Back in the fall of 2005, I had to get around a 10,000 loan from Sallie Mae for my freshman year. I was only 17 so they made me cosign. I chose a relative who I thought was good with their credit, but I found out a couple of months ago that that person had declared bankruptcy. I called Sallie Mae and asked them back in April whether or not this would affect me, and they said no. I just found out this morning, indirectly that I have a bankruptcy on my credit report!!!! I have been calling around this morning freakin out trying to get this off. I was told by Sallie Mae that because it was not me who declared bankruptcy that it should not be on MY report and affect my credit. The woman told me to just dispute it and that it will be taken off. How do I go about doing this and how long will it take?
Also, this loan was going to be paid by me and ONLY me. My mother can’t even get me anything. That is why I am so upset over this. My cosigner was never going to help me out on this loan. I am all alone on this so why should I be brought down over their expenses???!!!
Mary B, I am not asking that anyone take the responsibility off of me. My problem is that they are making the loan into my relative’s responsibility as well, instead of just mine. It is MY loan, so it should not be included in that person’s bankruptcy regardless of the fact that I used their social. So, my loan, my money, my credit.
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Mon, Dec 28, 2009
December 28th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Go online to the major credit reporting companies and request a copy of your credit report. Once you get a copy from them, you can contact them to open up a dispute to get it resolved. Sallie Mae is correct, it shouldn’t be on there. Unfortunately, getting your report corrected could take as little as a couple days or as long as a few months, it’s really hard to say.
December 28th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Go to this website (cut and paste this and put it in your browser):
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/ycr_free_reports.htm
This is the FTC’s website on credit reporting.
Click on the blue link to get your free credit reports from all three major agencies.
That may take a couple weeks.
When you receive them, review each carefully for mistakes.
Each agency package will include a form for you to report errors. Complete that form and mail it in ASAP.
Do it for all three agencies, because they all need to be accurate.
Wait about 60 days and order your credit reports AGAIN to make sure the changes were made.
I hope that helps!
December 28th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Ok, here is what I think:
I think you misunderstood the information the Sallie Mae representative said. They cannot comment on the bankruptcy of someone else, and yes, you are still responsible for the loan, because student loans cannot be bankrupt, so it’s not included in the bankruptcy.
I think you need to be focusing on a way to pay back the student loan instead of worrying about your credit report. After all, someone signed for you when you needed it.
There is probably another account that you had with jointly that the bankruptcy is pulling from, b/c again, the student loan would not have been included at all.
Your credit report is reflecting correctly. Anytime you have a joint account with anyone, you are just as responsible to pay the debt as they are.
However…showing that an account is bankrupt, is not calculated in your credit score the same as if YOU filed for bankruptcy.
December 28th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Well here is a little trick that i learned from a pro. Get you a credit card that has a low limit. Charge something on it like 100-200 bucks. Pay it off ASAP ( Like soon as it hits) Wait 30 days and your scores will boost 50-65 point instantly. I promise this works.