About Credit Scoring * About 35% affects Payment History meaning any lates; collections; charge offs; bankruptcies; judgments; liens or the such will hurt the score. All is time based, the older the information the less it is contributing to the scores. Usually the first 2 most recent years is what is hurting the credit scores the most. Example: A 5 year old collection will affect the score less then a 30 day late just a month ago. * About 30% affects Utilization it is best to have several accounts with low balances distributed then it is to have fewer accounts maxed out.

Thanks in advance for any direction. My wife has two accounts listed as c/o on all three credit bureaus. They are being collected by NCO Financial Services and asset acceptance llc. Both accounts went delinquent in (approx)2000. She is a stay at home mother - no income. I am attempting to settle the accounts for her. I settled with NCO today and was told that I would receive confirmation in the mail. I came upon this website this evening and figured I needed to be more informed.

Divorce & Credit [list=1]

Both spouses need to write to all creditors on joint accounts, informing them of the separation and need for accounts to be closed. (most often if a balance is remaining) they may require that balance to be paid first before releasing obligation on the account. You may deal with this in a number of ways, 1) refinancing, or 2) balance transferring to another account solely owned by the spouse who will be taking over responsibility.

Statute of Limitations is the period of time each state allows a creditor legal remedy to collect on delinquent accounts. After that period of time has expired, the creditor may still try to sue to collect on a debt, but the consumer then has a legal defense that the debt is time barred (expired SOL) and the case may be thrown out of court. A creditor or collection agency in most states can still continue with other collection efforts such as reporting the allowed time the FCRA allows. And continuing to send consumers dunning letters (collection letters) to try to collect on the debt.

What information does the credit report contain? Personal information: [list=1]

Name

Alias Names

Address

Past Addresses

Social Security Number

Date of Birth

Drivers License

Phone Number

Employer

Past Employers

Past Phone Numbers

Spouse's Name

Home Owner

Geo Code This information gets added by each member company that sends in tapes, or even pulls credit reports. The CRAs system collects new data all of the time.

What to do when a loved one passes away: If a loved one has passed away, you may need to obtain a copy of their credit report to settle on their estate. But also most importantly you need to notify all three of the major credit reporting agencies of the loved one's passing. Requests for credit reports need to be made in writing, will need to provide a copy of the loved one's photo ID and death certificate.

Once in a while someone pops in that has issues with the Credit Reporting Agencies thinking they have passed away and there for don't want to send them their credit reports!

If you are over on your credit limit, meaning that the High Balance is showing greater amount then what your Credit Limit is showing. This can hurt your credit score just as much as if you had been late, or had collection / charge off rating. And I mean hurt, like 20 to 50 points against the score for each offense! You can fix this! Provided the account is still open!

debt settlement is not a bad deal, if you know a debt is yours, and you have taken the steps to obtain and review billing information to insure that all charges are correct. A few important things to think about first as you consider this option. [list=1]

Check to see if the debt is outside of the statute of limitations - because you might find that in the end you don't have to pay. And if you choose to pay, this will surely increase your negotiating power with the creditor or collection agency.

I would not be able to pay off the debt in just 3 years as most consolidation agencies prefer. Is there any way to pay off debt more slowly? I own 40k and own a home but have been denied home equity loans due to bad credit. Since I have to pay a mortgage, I can't pay $1,000 a month to pay off my debt as well. I was hoping to stretch out the payments a bit more. Any advice?