NoSoup

Alrighty Phred, here we go

First of all, I would suggest purchasing your credit bureaus directly from the credit reporting agencies. When purchasing them, see if you can find one with minimal information, as it will cost less. Also, try and purchase it directly from the company, instead of one of the affiliates that will generally charge you a lot more. For example, to get the "no frills" credit bureau from TransUnion you'll have to go the website, click on personal solutions, then TransUnion Personal Credit Report.

Here are the links for the websites:
TransUnion
Experian
Equifax

One final note, as far as that goes - although it would be a bit cheaper, don't buy the "3 bureaus at once!" or anything mentioning more than that specific agency's respective information. If you purchase a merged report, you'll get the information listed from all the bureaus, but it won't differentiate on which or how many agencies are reporting what. If there is an error, you would likely have to get seperate reports to see who is listing the error.

The clock starts ticking when the collections are first filed. However, occationally there will be an error and the collection may or may not have that clock restarted when it is purchased by another agency. It seems that they are getting more and more desperate, which is very likely, as that 7 year mark is coming up rather rapidly

If you want to avoid hassles with trying to get them removed from the credit bureaus when they are resold (most will sell them a few months before that 7 year mark) try contacting them and offering them a sum that would suit you. They buy that at a much reduced cost, so offer them only a fraction of what you owe them. If they refuse, simply contact the next company. I would suggest seeing if the people with the student loans would be willing to work with you to set up payments or something to avoid having payroll deduction. That way, you still are able to maintain some control. If an emergency comes up, you'll still be able to not pay them, whereas if they are taking it directly from your check, you won't have that choice.

Concerning your first rental issue - you said there was a "mark"... is there a judgement filed against you? Or something else?

Regarding your second rental issue - Double check to make sure that in the state you are living in that being listed as an "occupant" carries no obligations towards the financial aspects of the apartment. It may be as simple as getting a copy of your old lease. If it doesn't, contact the agencies that are reporting that and refute it. If they can't confirm the validity of it within 30 days, they are required to take it off your bureau. What likely happened is that the owner got a little overzealous and filed against both of you, just to make sure that he got his money.

Chex Systems... a banks best friend, the publics' worst nightmare...

Alright, I have bad news and more bad new for you. First of all, it is very standard practice not to allow anyone with Chex Systems records that are not payed in full to not open an account. Unfortunately, it is fairly standard to not let anyone with Chex Systems records, paid in full or not, open a checking account. Once you have paid the account in full, it will probably take 30 days or less for Chex Systems to report it closed. They are, in all actuality, pretty good about keeping everything up to date in a timely manner. These "Horror Stories" that you have heard, although they could be legit, are most likely people that were under the impression that once the institution is paid off, the Chex Systems record just dissappears. In fact, it simply reports as paid in full, and many institutions have policies regarding any record at all, open or closed. Once you have paid the account in full, I would call around to local, smaller institutions and see what their policies are regarding Chex Systems history. See if they allow accounts that were paid in full, or if that record will keep you from obtaining a checking account. Your best bet would be small credit unions in the area... the less technologically advanced they are, the better chance that you'll be able to get an account there, as they may not even consult Chex Systems.


Regarding the Mrs. Phredgreen...

As far as repossession goes, it works like this.

John, our imaginary friend, goes out and buys a car. Not just any car, a Brand new one! He's very excited, but instead of going to work he decides that it is more fun to drive around. With no job, he can't pay the bills, and the institution is going to repossess the car.

We'll say that John is going to make one of the two choices that most people in his position make.

Choice A) John decides he want revenge. He scratches the car, pours motor oil all over the inside, drops 3 pounds of sugar in the gas tank, and takes a sledgehammer to the engine. John goes to sleep that night, sleeping soundly, dreaming of the look on that bank guys face when he sees that car. That'll teach em.

Choice B) John realizes his error, and due to whatever reasons he cannot make his payments. John brings the car, title, and keys to the bank to surrender them.

After the choice has been made, the bank now wants to recoup their losses. There was an original loan on the car for $25,000.00. The moment he drove it off the lot, it depreciated $5,000.00. He put quite a few miles on, so now it is worth $16,000.00. His loan right now is still $24,000.00, which includes the original loan amount, late fees, and accrued interest. The bank wants their money back ASAP, so they try and sell the car. To get people interested in it, they will knock a bit off the actual value of the car, so they put it up for $15,000.00. Some random fellow takes a look at the car, sees what a good deal it is, and buys it.

So, we have $24,000.00 - 15,000.00 = $9,000.00

John still is going to owe $9,000.00. However, if John chooses Choice A, he'll owe much, much more.

Basically, Mrs. Phred will owe the bank whatever they were unable to recoup from reselling the car. It is in your best interest to get that car sold at the highest price... The numbers in the above example are likely not accurate, although they are similar to what a new car purchase would probably be like. Used cars depreciate much less quickly, but you can still see the general idea behind it.

So, there you have it - If you woudn't mind responding to the few questions that I have, I would be happy to give you some answers regarding them. If I missed anything, or aroused any more questions, please feel free to ask

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