Can a minor receive negative credit? (details inside)?
I came home for winter break from college and found letters from the county. They said I owed them $ for a ticket dated back in 08/2006, now I do remeber getting a ticket on my car for not having a front plate on ( although my vehicle does not have a front plate holder) coincidently when i was going to pay for another ticket I had just gotten. But i figured I would pay it later and it would be over. Well, I never got around to it and eventually forgot. I was 17 at the time and the county placed my ticket w/ a collections agency and now they've said that I've been in default since May. This is confirmed by a letter i got from Transunion saying that I have received neg items in my credit history. Now, i've NEVER miss a payment for anything. I paid it off last week, but can they place me in default from an alleged ticket? Even though I was only 17 ( a minor) ? If i dispute this with Transunion, will they take it off my credit history? Keep in mind that I previously had a 710 credit scor
Public Comments
- Yes, they can. If it is verified correct then it will show on your report. You may be able to write the county a letter and ask them (after telling them the situation) to do a goodwill service and remove the item. But they did not do anything illegal.
- The sad part is yes...you can receive negative credit. There isn't much you can do with it aside from sending the collection agency a letter letting them know the situation and asking if they'd be kind enough to report it as "paid on time and/or never late". At least this way it will show up as a positive instead of a negative. Make sure you call them and ask for a manager so you know who to address the letter to, you'll get a better response from someone that has any level of authority. Or you can write the county or talk to someone into having the item deleted altogether, as the original creditor they can have the collection company do this on their behalf - the hard part is getting in contact with someone at that level due to red tape and some people not even knowing who to refer you to! Who knows - you could get it if you're polite and word your letter well enough to make them feel bad for you! lol
