LowDownWayOut

That was never part of the original question - nor did I ever say I wasn't paying the loans. You decided that was the case and decided to attack me on that basis - and you were wrong. Next time, follow the site rules which include no attacks on people.

Is AAOA strictly for revolving credit accounts? I got my first CC in 1995, but they were junk cards I opened while in college. I got rid of those cards back in 2004 or so... then had nothing until a few years back when I started seriously looking at building my score up. So if AAOA is just how long you have had your oldest still-current CC, then my AAOA is very short. If it factors in car loans or credit cards which were closed, it will be a fair bit longer. I was just more surprised that virtually nothing I did on the Amex FICO estimator got me much over 800-805. My scores are in the 780 range now, but all the things I put into the estimator only change the score by a few points. I realize it's basically a FAKO calculator, but I was just curious what elements would be keeping my score down. Just more of a mental exercise to possibly strategize and see what I can do over the next few years to bump it up. I just like being 800+

I am curious what things a person can do to move from the 700's to the 800's. I do not have a mortgage and don't really want one. I have a few credit cards with high limits and low balances - I actually charge quite a lot each month and pay them off. I have a car loan that I got such a great rate on that it was free money. I have been playing with the Amex FICO estimator that guesses what your score would be with various other things on your CR. According to the tool, opening a new CC account won't help more than a few points. Lowering utilization won't help either. Increased AAOA would help, but not much I can do about that (AFAIK). Having a mortgage would help but I don't want to borrow on my home just to raise credit score. I have nothing bad on my CR - no lates, no baddies at all. I have years of pays-as-agreed on my cards and some other stuff...but it seems I am pretty much maxed out. Short of waiting and letting AAOA grow and waiting for some hard pulls from 18 months ago disappear, what else can be done?

I would turn your question into a question.... what is the point of paying for everything in cash each month if I can put it on a credit card? I have over 350,000 miles I have earned in the past 18 months on my cards, enough to pay for first class airfare for me and my brother to the Japanese F1 Grand Prix next year, and the year after that. I also had my Amex card number stolen last year - they charged $21,000 on my card, of which all was removed after I discovered the fraud. Had that been on a debit card, my bank account would be drained and it would take months to get the $$ back. I get double warranty on stuff I buy on my cards, as well as itemized bills showing what I spend on each category. It also lets me keep the $$$ myself and earn the interest rather than letting the bank have it. I also have $30-40k worth of credit instantly available to me on my credit cards should the worst ever happen (terrible accident, house fire, or whatever other life emergency may come). Assuming one does not abuse the credit they have and uses it responsibly, there's no reason not to use their cards for purchases. It's a win/win.

To the OP; You must be careful in making assumptions about whether you will get sued or not. It depends on many factors, and only one of them is your ability to pay - and it often does not play as big a role as you would think. For most of the large CA's, it will not cost them thousands to sue you. They will have a lawyer in your area that they will pay a small amount to who will file the suit. That guy will have numerous cases in your local court house and he is likely there every other Monday (or whatever) anyway filing suits and attending hearings, and most of the debtors won't show up. Assuming you don't (or if you do, and you lose), they get a judgement and can file a notice to show cause which compels you to list your assets and sources of income. Waiting out the SOL may be the best option - nobody can say, but you must keep in mind that the cost of getting a judgement is possibly very small for them, and essentially eliminates the SOL altogether, as the previous poster mentioned. Trying to get a car loan is a monumentally bad idea as others have mentioned - as for how others can do it, you must understand that car loans are not strictly related to FICO scores alone. One person could have a lot of old medical debts but a solid job, own a home and have a high income and have the same FICO as someone else who does not own a home, has more recent chargeoffs from credit cards and has an average income. They may have the same FICO, but could qualify for different rates. 24% is insane, even 18% is insane. That's like a credit card with a huge balance, but on a secured loan that doesn't even positively affect your FICO score. No upside on that deal. If the thousands in disposable $$ per month is true, just save up and buy something. You can get a decent late model entry-level car for $5-6k easily.

