Helping my brother with his credit

I had pretty good luck working hard to repair my credit reports after I paid everything off, so my older brother asked me to help him with his.

He is 40 and has always paid for everything with cash and other than a couple of 10 year old lines of credit at jewelry stores that he never even used, he has no credit. He's a longhauler, no wife or kids, and his life is surfing the internet, playing games and watching DVD's during his downtime. About 4 years ago he had a Sprint internet account which he was given incorrect pricing for, when he got the first bill it was a couple thousand dollars and he refuses to pay the bill as he said it was their fault etc etc etc. I tried to explain that he HAS to pay it off eventually if he ever wants credit, but it was like talking to a wall.

Anyway fast forward a year or so and he tried to rent a car, it was a pain so he started thinking twice about getting a credit card to have on hand for that sort of thing, traveling internationally, etc. He allowed me to pull his credit reports and true enough the only thing showing is the Sprint account which has been sold to Calvary Portfolio Services.

On Equifax it shows date assigned 6/06, date of first delinquency 10/03. It also shows the same debt being with IC Systems, assigned 5/04, date of first delinquency 1/04.

On Experian it shows date opened 6/06, reported since 9/06.

Transunion hasn't been sent yet so he is still waiting for it.


so my questions are:

I know that the first step should be to dispute the information, but on what basis?

Can I dispute for the dates being incorect, or does that not really matter?

Should he get a secured card NOW to start rebuilding his credit, and if so, what companies are the best to get those cards from.

Are there other ways for him to start building credit? He doesn't intend to use it, only when necessary.

I'd start with "not mine" on the dispute process. As far as building credit a secured card is great to start with. BofA has a good one that can be upgraded to unsecured after 6-12 months of responsible usage. Another good on is Crown Jewelers. They report to TU and EX only and the jewelry is kind of crappy but he can get a $1500 CL with no credit check. Buy something cheap(w/small down payment) and PIF. Once he gets a few months of good reporting history, he can try for the Sterling Trifecta(Kays, Jared, and JB Robinson). I was given a $3000 on each tradeline bit since they are all Sterling, the $3000 is actually a shared CL but looks like $9000 on my reports. A Target Red Card is also a good one to shoot for. $200 is generally the best you can do but you will see CLI's with good on time payment history after 9-12 months.

but it is his ... for arguments sake lets say he disputes it with "not mine" ... what can legally be done to him if it is PROVEN it IS his?

Thanks for the recommendations on the building credit tip ... is that the same for REbuilding credit?

What state does he live in? SOL can be a factor. If he is still w/in SOL, they can still legally sue.

Nevada, which is

Open Account: 4, Written Contract: 6

What are debts considered, Open or Contract?

This should fall under an open account SOL of 4 years so it sounds like this is out of statute.

What should our first step be then? I never did anything related to SOL's when working on my own credit so I am clueless here.
Thank you!

I'd go with the 1-2 punch. Send a DV CMRRR and when they sign for it, dispute with the CRA's. If they verify before providing validation, they have violated the fdcpa.

I agree with Nascardevil…send a debt validation letter through a certified mail so that you possess a written document of the same. You can get a Sample letter of DV in HERE.

okay I'll help him do that, and we'll go from there.

the only thing I'm not too sure about is he is insistent that he won't pay the collection off, and I'm not too sure if sending the DV might "shake the gorilla's cage" and make them start legal proceedings against him. The debt is for over $5,000 so it is a pretty big chunk of change.

This debt is time barred by statute. He has no legal obligation to pay it and they have no legal standing to sue. It doesn't mean they won't but if they file and he responds with the affirmative defense of SOL along with counter-claims, he wins they lose. BUT, only if he shows up in court. Just remind him to deny everything and admit nothing.

what about the dates showing different on Experian and on Equifax? He knows it was about 4 years ago, so the date of 2006 on the Experian one is wrong, again not sure about Transunion yet.

Thiose dates are likely the date that the CA first reported the tradeline to the CRA's. For SOL, date of last payment is the important one. For the start of reporting period, date of first default DOFD, is the only one that matters. The DOFD will never change and must be reported by the OC, CA or JDB w/in 90 days of the tradeline being reported. To verify DOFD, a simple phone call to all CRA's reporting that tradeline should take care of it. Just ask them what the date of first default as reported by the data furnisher is. If they are different from report to report=PROBLEM. LEt us know what ya'll find out.

So I should have him call all three credit bureaus and ask verbally to verify what is already showing on the reports?

They generally do not list the DOFD. TU puts the estimated removal date and EX and I think EQ now put DOFD first reported (the date the data furnisher actually reported the DOFD, not the actual DOFD)