madder than h-e-double hockey sticks!

[tired_of_debt]

I decided I am going to fight fire with fire. I am so very PO'd at the way my accounts are being reported on TU that if, in 45 days from today (and I marked it on my calendar in red), the corrections on my report are not made, I am filing a complaint with the FTC against each and every creditor on my credit report. My ex-significant other and I bought a van together back in November 2004. He left in August 2005 taking the van with him. I made the last payment on the van in July 2005 after which point I consulted an attorney. I know my ex well enough to know that he neglects/refuses to address his obligations, and since he left me with a huge rent payment and overwhelming power bills, I did the only thing that I could so my kids and I could survive. I paid a 100-dollar retainer for a bankruptcy attorney and saved my pennies to file before the new laws. All this time, HSBC auto finance has shown the car as never being late...until today. They are now showing it as 150 days late (he made 1 payment since August 2005) and they are not showing it as included in the bankruptcy. I tried to call them. Of course, they won't talk to me. I submitted a dispute online, but I suspect the trend will continue. My scores suck, but much of it is not my fault. I have several thousand in medical expense debt (of note is that the lion's share is for my children and my ex was supposed to have insurance on them and did not, so I was stuck with medical bills I had no ability to pay and no insurance). NCO has, for the past 2 years, refused to even give me the proper account numbers for the debts when I tried to enter into a repayment plan. They said, when I called, they had no record, but there are multiple entries on my report. There just does not seem to be any justice. I have made some very grave mistakes all on my own and I am both willing to own up to those and try not to make the same mistakes in my future, but it seems totally and completely unfair that my ex-SO is still driving the van and has not suffered any ill effects, my ex-husband has a home in Florida and here I sit with credit reports that look like I am the lowest form of human life. There has to be a better way. I just haven't found it. I wish I had had other options than filing bankruptcy, but my kids having food in their belly became more important to me than fighting with creditors when the whip came down.

Thanks for letting me vent.

[Minnymouth]

Unfortunately since your case is not discharged yet, or closed, the credit card companies do not have to report anything correctly until your discharged. Then they have 30 days to do as such.

So be patient, check your reports, get your letters together. Be sure to send certified letters to your creditors.

If they do not respond to your letter and update your accounts by 30 days after discharge, then notify the credit bureaus that these creditors are reporting incorrectly and they are either to report correctly (that you have notified them) or remove them from your credit report.

Be patient, it takes time......

Minny

[tired_of_debt]

I am, though I have not updated my signature, discharged and closed. Discharged on March 6, 2006, and closed on March 17, 2006. Sooo, the letters are in the mail and they will respect me in the next 45 days or I will know the reason why

Patience probably is a virtue, but not in my obsessive-compulsive dictionary.

Thanks for the encouragement, though.

[Jenny]

If your ex-husband was ordered to provide health insurance for your children and did not, I would think he'd be in breach of the divorce decree and subject to civil litigation. Have you talked to your divorce lawyer or looked into suing your ex-husband for breach of contract and medical expenses reimbursement?

I don't understand the van situation. It sounds like it's paid off, and your ex-SO has it. There shouldn't be any negative impact to your credit. If both of you took out a joint loan and you included it in your bankruptcy, then the ex would become liable for the balance and it would definitely affect his credit.

[tired_of_debt]

As far as my ex-husband goes...he is out of state and getting proceedings across state lines is a pain in the butt and a lot of money that I would have to put out up front to initiate the proceeding. Since I am about "lawyered out" as far as fees go, it is not worth my time and effort. I figure what goes around comes around. It makes me livid, but I am going to focus on trying to clean up the mess and try to stop crying over spilled milk.

The van is NOT paid for. He left and I did not want to take the responsibility for the payments and I knew that he wouldn't, but I needed to get it off my plate. He really doesn't care about his credit report and they have not yet repo'd the van though I suspect they will at some point or another. The van is showing 150 days late. Of note is that the payments were on time when I stopped paying for it after he left. Had he continued to make the payments, it would at least not show late even though it would show included in bankruptcy, but at the present time, it is not being reported correctly and only shows late and derogatory.

[Jenny]

I can understand being exhausted about the whole situation. I'm wondering if the trustee wouldn't be interested in moving to collect some of the money that your ex-husband was supposed to pay. Why should the hospitals and clinics and doctors forfeit payment because your ex reneged on his agreement. The adage "what goes around comes around" sounds nice, but life just doesn't work that way. There Will always be people who get out of their obligations without any consequence. Keep focusing on what's best for you and the kids, and forget about what should or will befall your ex.

I'm sorry, I misread your post. You said you made the last payment in July 2005, and I read that as meaning that was the last loan payment that needed to be made. Instead I think you meant that's the last payment you made on the loan which still has an outstanding balance. Am I correct?

If you both co-signed the loan, and you include it in your bankruptcy, he will be responsible for the balance. If he doesn't care about his credit or being sued, then that's that. Don't worry about it. It won't be your problem anymore. Just make sure that your name isn't on the title or insurance.