Back in October I made a post regarding some student loans which had recently appeared on all 3 of my CR's. The loans were from 1995. http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=518333 In a nutshell, I had a SL from 1995 that had gone unpaid and was listed from a CA as of 2002. In 2009, they dropped off my CR. In October 2013, they re-appeared on my CR showing a DOFD from March 2007, meaning they would stay on my CR until March 2014. There were some questions on when the loan was subrogated and how it could be reporting in 2013 when the DOFD was 1998 or earlier. Just wanted to report back that these loans were being incorrectly reported and are off my CR! It turns out the original CA had been paid and given the loan back to the DOE in 2002, and the 2007 DOFD was incorrect. DOE were reluctant to provide information, but persistence paid off and their illegal reporting has ceased. I figured I would update everyone in case others may be dealing with the same situation. Do not assume the dates the DOE or CA for the DOE are reporting are correct. In my case they were not, and they illegally reported something 4 years after they were allowed to. Obviously, the reporting aspect of the debt is a separate issue from the legitimacy of the debt, I am only talking about the reporting aspect.

Thanks for the info on normal subrogation times. I recall this loan was on my report around 2004 when I had applied for a loan, and at that time it was listed from the DOE. If, as you say, most subrogate in 7-8 years, that matches the 2002 date perfectly since it went into default in 1995. So I think it was subrogated in 2002. It hasn't been on my report for as long as I have been checking, so I think a CA has incorrectly listed it as having a DOFD of 2007. I will be filing a dispute with the CRA's on this - we shall see what the DOE or the CA comes back with and if it sticks. My bet is it doesn't.

If you are not going into details on credit reporting, then why are you responding to the thread? And what am I misinterpreting about the higher education act? I posted the relevant text and it seems pretty clear to me. If you know something beyond that, then educate us all and explain. I don't think I am misinterpreting anything. It seems pretty clear to me that it can only be reported for 7 years after the various events listed, the longest timeline one being subrogation. If all you are able to do is ignore what people are asking and just tell people to pay, then perhaps you ought to get a job at a collection agency?

I found out that the last payment date was November of 1995. 7 years of reporting would be 2002, at which would it could be subrogated. Not coincidentally, my loan is listed with the DOE as "default, unresolved" in August of 2002. Then the same status repeats on June of 2007. Which leads me to believe the correct date is the 2002 one, but it is being inaccurately reported as June of 2007, which, if true, means it should not be on my CR. And if it should not be on there, then it should come off. Hence my question about finding out when it was subrogated. Does anyone know how I can find that out? If I call the DOE will they tell me? I consider this a separate issue to the loan itself, which I can either just pay, or settle, or rehab. But regardless of which of those I do, it doesn't mean I should accept illegal reporting, if it is happening.

It is not true that my credit is more important than the loan - it is simply that I am unconcerned with the loan because the options are clearly listed on internet, so there is no mystery there. But I disagree with what I perceive to be the tone of this thread that "you owe the money so let them do whatever they like on your credit, just pay up". If it is being reported illegally, then that is an issue and it should be resolved. If it is not legal for it to be on my CR, then it should not be on there. So I am trying to find out about the reporting guidelines. Some have said they can report indefinitely, which seemed strange so I read the HEA and it appears to not be the case. The only way it could be reported now is if it was subrogated in June of 2006, which was 12 years after my last payment, and does not seem realistic to me. That date is important because it determines whether it is being legally or illegally reported.

It may seem unrealistic to you...but chocolate happens within the guarantey agencies. No mistake was made. Unless you wish to subject yourself to legal fees in federal court for something you really know nothng about, pay it of or get it resolved. Hopad and I have over 30 years combined in federal defaults. If there was a way out of it we would tell you....look at the other people we have helped. You have been subrogated by the doe from a FFELP agency. How when and why really dont apply to you....it is internal dealings. You defaulted and didnt pay...that should be your only concern. How do you know that no mistake was made? The government doesn't make mistakes? From my reading of the Higher Education Act, the DOE can only report the loan for 7 years after they pay off an FFELP, therefore when it was paid off most definitely *is* my concern. Because if it was paid off on a previous date, then it is being illegally reported. That is an entirely separate issue from paying it off, rehabbing it, etc. And I completely disagree with you that the latter should be my only concern. I am concerned with both. What I am asking about here is the former, however.

