Will disputing a 5 year old repossession from Drive Time lead to them sueing for the balance?

[daddiggingout]

Five years ago we purchased an SUV from Drive Time and due to a bad financial patch we returned the vehicle but now have a balance of 10,000 dollars.  Here is the thing, it shows on all 3 credit bureaus with different last activity dates, one being "unreported."  I would like to dispute this TL in the hopes it will be deleted given that it is five years old already but am worried that this could cause a law suit for amount remaining.  I have zero credit cards in use and about 8 baddies at the moment, including an old Dish Network bill, some medical bills and that is about it.  Does anyone have experience with Drive Time concerning disputing the info concerning poor reporting?  Any thoughts at all are appreciated and thanks in advance!

[pizzadude]

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@daddiggingout wrote:

Five years ago we purchased an SUV from Drive Time and due to a bad financial patch we returned the vehicle but now have a balance of 10,000 dollars.  Here is the thing, it shows on all 3 credit bureaus with different last activity dates, one being "unreported."  I would like to dispute this TL in the hopes it will be deleted given that it is five years old already but am worried that this could cause a law suit for amount remaining.  I have zero credit cards in use and about 8 baddies at the moment, including an old Dish Network bill, some medical bills and that is about it.  Does anyone have experience with Drive Time concerning disputing the info concerning poor reporting?  Any thoughts at all are appreciated and thanks in advance!

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Before you do anything, take a look at the SOL for your state, so you'll know where you stand if they decide to sue.

Even if it was deleted from your reports it's doubtful that your FICO score would improve much, given that you have a large number of other negative accounts.

I wouldn't dispute it but it's your call.

[p-]

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@daddiggingout wrote:

Five years ago we purchased an SUV from Drive Time and due to a bad financial patch we returned the vehicle but now have a balance of 10,000 dollars.  Here is the thing, it shows on all 3 credit bureaus with different last activity dates, one being "unreported."  I would like to dispute this TL in the hopes it will be deleted given that it is five years old already but am worried that this could cause a law suit for amount remaining.  I have zero credit cards in use and about 8 baddies at the moment, including an old Dish Network bill, some medical bills and that is about it.  Does anyone have experience with Drive Time concerning disputing the info concerning poor reporting?  Any thoughts at all are appreciated and thanks in advance!

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You need to do some research about Statute of Limitation in your state.  If they can still sue you, I would not touch it at all.

DOLA is not really a relevant date, what affects aging and drop off is DOFD, or Date of First Delinquency.  If you really did get the car repossesed, there is no relevant reason to dispute.  In fact, if you make it to the end of the SOL without a judgement for that ten grand, you should consider yourself extremely lucky.

If they do sue, you need to get a lawyer.  If you ignore it, they will get a judgement that will stay on your report for ten years or more.

[daddiggingout]

Thanks for the info Pizzaguy!  The SOL for Florida is 5 years for a written contract, but I am unclear as to when this clock starts.  The account was opened in November 2007 but it was repoed in march of 2010, so does the five years begin from the date of repossession?  We are hoping to apply for a mortgage at about the time it hits five years post repossession.  I would like to try and have it removed earlier for poor reporting as far as the dates so that our mortgage broker doesn't see it at all. score  After the repo, we went the way of Dave Ramsey and do only cash for everything but needless to say my scores are in the low 500s as a result.  Do you know if applying for a credit card and paying it promptly will raise our score even with the old repo?

[pizzadude]

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@daddiggingout wrote:

Thanks for the info Pizzaguy!  The SOL for Florida is 5 years for a written contract, but I am unclear as to when this clock starts.  The account was opened in November 2007 but it was repoed in march of 2010, so does the five years begin from the date of repossession?  We are hoping to apply for a mortgage at about the time it hits five years post repossession.  I would like to try and have it removed earlier for poor reporting as far as the dates so that our mortgage broker doesn't see it at all. score  After the repo, we went the way of Dave Ramsey and do only cash for everything but needless to say my scores are in the low 500s as a result.  Do you know if applying for a credit card and paying it promptly will raise our score even with the old repo?

