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Hello, I had posted this over at a military-specific forum, and some of the folks there suggested I post here for additional insight. I'm in the process of re-enlisting. My packet is completed, and I'm due to enter a critical rating in the Navy Reserves. I have served before, and left to build a civilian career and a family. The career has given me a decent income, and the family has given me the need to have a dependent waiver put in at CNRC for approval. The waiver was an absolute non-issue, since the family income is good, and the debt is low. My credit record had one negative entry, a bankruptcy from nine years ago. Since then, the payment history shows as excellent, with no misses or lates. Since I'm finalizing my packet this coming week, I decided to see what my actual FICO credit score was. In running the report, I saw a new account (as of February 2014) that I didn't recognize - an open collection account for 400.00 (a cellular phone account). After almost losing my lunch, I reached out to the collector and got as much information on the account as possible, then put in a dispute with them. I then contacted the original creditor, which was able to confirm the amount and nature of the account, but nothing further. The address matched mine, but the account was one I never opened. Once I verified that I hadn't completely lost the plot and dropped the ball on a responsibility, I put in a dispute with all three credit reporting bureaus. My fear is that this fresh account will end my re-enlistment. Other than that entry, I'm a strong candidate thanks to fitting in a critical rating (which requires TS clearance - though I imagine this dispute will be cleared in my favor by the time I have my interview) which is significantly undermanned thanks to my civilian work history and education. My question is, how can I mitigate the entry? It has impacted my FICO score by approximately 40 points, but most importantly, without explanation, it looks like I just didn't pay a bill and wasn't responsible. I know there is a comment/explanation field on the dependent waiver form, but I'm not sure that anyone will take into account the nature of the entry, and the fact that it is in dispute and is not a valid debt. My income shows that the issue isn't that I cannot pay the debt - I absolutely pay all my bills on time, as my payment history shows. I am just at a loss of how to get the message to the approval authority, so that they understand that this is out of character and is simply not my collection. For the first time in my life, I feel absolutely defeated, and anticipate the worst. Re-entering the military concurrent with an established civilian career was something I've intended to do for years, and the time was right. I really appreciate any advice/experience the community can provide.

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Hi, guys, I’m currently in a 2006 Honda and I’m looking to upgrade. It’s worth about $9K KBB book value (if private sale) and I still owe $5K on it. My credit file is thin. My EX FAKO is 697, one 6 year old paid civil judgment, one secured credit card reporting for the last two months, one potential medical collection and my car loan of 2.5 years. I got it when I had no credit score whatsoever, so the rate is a deadly 17 percent. I have a CA lurking regarding a medical collection that was on my report (but luckily it was removed in dispute) that will be permanently barred from re-reporting in three months when the SOL is up. Several questions: Should I wait the full three months to start applying for loans, jic the CA sees the activity and decides to poison? Do you think I can get a decent rate on a like-new used car loan with this credit profile? (The Honda loan is with Chase and it’s been paid on time. I asked my bank whether they would consider refinancing but I guess I don't owe enough on it to make it worthwhile for them.) And how do people usually handle cars that they currently owe on when they want to buy new one? If I do a trade, does the dealer of the future car buy it from me so I could pay off the current loan? Sorry, I’m relatively inexperienced at this so all suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Credit report shows a debt from a Pennsylvania water company for about $140 from 2009. Called the water company to ask who owns the debt. They said they sent it to a collection agency (Commercial Acceptance in Shiremanstown, PA). She also said if you want to pay the water company they notify the collection agency, and if I want to pay the collection agency they'll notify the water company. Who should I be dealing with here? At first I wanted to try a Pay for Delete with the collection agency, but avoiding the collection agency all together sounds somewhat enticing. Any suggestions?