Possibility to Have Delinquency Notice Removed from Credit Report?

[thobbs]

A few years ago my wife and I made the biggest mistake of our lives by cosigning a mortgage for a family member.  About a year ago I had one of my credit cards decrease my credit limit due to a derogatory mark on my Experian credit report.  I in turn pulled my credit report immediately to find out what the issue was.  Apparently, the family member was 60 days late at that time on the mortgage payment and did not tell me.  After confronting the family member, they told us it was a mistake and they would take care of it.  However, it was not a mistake and they were lying.  Finally I took corrective action and paid it up to date and since 05/2010 and have helped keep it that way since then.  It states 2 30 days past due and 1 90 day past due on my Experian credit report only.

Aside from the fact that I know I made a huge mistake in cosigning for this and will never ever be so stupid, is there any chance that the bank would remove this information if I wrote a letter explaining the situation.  I know it is my fault and I know it is my responsibility, but I thought maybe if I wrote to them, explained the situation and stated that once I was informed of what was going on I immediately took corrective action and have made sure it has been up to date since then that they may remove the delinquencies.  The biggest thing is I could have avoided this if I would have known about it, but I never heard received anything to inform me.  I know its a shot in the dark, but maybe someone else out there has been able to accomplish this and if so, how?  I figure it is worth a shot, BUT... if I do this, is there any chance that they would deny my request and then report this to ALL 3 credit bureaus?  They have only reported to Experian as of right now, but the last thing I want to do is stir the hornet's nest and have them post it to all of them.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

[guiness56]

Not all creditors report to all 3 CRAs.  But, yes, it could happen if they do report to them and have just not for whatever reason.

Before sending out the GW letter you could always ask the lender who they report to.  If they only report to one, you have nothing to worry about.  You don't need to give them your name, just ask them.

[thobbs]

See, this is where I was confused.  It was reported on all 3 CRA's on my wife's credit, but only Experian on mine for the same loan.  Its been exactly 12 months since the last CRA post and I would prefer not to "wake them up" and have it posted to all of them.  Maybe I should leave it alone then.

[guiness56]

Those lates will affect your score for a while, especially the 60 day late.  But I can understand why you would be hesitant.

Have you researched the lender to see how GW friendly they are?

[thobbs]

Not yet, I will do that next.  And actually I forgot to add.  I finally was notified at 60 days but it went to 90 days late until it was resolved as I only had a week to do so and didn't know what was going on.  On my report it states two 30 days and one 90 day.  I will research the bank next.  Thank you.

[guiness56]

90 days are not good.  One of the worst things to have.

Hopefully since you paid it they will help you out.

[Shellemilyrose]

Does co-signing ALWAYS end badly or are there any occasions where it has gone well or beneficial to the person cosigning?  General statements bug me so I was just wondering.  Thanks.

[thobbs]

I think it is safe to assume that they always go badly and unfortunately I was too young and inexperienced to avoid that decision.  This has been the greatest stress ever in my life and there is no easy way out as the housing market is horrible now.  It is something I will never do again and will advise everyone else the same thing no matter who it is for.

Guiness, if I would have known about it it would have never gotten past 30 days late.  I researched the lender and found only one instance through Google where someone said they successfully got a 30 day removed over the phone.  I might try calling them first.

[guiness56]

I cosigned for a car for my daughter.  It went bad.  Still paying it

Let me know how it turns out.  If they say no over the phone there are other routes you can take.

[thobbs]

Thanks, I will.  Since they reported my wife to all 3 of the credit bureaus I am thinking of writing a letter for her first to see if they would do it.  If they deny it, it doesn't matter because she was reported to all 3 to begin with where as mine is only one.  If I could get this removed, it would relieve a lot of stress as I would like to refi my home sometime next year at the lowest rate possible.