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Is there a way that i could help someone repair their credit while incarcerated?
Well, not very easily - they obviously can't use their prison address to apply for credit. If they have a home address that relatives or friends can accept their mail and take it to prison for them they might try starting with a secured card, but then it would be hard to use in prison.
I am *not* a lawyer.
If they need help getting things removed or repaired on their credit, you can help draft letters for things like debt validation letters. Cleaning up someone's credit doesn't necessarily require any POAs if you want to just advise them. It's more complicated because of communication restrictions (visits, phone calls, letters instead of meeting over coffee), obviously.
Applying for cards would be harder - they need to apply unless there is some sort of POA (as mentioned above) to apply for them, and they'd still need a permanent address. I can't imagine that they have an income, though, which could be a significant obstacle.
As a long shot, if it's a credit score thing, maybe adding them on as an AU could help? I don't know what this person is to you, or what they might be in prison for, so you (or whoever else) would need to realistically evaluate if that's a reasonable or safe option.
@Anonymous wrote:
Perfect time to garden.
Bad
@Schoolbuskid wrote:
It’s my sister. I can add her as AU. I’m more concerned about removing the baddies. How that would work. I guess I could mail her all correspondence and anything that I would need her signature on.
What I would do (with the caveat that I would check with a lawyer):
Draft letters to the credit bureaus (starting with the big ones: Experian, Transunion, and Equifax - later on, to the smaller ones - Innovis, Sagestream, etc) requesting her free annual credit report. Send it to her to sign and then mail (with any requied identification/documentation). Get these reports and correspond with her to identify any incorrect information and work with her (via mail or visitation) to get letters written and signed by her disputing any incorrect information (with documentation). I don't think y'all would need anything "legal" for that, as long as she's involved (please check with legal counsel to be sure).
For anything that needs to be paid or negotiated, I would see about getting something (a letter?) drafted authorizing you to act as her agent/representative for these matters.
She and you should look into whether there are any low-cost or legal aid clinics that could help with this (I didn't know I had access to legal services through work until someone happened to mention it, you might have more resources around you than you realize). If you act on her behalf, you will definitely want to make sure everything is correct, not just for you, but to make sure that any progress doesn't get lost based on any legal issues. I don't know how appropriate it would be to take her credentials to set up accounts with online access (through the bureaus), but if you can get authority to do that, it might be the easiest way to deal with things.
Whatever you do, good luck to the both of you! This is challenging enough without the restrictions you are both under.
@Schoolbuskid wrote:
It’s my sister. I can add her as AU. I’m more concerned about removing the baddies. How that would work. I guess I could mail her all correspondence and anything that I would need her signature on.
OP that is a nice of you to assist with credit repair. If I were to take on such a task (credit repair assistance only), I would:
1) First, enter into a legally binding agreement (notarized Power of Attorney) to protect myself,
2) Using a scanner, scan her signature (black ink) from a white sheet of paper to create a clean grahic image file to be inserted in correspondence (document files),
3) Use the scanned digital image file to purchase (online) a self-inking rubber stamp bearing her signature, for forms or other paper docs that require a signature.
4) Establish an email account to be used specifically for credit repair or credit-related purposes if not already done.
5) Always use her signature instead of my own because I've been given the power (as an Agent) to do so.
Using a digital signature and a signature stamp would reduce time and money needed for postage--by eliminating the excess mail deliveries involving you sending docs to her to be signed, and her returning the signed docs to you to be mailed to creditors (some presumably via USPS Certified Delivery). I hope my suggestion is helpful.
Good luck to you both!