Restarting SOL and a foreclosure

[astanley]

I am trying to repair my credit report. I have pulled all 3 reports and my score is really low. A year ago it was higher, but has drastically dropped due to high limits on my credit cards.
My first question is that I just recently had an item appear on my report for a utility bill that was from early '05. It just showed up on my report on 1/09. I had no knowledge of this debt as the collection agency stated the address they used to send the bills to was incorrect. Is this past the statute of limitations to appear on my report? If so, what terminology would I use to remove it? I have been told that any charge offs or delinquencies should not be paid if they are this old as the paid date will be used to restart the 7 years-is this correct?

Also, I had a foreclosure on a home that resulted in signing over the deed in lieu of foreclosure, but it is reported several different times on my credit report by a couple of banks (loan was sold) plus the collections. Is this there any way to correct this or does it affect my score since it is over just one loan?

I do realize that my score is mainly the result of high balances, but I am not in a position to be able to get them paid down very fast, so I would like to take care of any other items to help out.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Amy

[Trish]

Hi Amy. Welcome.

Things will be reported on your CR for 7 years from the date of first delinquency (DOFD) so if the utility bill is from 2005, it is still within the reporting SOL. For the collection SOL, utilities generally fall under the UCC SOL under goods and services........which is usually 4 years. For that debt, I would try contacting the OC to see if you can pay them directly (instead of the CA). If they have only assigned the debt (and not sold it) then they have the power to recall the debt from the CA. If they can recall the debt from the CA and make a payment arrangement with you, then the CA has no right to report it and it should be removed from your CR.

I had a cable bill that was like 5 years old and the cable company was still able to take my payment (I did a PFD on it). So you may be able to do that. You should call the utility company and and ask them. Tell them you just REALLY don't wish to deal with the CA.

As for a payment restarting the 7 year SOL, that is not true. A lot of people believe this but the fact is......the ONLY way you can restart the SOL is by entering a NEW contract or agreement with an OC/CA.

Now on the foreclosure, if the loan was transferred/sold at one time and then went over to a CA.......then unfortunately, both of the two OCs have a right to report it. Now, if it has been turned over to a CA, then the ONLY one that should be reporting a balance is the CA. Both OCs should be reporting a $0 balance. What you can do on those is look them over VERY carefully and look for ANY inaccuracies. Then dispute any mistakes that you see. If you want to post how they are reporting, you can......and then maybe we can look over them here. Just be sure to leave personal info out.

Before you dispute anything though.....be sure to opt out and update/delete any personal info on your CRs first. That's a very important first step.

Well, I hope that helps.....and at least gets you started in the right direction.
Let me know if you have any more questions.