Repossession help

[Anonymous]

Hello.  When I was 18 I hit a deer with my car that my parents had bought for me.  The car was totaled.  The next day I went to my local credit union and walked out 20 minutes later with a $9,000 car loan, with no credit history, a short employment history and no co-signer.  This was back in 2003.  A few short months later I lost my full time job and started defaulting on payments.  I paid most months, but it got to the point where the car payment was on the bottom of my list of bills to pay.  In 11/2005 I woke up and my car was gone.  After finding out it had been repossessed, I got my things, cried a lot, and moved on.  I think when they sold the car at auction I still owed $3,500-4,000 (like an idiot, I didn't keep any paperwork, so I'm not sure what the actual amount is.)  Also, I don't even know if I ever made another payment again.  They would send me statements every month that included the car loan, but never any letters trying to collect.  I did get some phone calls in the beginning and then eventually all contact just stopped.  I did get letters a couple times a year at first from a law office, but nothing ever came of it.  I never got sued or anything (yet...)  I recently decided it was time to clean up my credit and start paying what I owe.  I recently got my credit report from annualcreditreport.com (although I could only access Experian for some reason) and when I read the section with my repossession there were some things that really confused me.

I'm hoping someone can help me out by looking at the information it gave me and break it down for me. (Sorry it's so long!)

Status: Repossession.  

Date Opened: 11/2003

Date of Status: 11/2005

Reported Since: 12/2003

Last Reported Date: 07/2010  this confuses me.. is it so it doesn't drop off my credit after 7 years?

Type: Installment

Terms: 66 Months 

Monthly Payment: $0

Responsibility: Individual 

Credit Limit: $8,498

High Balance: N/A 

Recent Balance: $0  does this mean it was sold to collection or something?

Recent Payment: $0 

Account History: Repossession as of Sep 2008 to Jul 2010, Nov 2005 to Jul 2008 

150 days past due as of Oct 2005 

120 days past due as of Sep 2005 

90 days past due as of Aug 2005 

60 days past due as of Jul 2005, Jan 2005 

30 days past due as of Jun 2005, May 2005, Aug 2004 to Dec 2004 

Balance History: 

06/2010 $0 

05/2010 $0 

04/2010 $0 

03/2010 $0 

02/2010 $0 

01/2010 $0 

12/2009 $0 

11/2009 $0 

10/2009 $0 

09/2009 $0 

08/2009 $0 

07/2009 $0 

06/2009 $0 

05/2009 $0 

04/2009 $0 

03/2009 $0 

02/2009 $0 

01/2009 $0 

12/2008 $0 

11/2008 $0 

10/2008 $0 

09/2008 $0 

07/2008 $0 

Limit High Balance History: The original amount of this account was $8,498.

Now that I'm finally in a position to pay it (though the payments will need to be super small..), I don't know what the best course of action is to take.  Do I contact the credit union to find out who the collection agency is and then call them and work out a payment plan or settlement?  I'm not even 100% positive that a collection agency has the account..but I'm fairly certain.  If it's not in the hands of an agency, would I need to contact the law offices I had been receiving letters from?  I just feel lost, this is all new to me.

Thanks so much in advance for any help or advice.

[laz98]

the last reported date is just the last time that information was sent to the credit bureaus, it should still fall off later this year (pretty soon actually).

i would contact the credit union & see if they can give you the most up-to-date information on who owns the account now.  if it is in fact a collection agency, i would not call them, because then they will have your phone number & might start harassing you.  do everything in writing, so you have a paper trail. 

[Anonymous]

"""Last Reported Date: 07/2010  this confuses me.. is it so it doesn't drop off my credit after 7 years?"""

The  '7-year clock' doesn't start from the account opening date,, The 'Fair Credit Reporting Act' states it doesn't start till 180-daze after the Date of Last Activitiy on the account,,,

Looking at your post,, it appears you last made a payment in April or May of 2005,,  ""30 days past due as of Jun 2005, May 2005, Aug 2004 to Dec 2004 ...""" ... 

