Repo - Poke the bear?

[Anonymous]

I first went into default on my vehicle loan in June 2015. Due to job loss, a payment was never made after that. The vehicle did end up being repossessed. I never heard anything from the finance company after that. The SOL in Mississippi is 3 years but I am not exactly sure what date that starts from. The finance company is reporting 4 different balances between mine and my husband's credit reports. I am afraid to call because I am worried about restarting the debt but I am thinking that they may be passed the SOL time? I am not wanting to argue the validity of the debt because it is ours - but I do want to verify the amount owed. They ended up being bought out by a different company. What would be my best bet in this case?

$10,400 was owed at the time of Repo. On my husband's TU report, it states a balance of $12,800. On his Equifax report - it states a balance of $11,400. On my TU report it shows a balance of $8,400, and on Equifax report it shows balance of $8,000. They stated that the car was only sold for $900 at auction.

[topgunvf]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I first went into default on my vehicle loan in June 2015. Due to job loss, a payment was never made after that. The vehicle did end up being repossessed. I never heard anything from the finance company after that. The SOL in Mississippi is 3 years but I am not exactly sure what date that starts from. The finance company is reporting 4 different balances between mine and my husband's credit reports. I am afraid to call because I am worried about restarting the debt but I am thinking that they may be passed the SOL time? I am not wanting to argue the validity of the debt because it is ours - but I do want to verify the amount owed. They ended up being bought out by a different company. What would be my best bet in this case?

OP let me try to help best I can:

First, your first missed payment was June of 2015? If so that is your DOFD (date of first deliquency and when clock starts)

Second, and I almost fell out of chair, how can they report 4 different balances??? Are you including amongst all 3 CRA's for both you and spouse? Or are we talking multiple trade lines due to the buyout from new company?

Lastly, calling for debt validity never "resets" a clock so rest assured there.

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[cjane1]

Don't call until your past the SOL, you don't want to draw attention to yourself. I had a repo and 6 months from the SOL ran out I started getting letters and had to do a settlement before they sued me.

[Brooklyn2018]

+1
@topgun

+1
@cjane1

@OP
What you really should do, IMHO, is go to annualcreditreport.com and you and DH pull all 3 credit reports each. For one, you’ll have a bigger picture. Two, you’ll find your DoFD and/or be able to figure it out. Once you know the DoFD and is past the SOL, send DV letters to validate the amount.
As stated by other poster, sending DV does not restart anything. The only thing that can be restarted is the SOL and that only happens if you make payments and default. This action will reset the SOL, which will give them(in your case and state’s SOL) another 3 yrs to sue you for the balance. The DoFD of the CRTP(Credit Reporting Time Period) cannot be changed once the OC(Original Credit) has set DoFD when it reported on your CR(Credit Reports)...
Just be sure you are absolutely sure you are out of your state’s SOL before you go pok’n.

Hope that helps

Good Luck!!👍

😊

[cjane1]

I knew I wasn't past the SOL so I agreed to a settlement of 1/2, for 3 1/2 years heard from them once then 6 months before  the SOL I started getting calls and letters of suing.

[bass_playr]

OK, first, as mentioned above, DOFD is when the account first went delinquent.  Since you stopped paying in June 2015, your DOFD would be July 2015.  If your SOL is 3 years, then it looks like you are in the clear as far as being sued goes.  

Second, what kind of car was it that you would owe that much on it but it only sold for $900 at auction?  Some states have specific laws to protect you in that scenario, I don't know about your state laws.  It would be worth checking into that.  Was there something wrong with the car when they took it back?

Third, you do not want to send a DV letter as DV only applies to third party debt collectors.  The finance company was your creditor.  When they got bought out, the new owner stepped into their shoes and is now the creditor.  That makes them first-party, not third.  DV does not apply to the creditor, only to third party debt collectors.  Plus, you're not actually looking for DV.  You're looking to dispute what they are reporting on your credit.  There's a difference.  For this, I would follow the advice above and get your free annual credit reports--all of them for both you and your spouse.  Compare the entries.  Once you have that, the next step would be to file disputes with the credit bureaus, but don't do it online.  Always do that in writing.  Credit report disputes need to be specific as to what is being disputed, so if you would like more help in what exactly to dispute, feel free to drop back in here once you have all your reports and we can help you put it together.