TurtleTerry
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama
Five years ago I cosigned for a car loan with a credit union with a person I did not know well. Won't cosign every again.
Three years ago, I changed jobs and lost contact with the primary borrower. Two years ago, I started getting calls from the credit union, as the primary had stopped making payments and had changed all contact information so that the credit union could not contact them. The demand was for $1000 to get the loan current. My first response was to ask if they had been communicating with the primary, to which they said no. I took it upon myself to find out the current home address (two hours away from me) and email address, and I provided this to the credit union, believing this should clear up the matter. In the fall of 2012, I received another call from the credit union stating that if I didn't make immediate payment, they would begin the repossession process. I asked if they had contacted the primary borrower, and they said they were not allowed to update contact information from anyone except from the primary borrower.
At this point, instead of just paying the bill which might end up being a string of payments, I told them I would like the chance to take possession of the car. I contacted the primary via email, told them the story and agreed that we would meet to give me the car. I got a little "pushback" from the primary at first, so it took about two weeks of emails before we made arrangements. I called the credit union during this time that my plan was to get the car, get the loan current, and sell the car. During this two week period of emails with the primary is when the car was repossessed. I only know this because the primary stopped responding to my emails, and after a month, I checked my credit report and sure enough, the loan was listed as repossession.
I have had two fully paid car loans with this credit union, and they still have all of my contact information, but I have not heard one thing from them since I last called them in the fall of 2012. Present day, my credit report indicates that the original owed amount of $10K is now $5K, and that $5K is listed as charged off. Further, there are five months were it is listed as "repossession" and then a little over a year as "collection".
Although my credit scores are lower than they used to be, they are not abysmal at 718, 718, and 713 on my recent check of all three credit reporting agencies (they've increased a good bit this year), which seems a little odd with a repossession/collection on the report. My question is, what should my next step be? I could contact the credit union and arrange to make payments, but truthfully I'm a little afraid of what contacting them could result in.
Thank you for advice you can give me.
Five years ago I cosigned for a car loan with a credit union with a person I did not know well. Won't cosign every again.
Three years ago, I changed jobs and lost contact with the primary borrower. Two years ago, I started getting calls from the credit union, as the primary had stopped making payments and had changed all contact information so that the credit union could not contact them. The demand was for $1000 to get the loan current. My first response was to ask if they had been communicating with the primary, to which they said no. I took it upon myself to find out the current home address (two hours away from me) and email address, and I provided this to the credit union, believing this should clear up the matter. In the fall of 2012, I received another call from the credit union stating that if I didn't make immediate payment, they would begin the repossession process. I asked if they had contacted the primary borrower, and they said they were not allowed to update contact information from anyone except from the primary borrower.
At this point, instead of just paying the bill which might end up being a string of payments, I told them I would like the chance to take possession of the car. I contacted the primary via email, told them the story and agreed that we would meet to give me the car. I got a little "pushback" from the primary at first, so it took about two weeks of emails before we made arrangements. I called the credit union during this time that my plan was to get the car, get the loan current, and sell the car. During this two week period of emails with the primary is when the car was repossessed. I only know this because the primary stopped responding to my emails, and after a month, I checked my credit report and sure enough, the loan was listed as repossession.
I have had two fully paid car loans with this credit union, and they still have all of my contact information, but I have not heard one thing from them since I last called them in the fall of 2012. Present day, my credit report indicates that the original owed amount of $10K is now $5K, and that $5K is listed as charged off. Further, there are five months were it is listed as "repossession" and then a little over a year as "collection".
Although my credit scores are lower than they used to be, they are not abysmal at 718, 718, and 713 on my recent check of all three credit reporting agencies (they've increased a good bit this year), which seems a little odd with a repossession/collection on the report. My question is, what should my next step be? I could contact the credit union and arrange to make payments, but truthfully I'm a little afraid of what contacting them could result in.
Thank you for advice you can give me.