Did you make a payment in April or May of 2005??  If so the account should report till December of 2012,,,

Yes, it would help if you knew how much you actually owed,, While I can understand you wanting to get this account resolved,, The 'Law Office' you received letters from was likely a CA operating under the guise of an attorney,,, At this point you can figure with interest and other fee's the amount they will try to collect is likely double the original amount you owed,  Since you posted you can only make a small payment,, and since you don't have any CA's dogging you, It may be best to let this sleeping dog lie until you can make a larger payment or saved enough money to settle the account  ,,, 

I am not a lawyer,, nor do I claim my following post is accurate so you should consult a consumer affairs attorney,,, but,,,  As far as getting sued for the unpaid amount, Collecting unpaid debt is a civil matter,, You need to check your states SOL as to how long the creditor has to bring the suit, If the SOL is past, that doesn't mean they still can sue you, it just means you have an affirmative defense that the SOL is past and the debt is uncollectable ,,, Also,,if you have moved out of the state you originally had the loan,, the SOL rules do change ,,, so it is best to educate yourself as much as possible ...

Good luck ...

[Anonymous]

I would advise you to forget about trying to analyze your credit report.

You are on the right track, call your credit union, they should be able to get you into contact with the collection agency.

Contact them, and before you start paying, understand completely what you owe and when you owe it.  If you just start paying with out an agreement, you may be doing it for a long time to come.

Next...get a good handle on your budget...figure out your expenses for the next three months, then the next three months after that.  Do this for the next 2 - 5 years.  The reason you want to look at your budget on a quarterly basis is because there will always be an extra week added in there somewhere.  That translates to a week of expensed without a matching paycheck.

Stay on top of your budget, as debits, credits, checks, refunds and what ever clears your bank, annotate an on-line check book.

Set up as many of your monthly bills (not credit cards) on an automatic pay basis.  It works...and you have just taken car of 35% of your credit score, reduce your outstanding debt on credit cards...do not use your credit cards until all are a $0 balance that is 30%; apply for NO new credit for the next 2 years - another 15%+ 10% and forget about the types of credit.

You have a long road to recovery, thus Plan what you are going to do...then stick to it!

Good luck!

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

"""Last Reported Date: 07/2010  this confuses me.. is it so it doesn't drop off my credit after 7 years?"""

The  '7-year clock' doesn't start from the account opening date,, The 'Fair Credit Reporting Act' states it doesn't start till 180-daze after the Date of Last Activitiy on the account,,,

Looking at your post,, it appears you last made a payment in April or May of 2005,,  ""30 days past due as of Jun 2005, May 2005, Aug 2004 to Dec 2004 ...""" ... 

Did you make a payment in April or May of 2005??  If so the account should report till December of 2012,,,

Yes, it would help if you knew how much you actually owed,, While I can understand you wanting to get this account resolved,, The 'Law Office' you received letters from was likely a CA operating under the guise of an attorney,,, At this point you can figure with interest and other fee's the amount they will try to collect is likely double the original amount you owed,  Since you posted you can only make a small payment,, and since you don't have any CA's dogging you, It may be best to let this sleeping dog lie until you can make a larger payment or saved enough money to settle the account  ,,, 

I am not a lawyer,, nor do I claim my following post is accurate so you should consult a consumer affairs attorney,,, but,,,  As far as getting sued for the unpaid amount, Collecting unpaid debt is a civil matter,, You need to check your states SOL as to how long the creditor has to bring the suit, If the SOL is past, that doesn't mean they still can sue you, it just means you have an affirmative defense that the SOL is past and the debt is uncollectable ,,, Also,,if you have moved out of the state you originally had the loan,, the SOL rules do change ,,, so it is best to educate yourself as much as possible ...

Good luck ...

---

The DOLA is not the date used to determine when a derogatory will drop off because the DOLA can mean different things, i.e a payment or perhaps an update to the account by the OC or CA.

Here is how and when derogs drop from you CR, and are thus no longer included in FICO scoring.

Monthly delinquencies under an OC account drop at 7 years from their individual date of delinquency. The date of first delinquency (DOFD) has nothing to do with these drop-off dates. They drop from their own individual dates. So look at each prior OC reported monthly derog date, and simply add 7 years.

