New Member- car repo recovery.

[Anonymous]

I got a 2015 Nissan Altima back in 2015. They told me my payment would be $370 a month on a lease and knowing what I know now I should have RAN. I was only 21 and I knew I could not afford that; however, my ex promised me he would help me pay the payments because we were living together. He did not give me a dime towards the car. I ended up going through a devastating family house fire that destroyed everything and my relationship with said ex was abusive in which I could not live with him and had to move home. I suffered from money problems and trauma personal problems from all the devastation going on in my life. I could not work a full time job but I did work part time which was not enough for me to afford this car that I could not afford to begin with.  The car ended up getting repoed because I could not afford it. They sold the car for $10,000 and said I owe $9,500 on the car. I am 25 currently and a full time worker and student. There is NO way I can pay that full amount but I am willing to claim responsibility for my mistakes and pay this debt and fix my credit. Does anyone have advice at all on how I can get my credit up in this situation with paying this debt in small increments? Also, my credit report states that they reopened the debt in 2018. The car was repoed in 2016 in which my credit report is incorrect. Many credit checks I have gone to have brought it up that they have stated on my report that it was for 2018 which they find unforgivable because it seems as though it happened this year. 

[Anonymous]

If an account is charged off, it is updated every month hurting your credit score and keeping it low until it stops updating. There won't be a date on your credit report stating when it was repossed. There will be a date called date of first delinquency (DOFD - the date you missed your payment). Experian and TransUnion won't show DOFD but would show the date until when it will remain on your credit report. 

If I were you, I will check DOFD and see if it still under SOL (Statute of limitations) of your state. If it is still under SOL, there is a risk they might sue you and garnish your wages. Who was the original creditor? 

Your next step would be to either call the OC or write a letter (I always prefer snail mail) and ask them if they are willing to do a settlement and accept less than full amount. Secondly, I would ask them if they are willing to take monthly payments towards the settlement amount. It would be good if you can pay it off in full (looks good in the eyes of future lenders), but it won't make a difference to your credit score.