thefisher5]

His mother had a National Grid account for her electricity (under her SSN). Got behind/never paid it and their power was shut off.  Then his step-father turned the power on in his name (under his own SSN). Got behind/never paid it again. Power shut off again.  Step-father calls National Grid, pays a deposit and turns power on in husband's older brother's name and SSN. Got behind/didn't pay. Whatever. No power.  Step-father calls National Grid, pays a deposit and turns power on in my husband's name two weeks after he turned 18 using husband's social security number. Didn't pay the bill. They've since worked their way through his two younger sisters and now the bill is in his younger sister's toddler's name and SSN. You'd think they'd check this stuff somehow. Either way, we don't talk to these people anymore because they're clearly slimeballs.

When we contacted National Grid to dispute the account (husband lived here with me in Virginia when the account was opened in New York so I know he didn't open it), they told us the address the account was opened for, the exact date it was turned on and the date it was turned off. We asked his mom about it and she said "Well, we needed power and had no other option."  Great. We called National Grid back, gave them all the information for his mom and stepdad and explained what happened. The assertion from National Grid at that time was that my husband was over 18 when the account was opened, he should have been more responsible with protecting his social security number and the only way to get it handled was to either (a) pay it ourselves or (b) prove identity theft by way of a police report and identity theft charges against his mother and/or step-father.

At this point, I don't know what to do. We are trying to get everything in order to buy a house in late-2014 or early-2015. His score is great; we've worked really hard to do everything right for him (aside from the charge-off).