If the OC subsequently reports their account as a charge off, that is a totally different and additional post to your CR. Their post as a charge-off will remain in your CR for up to 7.5 years from the DOFD on the OC account, which is the first 30-day delinquency you had on the account, and disregards any later 60/90+ delinquencies that followed. That cannot be reset.

If the OC then refers the account for collection, and a CA posts to your CR, the drop-off date of their collection reporting is the same as that of a CO. It is up to 7.5 years from the same DOFD on the OC account, and the CA cannot reset this date.

From a BK years ago to:
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
6/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

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[Anonymous]

Thanks so much everyone for all the help.  I have a little bit better understanding of it all now.  I feel like it's going to be tough for me to clean up my credit because I have no credit cards or other loans, and now since my credit is so poor, I don't think I can get one.  The only positive thing about my credit report is the fact that there hasn't been an inquiry in over 2 years (mostly cause I know I won't get approved for anything so I never apply.)  The only other things on my credit report (all negative) are medical bills and a bank in PA my husband and I owe some money to.  I've got a long road ahead of me, but there's no time like the present to get my act together, right?  Thanks again, everyone!

[Anonymous]

One last thing.. I went back and reread all the replies (for a third or fourth time..lol) and after trying so hard to understand, I just can't wrap my brain around, or make sense of, this from my CR: 

Account History: Repossession as of Sep 2008 to Jul 2010, Nov 2005 to Jul 2008 

150 days past due as of Oct 2005 

120 days past due as of Sep 2005 

90 days past due as of Aug 2005 

60 days past due as of Jul 2005, Jan 2005 

30 days past due as of Jun 2005, May 2005, Aug 2004 to Dec 2004 

The dates are all over the place!  For instance, the last line.. June, May, then Aug to Dec?  What does it mean?  I'm driving myself crazy trying to figure it out.  I apologize for being dense on the subject, I really am trying to understand. 

Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Nov 05 seems to be the DoFD.  That means the account will drop off your report anytime from Nov 2012 to May 2012.

Because it is not paid, they are updating with the CRAs each month and reporting a repo.  It is legal and it does not mean it will stay on your report any longer or that the repo happened later than originally listed.  When they update with the CRAs it uses the current date so the account appears newer.

The OC is reporting a 0 balance.  That can mean 1 of 2 things.  When they sold the car they got enough money to pay off your loan.  If they did it should show as paid.  The OC was responsible for notifying you of the amount of the sale and how much you still owed on the loan.  They have to provide this information to you.

The second reason is you do still owe and the OC sold the debt to a CA.

What state are you in?  You need to know if you can still be sued for the debt.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the reply, guiness.  I live in NY (always have).  I'm sure the $0 balance must mean they sold it to a CA.  I remember months after the repo getting balance statements from the OC, and included in the statement was the amount left on the loan, which I believe was just over $3,500.  That's the only correspondence I've received in regards to how much they sold the vehicle for and whatnot, I just always assumed that's how they let me know.  After I stopped getting statements in the mail, I would get letters from some law office (which an above poster said could possibly be the CA in "disguise"?) and I haven't heard anything from them in quite a while.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for the reply, guiness.  I live in NY (always have).  I'm sure the $0 balance must mean they sold it to a CA.  I remember months after the repo getting balance statements from the OC, and included in the statement was the amount left on the loan, which I believe was just over $3,500.  That's the only correspondence I've received in regards to how much they sold the vehicle for and whatnot, I just always assumed that's how they let me know.  After I stopped getting statements in the mail, I would get letters from some law office (which an above poster said could possibly be the CA in "disguise"?) and I haven't heard anything from them in quite a while.

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Any law office that regularly collects debt as part of their job is still considered a CA.  They have to abide by the FDCPA just like a CA.

The one thing that would concern me is the suing SOL.  NY is 6 years.  Normally, it would start when your last payment was late.  In the case of a car repo, when they sell the car at auction, the money that is received from that sale is applied to your balance.  The date of auction would be the date SOL starts from.