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Friend of mine brought me her credit report.  There are some items on it from years ago (3-4) that are still showing owed balances (small, couple hundred here, ninety there, etc).  Some of this is probably from a divorce she went through years ago during which her now ex essentially stopped paying bills.  She has not been contacted by any collections agencies related to these items in the past two years, and was under the impression that all of her outstanding debts from that time were paid.

Questions because I have little experience reading credit reports... Is it possible these are erroneous or misreported?  Old debts that were paid and simply not removed from her credit report?  Should she contact each company listed directly and ask for current account information?  Or go to a financial institution and seek help in dealing with it?  She is trying to repair her credit and is looking good, but this most recent report has her troubled and completely blindsided by this list of debts that she never knew she had.

Any advice appreciated.

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I read credit reports everyday and have seen all sorts of stuff on them.  I own a mortgage company and am not a credit advisor.  Just my $.02.    

#1 If she was a co-signer, she may be out of luck.  However, she may only be an "authorized user", two different things.  If it is the latter, the best thing would be to have her ex call and have her removed as an authorized user.  She can also call the creditors to obtain information on exactly what is going on here and explain the situation, but it really depends on the creditor on what they are willing to do.  The creditors information and phone number should be listed on her report.  

#2 If she is just an "authorized user" she also needs to contact all 3 bureuas, Equifax, Experian, and Transunion.  She can dispute these accounts online, but it is better to submit written letters via certified mail.  They have 30 days to reply/complete their investigation.  

#3 If all else fails, and the accounts are fairly new, she should bite the bullet and pay them off.  They are not going anywhere, and will be placed at a collection agency, you can count on that.  After time goes by and they are still not paid, they can bring you to court.  

Since I cannot examine her report to see how old these tradelines are nor can I see how many months these are late, this is the best advice I can give you.  Hope this helps.

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I appreciate this.  I have one followup question if you don't mind.  Is there harm in her calling each listed company directly and asking for current account information (if any)?  Or is it better to simply dispute each one with the credit report guys and let them handle it?