Nope. What you are finding about the 7 year rule applies to the original FFELP guarantor....they report for 7 years. Since you did not pay, the DOE subrogated (took over) the account paying them off at a discount for non collections....basically a penalty to the agency. With all the changes happening in the DOE in direct lending, it took time for your account to be subrogated or the FFELP guarnator did not perform enough due diligence for the DOE to take over the loan earlier. None of those facts are relevant to you. You defaulted and now you are paying the penalty. Did you not have your tax returns seized ever??? No one has tried to garnish your wages??? Believe me, no one is lying to you. I don't think you are correct that the 7 year rule applies to the FFELP guarantor only. It also applies to the DOE, it's evidenced by "Secretary or a guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder" The DOE is the guaranty agency, and the subsequent holder. They are only allowed to report it for 7 years in respect to the 3 restrictions I mentioned. #2 and #3 don't apply to me, so the date that they paid a claim on the loan most definitely matters because if it was prior to January of 2007, then the loan is being illegally reported on my CR. That is why I am trying to find out how I can find that date. I discovered that the last payment was made in November of 1995. It seems unrealistic to me that the FEELP would hold the loan from November of 1995 until June of 2007 until it was subrogated by the DOE. The loan also shows "default, unresolved" in 2002, and shows the same status again in June of 2007. So I think a mistake was made that has caused this to show up on my CR again. It seems to me that the best course of action would be to dispute the listing on my CR on the grounds of an invalid DOFD since that would remove it the quickest. If the dispute goes against me, it is still the quickest way to get it off my CR since it is slated to fall off in 5 months anyway.

I am mostly trying to find out how the DOFD can be renewed. I can see that subrogating the loan back to the DOE is one way, but I've also read that a lender has a specific amount of time during which they can do that. The text of the Higher Education Act says... 20 U.S.C. 1080a(f): Duration of authority Notwithstanding paragraphs (4) and (5) of subsection (a) of section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(4), (a)(5)), a consumer reporting agency may make a report containing information received from the Secretary or a guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder regarding the status of a borrower's defaulted account on a loan guaranteed under this part until - (1) 7 years from the date on which the Secretary or the agency paid a claim to the holder on the guaranty; (2) 7 years from the date the Secretary, guaranty agency, eligible lender, or subsequent holder first reported the account to the consumer reporting agency; or (3) in the case of a borrower who reenters repayment after defaulting on a loan and subsequently goes into default on such loan, 7 years from the date the loan entered default such subsequent time. In my case, #3 does not apply, because I "re-entered default" many years more than 7 years ago. So that cannot be why they are reporting it now. I also don't think it can be #2, because it was first reported as in default probably back in 1996 or so. That leaves only #1, but how can I find out the date that the agency paid a claim to the guarantor? I frankly do not believe that a FFALP lender would let the loan go into default, then leave it in that status for *eleven* years before making a claim with the DOE. I think, more likely, what has happened is the CA that currently has this is lying about the DOFD so they can get it on my credit. As far as I know, they are still governed by the reporting laws, so I think I should be able to get this off my CR. Is the dispute process pretty much the same as anything else? I specifically want to dispute the DOFD and compel them to prove their claim of 6/2007. Followup question... let's say I call the DOE and just pay it in full right away (I could cash in some 401k money and do it). Would that immediately remove it from my credit report? I'm not talking about a settlement or a rehab, just a straight up pay-in full. Anyone know?

No payment was made since maybe 1998 at the latest, probably long before that. I don't think a FFELP would hang on to it for 10 years before giving it back to the feds, would they? How can I find out the date that it was subrogated? The reason this is interesting is that the loan has popped up on my CR previously, and I have disputed it off and it was gone for 2-3 years at a time. I think a CA is illegally reporting this, so I'm just trying to find out. I intend to pay it, but I also don't intend to let a sleazy CA destroy my credit through illegal reporting, if that is indeed what they are doing.

Lynn, I've read that the Higher Education Act regulates reporting of student loans, and that they may be reported on one's CR for 7 years after the last payment. No payment has been made for at least 12 years, so how can this be reporting now? It also says the date of first delinquency is 6/2007. That is not true. Are you saying the DOE can just put whatever date they like and report it on my CR? It says it will come off my report in March 2014, which would be three months prior to the 7 year mark on the DOFD listed above. But that DOFD is not accurate, so I think this should not be on my report. I am not talking about legal responsibility for paying, I am only talking about it being on my report. MeatCatalog, I don't think there is a CA? I think it is the DOE directly (they are listed as the creditor now). I understand I can rehab the loan, but it sounds like you are saying that it would be listed as a collection for the next 9 months then? But if I just pay it all off it will not remove it from my CR? I don't understand how this can legally report based on my reading of the reporting limits in the higher education act. The idea that they can report it forever also doesn't jive with the fact that it states it will come off my report in 6 months. Any insight is appreciated.