Child Support & Credit Reporting

[jmc912]

I'm hoping to get some clarification here if anyone has experience with any of this. My husband has a Child Support order from the state of CT. This is how it is currently showing on his reports: 

Status: Open.

Date Opened: 05/2007

Reported Since: 10/2008

Creditor's Statement: Payroll deduction.

Details: By Jul 2015, this account is scheduled to go to a positive status.

Recent Balance: $12 as of 03/2013  (Don't know why this random balance, he has sent in a check)

Recent Payment: $524

Payment History: (I consolidated here for easier reading) 

Oct 2008 - January 2010: 120 days late

January 2010- April 2013: OK (All paid on time via paycheck deduction) 

So long story short, my husband was getting divorced in CT in 2008, he was stationed out of state and so he didn't have to go to the divorce hearing. He and his wife had agreed on no child support, but the judge apparently disagreed and ordered that he pay it. The courts or his wife NEVER notified him of the judgement (that he was to pay child support).  So he gets a letter in January 2010 saying that he owes a ton of money in child support arrears (this was the first time they contacted him which I thought was odd... 16 months and no letter to ask him for payment? No phone call?). So he immediately paid off the arrears in FULL, obviously he was not trying to be a deadbeat dad, just had no knowledge and no notification of having to pay. Honest mistake. 

CT Child Support has an automated line that you call, and under the credit reporting menu it says if you owe more than $1000 you will be submitted to CRA so it will show on your report, but if you are current, your name should have been removed from the list and they will no longer report. He is current and doesn't owe anything, so I would assume that he shouldn't have anything on his report from them.

He calls them today and the lady says that when he checks his credit report it's always going to look like he's "behind" because since payment is taken every 2 weeks and they only report once a month that there will always be a $250 balance. Which this is not the case and it says he has no balance and everything has been paid on time. She treats him like crap of course and says if he makes an extra payment then it will come off his credit (I still think she was confused... I don't think she's refering to EVERYTHING falling off his credit). 

The main objective here is to get rid of those 120 day lates from 2008-2009. 

Any advice, experience, thoughts? This is so frustrating-- It's impossible to get anyone there to give you the time of day to help you sort out any issues. 

Thanks!

[InvincibleSummer3]

Child support issues are one of the hardest to deal with, only because the way they're handled varies state to state.

I'm dealing with something similar, although it's in a different state, as something the CSR mentioned. The court order for child support will read as $XXX due on the first of each month. The child support enforcement folks have garnished my ex's paycheck, and because he's paid every other week, they take out half the monthly amount due each paycheck. Because the payroll deduction happens twice a month, and they only report once a month - ex has had the same issue with his child support reporting.  He look s like he's behind if you look at his credit report, but if you talk to the child support folks, he's current.

Further, because some months he has three paychecks, and they only withhold half each out of the first two, he is short the following month because it takes 10-12 days for the interstate payment to show up. Something else that's caused havoc with the credit report.

The way he's gotten around this was to do exactly as was suggested and voluntarily make an extra payment. Because as he discovered, through repeated calls, the child support enforcement agency handling his garnishment is not up to date on how credit reporting works at all. They are not set up to protect someone's credit history - so if he just lets the garnishment happen, it inevitably gets screwed up.

If CT child support has a policy that if the account is brought "current" (and by that I mean paid ahead a little bit) then it drops off the credit report, then I would consider trying that. They have a policy to stop reporting when accounts are current, which is way more than happens in many states. If you can manage that, it could work to your benefit.

As far as the customer service rep being rude - don't take it personally. No one knows you or your situation. It's like working with a bill collector - they're not paid to be touchy-feely. I've had the best luck with remaining polite and not losing my cool. It's hard, given the emotional nature of things to do with children and ex's. But it's just like any other creditor, really.

Good luck.

[jmc912]

Thanks for your reply!! I know it's a weird situation and not many people have experience here as it varies from state to state.

This account is due to be closed in about a month. He is down to his last few payments and then the deduction order will stop and he will no longer be paying child support.

I presume that once this account is closed and he is current then everything will fall off of his report, do you think that sounds right? Or does it remain on his report until it cycles off?

Thanks again for your help

[InvincibleSummer3]

To be honest, I don't know. It could remain until it ages off, and for that reason alone I'd be inclined to see about paying it off early. If you're that close to the end of the court order, is there a way you could do that?

My experience is that the child support enforcement agency isn't going to bother to do much for anyone if they're not enforcing a court order. At least if he was paid up, he could then argue that yes, I'm now current, please stop reporting this tradeline per your own policy as outlined on the website.

[jmc912]

Thanks again! I'm going to have him call and see what the deal is. Hopefully we can get it sorted out. It would be nice to just get rid of it, it's weighing him down quite a bit!