I co-signed for someone on a house lease. I run my credit report every year and this year I discoved that the rental company for the people I co-signed for four years ago had turned me in for collections on my credit report. The rental company never called me or wrote me. The chages are for moving out 1 month early (the peope I signed for informed me that they had been told it was okay, but they don't have anything in writing), plus additional charges have been added like a new battery for the smoke detector at $8.00. Grass cutting fee of $75.00, a.c. cleaning at $75.00. Changing locks for $150.00. Pet cleaning fee for $150.00 (when they paid a pet deposit).
I filed bankrupty and it was final December 14, 2004 and the people I co-signed for moved out in November 2004. The rental company was not listed in my Bankrupty.
Is there anything I can do?
2007-12-30 04:12:26 · 7 answers · asked by fallenangel 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
I am in Texas and the rental company is a Texas Company
2007-12-30 04:13:40 · update #1
There's nothing "bogus" about the report to the credit bureau. You co-signed on a lease and got burned by a former friend.
Your bankruptcy isn't a factor in this due to the time-line involved. The debt that was left in your lap occurred after your BK was discharged and therefore was NOT part of the BK proceedings. You MIGHT have been able to have had it included had you told your BK attorney about the potential debt due to the cosigning but if you didn't then the debt to you is valid and is properly on your credit report.
Your only option at this point is to contact the leasing company and negotiate a settlement. Tell them that you'll pay the debt off in full IF they agree to have any reference to it removed from your credit record OR agree to leave it there and mark it as "paid as agreed" and then see where the chips fall. It's been my personal experience that most creditors will bite on this in exchange for a 100% settlement of the debt. And some will settle for less than 100% and stil do it.
2007-12-30 04:24:44 · answer #1 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
When you cosign on loans, leases and other obligations like that, you are saying, "I will pay whatever they owe if they don't pay it."
The fact that the people you cosigned for didn't pay all the stuff they said they would means that you are responsible for it.
The people told you that it was okay to move out early, but the rental company did not.
Look, the people you cosigned for were irresponsible. They didn't even bother to change the battery in the smoke detector. Before you guarantee to pay for someone else, you'd do well to know them well enough to trust them with your money.
You owe the rental companty the money. The other people may have been the tenants, but you were the leaseholder, and were responsible for the house, the condition of it, and the payments on the lease.
Since you didn't include the rental company on your bankruptcy, you cannot write that debt off. (At this point, that's kinda moot, since they can't harm your credit much more than it already is...)
However, at the point where you have lived out the aftermath of the bankruptcy (seven or ten years, depending on what kind of bankruptcy), that debt to the rental company will still be around.
If you have hope of EVER borrowing another dime from anybody, you'd do well to pay them off.
2007-12-30 04:32:00 · answer #2 · answered by Stuart 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You can talk to the rental company about paying the debt in payments that you can afford, then have it removed from your credit report. But what difference does it make, after all, you have filled bankruptcy. You are pretty much done for a few years, depending where you reside. The fact that there is nothing in writing about moving out early, puts that part of it in jeopardy. Never do any thing with a rental company without a letter to the effect of what is being negotiated. Good luck!
2007-12-30 04:24:02 · answer #3 · answered by mtchndjnmtch 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Utility companies generally don't report to the credit bureaus. But if the account has been turned over to collections, the collection agency will report the item. Do you still live where this company supplies your electric? If so, I would think resolving this account would be second only to your mortgage company. Have you tried contacting local agencies for assistance with the power bill? There are usually funds available for situations like yours. In any case, they are not going to wait a year to start a payment plan.
2016-04-02 02:12:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You will need to contact the credit reporting agencies in writing (there are 3 of them. they will be listed on your credit report along with their contact info) and tell them you are disputing that entry on your report. By law they have to immediately remove the item from your credit report and they can't put it back on until they have proof of the debt or judgement from the entity that reported it. Most times, the entity that reported it has gone our of business or changed their contact info and can not be found, so the item will be removed permanently. If however, the credit agencies are able to find them and they provide proof of the debt, they are require to provide this proof to you and the contact info so you can contact the business and take up the issue with them. Chances are though, that they are not able to be contacted, so you will be able to clean up your credit easily. If more people knew how easy it is to clean up your credit report this way, they would stop paying people to do it and just do it themselves. Good luck!
2007-12-30 04:20:47 · answer #5 · answered by bertha 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Maybe next time you won't cosign for someone who's going to leave you in a lurch like this... There's nothing you can do. The bankruptcy was final before they sent you to collections.
2007-12-30 04:15:34 · answer #6 · answered by I love my baby boy! 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't ever..never co-sign for any one again..count it as a lesson learned......
2007-12-30 04:15:52 · answer #7 · answered by MC 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