Security Clearance help

[tabby]

I have questions for anyone that has had to clean up their credit for a job security clearance. What did you do, what letters did you send, where did you start, etc? See my previous post where i went into detail about situation.

Message Edited by tabby on 05-05-2008 08:16 PM

[BungalowMo]

Tabby,

When my investigation started, I had 2 delinquent bank charge cards (one in collections), a delq. store credit card & a DUI .  All that was active as the investigation started.  Within about a year & 1/2 I had a bunch of it cleared up as paid but they're still black marks.  My clearance went through & it's good til 2016! 

Without trying to be blunt...how much do you owe?  I think they're more concerned with people who, for instance, have nothing in the bank, no house payment & maybe 150k in debt.  Those people might be a target for selling their soul & more for the buck. 

Make sense?

Mo

[Anonymous]

I am military and just recently got my clearance back that was taken due to credit issues.  I have searched for your previous thread and can not seem to find it. 

My only option was to pay the debt on my credit report or make payment arrangements.  I am not saying that is what you need to do.  Only that this is what my situation warranted.

[tabby]

Well, my problem is that all of the bad accounts are falling off, including a repo that is due to come off in June. I was trying to stay under the radar until after June but it doesn't look like that will happen. I don't owe very much, only about $5,000, but heck, i don't want to start paying now, it's been 6 years and 11 months, LOL. Should i send DV letters to the CA or maybe offer a PFD? They want some type of proof that i either no longer owe any money or that i am making payments. I don't know what to do.

[Anonymous]

Have you submitted your SF86? If you have and lied about financial problems you can forget about a clearance. The lie (or lie by omission) is massively more damning to the credibility of an applicant that the actual financial problem.

If not just delay until they fall off the report. If they drop off in June you could try a dispute "outdated" now. Since it takes 30 days to complete a dispute likely the CRA will drop them now.

DO NOT FILE YOUR SF86 UNTIL THE DEBTS ARE PAST 7 YEAR MARK. Even if later the debts are cleared it doesn't matter. What matters is were you completely honest at the time of application.

If you submit your SF86 after the 7 year mark on the baddies even if they don't drop from your credit report you likely are ok. It would be better if they are gone because it can prevent an interim clearance. The questions of SF86 clearly ask for financial issues in past 7 years. You are not required to disclose events >7years and it would not be held against you as an omission.

If your have any unpaid collections you will need to report them so if they are >7years then dispute them as "outdated".

Do you have any recent baddies? In June when baddies fall off is there any other negatives? Any payday loans? How high is your util%? Do you have any money in bank? Living paycheck to paycheck? All those can affect a clearance.

[tabby]

I am already past the SF86. I am a year into the investigation. When I talked to the investigator a year ago, he had my credit report and we talked about several issues on it. I figured that because all of the baddies would have fallen off by now, i thought i was ok. But now the clearance is being held up of because of the negative accounts. Unfortunately they are using the CR that they pulled a year ago. If they pulled it today i would have only the repo left on it.

[Anonymous]

Just curious if you are military.

You need to talk to the security person or who ever is in charge of the SF86.  Pull a current report and take it to them.  IMHO, it is going to be hard for them to justify not giving a clearance based on a report that is a year old and you can produce a much improved CR.  As for the repo that remains, you must have made some sort of attempt to rectify it.  How old is the repo?

As I stated earlier, being in the military, they did not care whether the debt was mine, whether it was disputed, or about to fall off.  If it was on my report I either had to pay it, make arrangements or have proof positive it was not my debt.

[tabby]

I am a DOD civilian (but prior military).  The repo is 6 years and 11 months.  It will be gone after June of this year.   And yes guiness56, those are exactly what my options are.  But it's been almost 7 years and i really don't want to start paying now.  But i have a question, if I DV the CA after the accounts have dropped off, what will be their response?

[Anonymous]

Tabby.

At the time you submitted your SF86 how many baddies were on your Credit Report?  Did you fully disclose all the baddies on your report?

If no then the problem is bigger than the baddies.  Your clearance can be denied for making a materially fradulent statement.  Clearances can be denied or revoked even if the statement that was fradulent wouldn't result in a denial.  Basically the Federal Goverment takes a very dim view of people who lie when asking to be trusted with secrets.

If you did fully disclose all baddies then exactly what baddies are on your credit report today.  It should be possible for the investigator to pull new credit file.  You likely can also get the baddies removed if they really are 6 years, 11 months by disputing as "outdated".  Generally speaking the CRA will just drop them rather than validate them only to have them drop in less <2 months.

So if you did disclose everything:

1) dispute

2) verify they are gone

3) request Investigator pull new CR

4) ???

5) Profit.

[tabby]

Thanks for the steps, that's what i needed.  I fully disclosed everything in the CR.  I also talked to a lawyer today and she basically told me the same thing that you did creditmizer.  She told me to DV the CA then when i was certain that the CA received the DV letters then dispute with the CRA.  So that's what i'm going t do.  Thanks for the advice.