What Do You Do When Your Husband Ruined Your Credit?

Opening joint credit card accounts or buying a home or a vehicle with your husband may seem like a natural part of being married. But what do you do if your husband stops paying the bills? Your credit could be ruined, right alongside his, if you place blind trust in the wrong person. Once the damage is done, you can take steps to clean up your credit rating and start fresh.

Check for Accuracy

Obtain a copy of your credit report from all three agencies and check the negative account listings for any inaccuracies. The Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibits credit reporting agencies from reporting inaccurate information. If you are listed as the joint account owner, the agencies can legally report the delinquencies on your credit file. If you are only listed as a user on the account, you are not responsible for the payments.

Check Dates

According to the FCRA, negative entries can only remain on your credit report for up to seven years. If your credit is ruined due to past-due payments, charge-off accounts and collections accounts, you can have the negative listings removed after seven years. Check your state statutes of limitation for the type of accounts that ruined your credit. For example, credit cards are considered open accounts and car loans are written agreements. If the statute has expired, the creditor or collection agency cannot obtain a judgment against you. Judgments make an already bad situation worse; in some states, they are valid for 20 years, giving creditors the right to seize property and garnish funds.

File Disputes

File a dispute with each credit reporting agency to document each inaccuracy or account that has exceeded the seven-year reporting window. TransUnion, Experian and Equifax allow online disputes; visit their websites and follow the instructions. The agencies have 30, sometimes 45, days to investigate the dispute. If the information in the report cannot be validated with the creditor or collection agency, they must remove the negative item listing.

Rebuild Credit

If your credit is ruined, you have nowhere to go but up. Start rebuilding your credit by making your payments on time. Timely payments account for 35 percent of credit scores. Open a secured credit card account, make charges monthly and pay them off monthly. Secured cards require fees and deposits, but if your credit is ruined, you may not have an alternative as unsecured cards are difficult to obtain. Youll also pay higher interest rates for vehicle and other installment loans, if you can get one. Find a co-signer to help you get the loan, then make responsible payments and your credit will slowly improve.