You are here:
- Home
- Business
- Corporate Law
- Collections Law
- Credit Reporting question!
Collections Law/Credit Reporting question!
Advertisement
Question
Hi! My fiance owes $22,000 in child support arrearage. He is getting the current c/s dropped but the arrears still show on his report as past due (and open) since 7/1999. Will this ever be removed? Does it need to be paid in full before being removed? How does this affect his score? Thanks so much.
The law that regulates the length of time that credit report entries remain is found in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a federal law from the 1960's). Generally speaking, negative entries (including public record entries) remain for seven years. Even if the delinquency is paid, it will still usually remain as a “paid collection account.” Does it hurt your score? - certainly doesn't help, but there are more important factors that influence your score than this such as debt to income ratio, amount of income, etc. What should you do at this point? Do what you can - challenge the entry under the Fair Credit Reporting Act by getting a copy of the report and sending in a request that it be verified within thirty days after receiving your report. If they don't remove it, you are entitled to make a short statement of explanation in your own words that will also be included in the report.
Related Articles
Answers by Expert:
John Hall
Expertise
Law school graduate, Juris Doctorate (J.D.) Degree; Over 25 years of experience throughout the United States in bankruptcy law matters (Chapters 7, 11, and 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code) primarily representing individual debtors with consumer debt or small businesses; Experience has included all aspects of debtor/creditor relations.
Experience
FREE BANKRUPTCY HELP. If you are being sued, if your home is being foreclosed, or if you are being harassed by bill collectors, filing for bankruptcy may be a quick and inexpensive solution.. The mere filing of a bankruptcy will operate as a federal court order (it is called an automatic stay) to stop all bill collection efforts, including lawsuits that are pending or ongoing. Bankruptcy is a legitimate way to meet your problems with debt head-on. The bankruptcy law is designed to give you a second chance to make a new start without the psychological and financial burden of pressing debts that you are unable to pay. Depending on what state you live in and what your assets are, it is very unlikely that you are going to have to lose anything if you file for bankruptcy, and this is something that you can do immediately without having to pay the $500 to $1,500 attorney fees that most attorneys charge. Also, you might be surprised that you can file for bankruptcy and that it will not have the devastating effect on your credit that most bill collectors describe. Life is too short to have all this anxiety over losing your car through repossession, getting evicted from your home, or losing your home through foreclosure. Bankruptcy law was designed to give you a second chance. I will not charge you just to talk on the phone. Call me at 432 853-5711, or send me an email at j_h14@hotmail.com with your telephone number, and I will call you back.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.