Secret Clearance and the US Army

[RangerGirl111]

What is the name of your state? FL

I have had, and still do, a sincere wish to join the U.S. Army. I've even been by the recruiter to pick up an application to be an officer, since I just got out of college.

However, since I listen to Clark Howard and John Tesh, I decided to get a good look at my credit since I had heard this was a 'must do' before starting any job application. To my dismay, I found several negative things on it! Most were medical expenses that I had thought my parents had dealt with-- they thought they'd dealt with it as well! Then there's two credit cards that I cosigned with my parents with before I was 18, and when I was 18 I cut them in half because I got into trouble with them at college. Turns out that there was some money not paid on that as well. (My parents and I are now having very long discussions about this.) I'm currently now busting my rear end off trying to pay all of these debts off on my own.

My questions is really three-fold:

A) Will these negative reflections on my credit (even after I pay them off) prevent me from getting secret clearance?

B) Is there a way I can dispute the credit card information being on my credit since I was under the age of 18 when the credit card was taken out, and my parents cosigned with me?

C) How do I get incorrect information on my credit reports (regarding my birthdate and address) corrected?

Any advice would be extremely helpful and MUCH appreciated!

 

[SHORTY LONG]

What is the name of your state? FL

I have had, and still do, a sincere wish to join the U.S. Army. I've even been by the recruiter to pick up an application to be an officer, since I just got out of college.

However, since I listen to Clark Howard and John Tesh, I decided to get a good look at my credit since I had heard this was a 'must do' before starting any job application. To my dismay, I found several negative things on it! Most were medical expenses that I had thought my parents had dealt with-- they thought they'd dealt with it as well! Then there's two credit cards that I cosigned with my parents with before I was 18, and when I was 18 I cut them in half because I got into trouble with them at college. Turns out that there was some money not paid on that as well. (My parents and I are now having very long discussions about this.) I'm currently now busting my rear end off trying to pay all of these debts off on my own.

My questions is really three-fold:

A) Will these negative reflections on my credit (even after I pay them off) prevent me from getting secret clearance?

B) Is there a way I can dispute the credit card information being on my credit since I was under the age of 18 when the credit card was taken out, and my parents cosigned with me?

C) How do I get incorrect information on my credit reports (regarding my birthdate and address) corrected?

Any advice would be extremely helpful and MUCH appreciated!

1. It all depends on how bad your credit is, and ty[pe of Security Clearance you will be trying for.

2. Yes, you can dispute any negativness on your credit report. First, contact your locale Credit reporting Agency, and request an update of your Credit Report. Most likely, you will need to make an appointment with one of there Credit Counselors to go over it with you; and explain what it all means and what you need to do to repair it if needed. Also, there are three main Reporting Agency's; i forget who they are, but you can easily find this out on your own.

3. See the above number 2 regarding your DOB, Address, etc! Good luck prospective troop!