So about two years ago my parents were having trouble making their internet payments, so I decided to help them out. I switched the account over to me in order to pay the bill they accrued from missing some months, but the bills were still delivered in the mail to their address. The expectation I had was that they'd still pay things after I paid what they owed at the time to dig them out of the hole. The bill isn't very large ($36), but it adds up when you don't pay it (surprise.)
Earlier this year we discovered (I discovered) there was a $400 debit on the account in a fairly strongly worded letter filled with lots of scary words. I was annoyed, but paid it and I switched it over so that I would be notified by email when a new bill was due and I'd just pay it myself.
Over the weekend I decided to check my CreditKarma account I setup ages ago but never did anything with, and was pretty shocked to see it's the absolute pits (we'll say sub-600.) I checked, and there's 10 marks against me for the unpaid bills from a year ago.
I can't be mad because my parents missing those bills wasn't deliberate negligence towards me, since other things take priority over the internet and they're struggling to make their mortgage and electric bills every month. But I'm pissed and depressed that this could potentially screw me over credit-wise for ten years or more.
The upside is that those marks are the only things affecting my score at all (I have no loans, debt, etc.), so there's nowhere to go but up, but it's going to require my constant attention and vigilance. I've applied for the card Kara recommended some weeks back (CapitalOne Secured), and surprise surprise, the initial deposit is the maximum it can be.
$200 deposit for $200 line of credit. 24.9% APR. And I won't even get it until February.
Yup, I'm fucked.