Please Help: Co-signer credit

[absentee]

Hello. I am in desperate need of help.

My mother had co-signed my private student loans and it started to collect early this year but was unable to make the first month's payment. I had applied for a forbearance (A pardon for a year) due to not having a job but before the forbearance was processed the student loans were reported to the credit agencies.

We checked her credit online and it does state that there is delinquency on the account due to the student loans BUT there are no money owed (due to the forbearance). Basically it's just there.

Is there any way I can fight this? I asked the student loan company for a letter stating that my account is on forbearance and that there is no money owed. They will send me the letter in a few days.

What should I do? All of my families assets (homes, cars, everything else) is under her name and this affected her credit line severely. She took care of her credit for the longest time and it's almost perfect but now credit line is frozen. I'd like to fight it but I don't know what to do.

I'd like to find out if there is any way I can fight this? Is there a small, tiny possibility that the reported delinquency could be removed or even what steps I need to take in order to convince the credit bureaus to close the negative report?

I would appreciate all the help I could get.

[Trish]

If you can get a letter from the loan company, you can try sending that to the CRAs along with a dispute. You may be able to have it corrected.
Student loans are very difficult to dispute because by law........they have to report your payment history accurately..........but if it is their mistake or a misunderstanding, you may be able to get it taken care of.

Hopefully it will work out for you and your mother.

[seyho]

Hi all!

I am in a similar position. My brother left the country after graduation (about two years ago) and has not cared much about his loan. I forgot that I was the co-signer on the loan. The CA called me yesterday and said I was the co-signer and I am responsible.

I do not have a lot of experience with dealing with CAs. I immidiately asked them to show me proof that I was the co-signer and they said that they will do that within couple days. In the mean time,

a.) I don't think that CA has reported to CRAs yet. What steps can I take to ensure that that stays this way?
b.) How can I bypass CA and go back to dealing with OC and try to come up with a plan to pay off the debt? I was never given a chance from OC, they have never contacted me about the loan. Now I am being reminded by CA that I was the co-signer. When I asked the CA on the phone, they said that I cannot go back to dealing with OC, they would not talk to me. How accurate is this? Would sending a cease&desist letter keep them from reporting to CRA?
c.) I am planning to hire a lawyer. Consumer attorneys are the right people to talk to in this case?

Any insight/recommendation greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[Trish]

Originally Posted by seyho

Hi all!

I am in a similar position. My brother left the country after graduation (about two years ago) and has not cared much about his loan. I forgot that I was the co-signer on the loan. The CA called me yesterday and said I was the co-signer and I am responsible.

I do not have a lot of experience with dealing with CAs. I immidiately asked them to show me proof that I was the co-signer and they said that they will do that within couple days. In the mean time,

a.) I don't think that CA has reported to CRAs yet. What steps can I take to ensure that that stays this way?
b.) How can I bypass CA and go back to dealing with OC and try to come up with a plan to pay off the debt? I was never given a chance from OC, they have never contacted me about the loan. Now I am being reminded by CA that I was the co-signer. When I asked the CA on the phone, they said that I cannot go back to dealing with OC, they would not talk to me. How accurate is this? Would sending a cease&desist letter keep them from reporting to CRA?
c.) I am planning to hire a lawyer. Consumer attorneys are the right people to talk to in this case?

Any insight/recommendation greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Hi and welcome
I would try contacting the OC first and see if they will recall the debt from the CA. If they have only transferred the debt and not sold it.....this is possible.
So you should first see if you can work something out with them. Then the CA has no right to collect on it.......or report it to the CRAs.
I think it's a little premature to hire a lawyer right now......see if you can do other things to resolve it first.

Let me know if you have any more questions.....and keep us posted. :D