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The SOL clock either starts at the Date of First Delinquency ( DoFD ), which is the point in time where the account became delinquent without ever becoming current again, or it starts at the point in time when you first defaulted ( which is never later than the DoFD ).   Ultimately a judge would have to rule on this point if it goes to court.

If you don't have any open credit cards then you're getting dinged by FICO scoring for no revolving credit.  It should help your score to get at least two revolving accounts opened up.  If you're worried about approvals then start with a secured card.

[p-]

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daddiggingout wrote:  I would like to try and have it removed earlier for poor reporting as far as the dates

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There is no such thing as "removing for poor reporting."  You can claim that the account is fraudulent, which works if that is actually true.  In this case it's not, so you're out of luck.  Or, you can dispute that the information is not correct, at which time the CRA will contact the debt holder, who will "update" the account with the most recent information.  They may even update it with additional "missed payment data" in order to harm your score, so they can force you to pay.  Even if the dates and payment data are messed up, you will not get a deletion.

Contacting the CRA with a good-sounding reason to delete will not result in deletion.  Unfortunately, unless you can prove that it is not your account you are not going to get rid of this that easily.

If you are past SOL, you might consider a PFD offer of 2k or so.  But be careful waking up the quiet account.  When collectors find out you care about your credit, they play hardball.  Also be careful of frivolous disputing.  In another couple of years you will be able to dispute for deletion based on DOFD.  Save it for then.

[p-]

CRA disputing is a mostly automated process...  You dispute, the CRA electronically pings the collector, who pings back the most recent info.  CRA updates, and that's all that happens.  

In a direct dispute, you contact the debt holder directly with a summary of what is incorrect, and they correct their report to the CRA.  CRA updates, and it's done.

There's no magic wand to hide the fact that you got a car repossessed five years ago and didn't pay the gap.

The only cards you have left to play are to wait them out or pay.  If you are past SOL, you can wait them out until it falls off automatically.  They know this, and might be willing to take a much smaller amount in exchange for deletion.  The 10k figure is likely way over-inflated anyway.

You have two choices, if you are past SOL.  Wait, or negotiate a deal.  Otherwise you're at a stand-off.  They can't make you pay, and you can't make them delete.  If they can't or won't come to a mutually beneficial agreement, then you just hunker down and wait it out.

[daddiggingout]

Thanks so much for the feedback everyone.  I will wait quietly for this to fall off but it is the late every month reporting on this account that is so aggravating.  It presents as an active account even after reflecting a repossession, so I naturally assumed it was actively damaging my already ranked credit.  I will now get proactive and arrange a couple secured credit cards via My FICO and just wait Drive Time.

[p-]

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@daddiggingout wrote:

Thanks so much for the feedback everyone.  I will wait quietly for this to fall off but it is the late every month reporting on this account that is so aggravating.  It presents as an active account even after reflecting a repossession, so I naturally assumed it was actively damaging my already ranked credit.  I will now get proactive and arrange a couple secured credit cards via My FICO and just wait Drive Time.

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Adding good credit to your mix will help.  But if they are updating payment data every month, then it is showing as a current account and killing your score.  If you can come up with cash for a PFD it is probably worth it.  If it's past SOL, start low.  Offer 500 in a PFD form letter and see if they bite.

[daddiggingout]

will be at SOL in December so I will certainly give it my best shot in January.  After that it is simply a matter of PFD for some missed medical bills and a library overdue acct.  One quick final question if I am not trying everyone's patience already - I want to open the smallest amount of credit as needed on two secured credit cards.  Does having a couple of $1000 credit cards used at 30% and paid off immediately suffice?  I am so used to dealing in cash for everything in life that these cards will only be used for gas and an occasional incidental.  Someone on the boards was saying you don't have to open cards in the $5000 range to get a FICO boost.  Any thoughts on an ideal credit amount?