Is there a way I can have my name removed from a joint collection account?

• credit debt settlement
• bad credit debt consolidation
• move company
• apartment security systems

Back in 2009 I lived in an apartment with my now ex boyfriend. I was listed as a co-occupant, unemployed, and he was the primary. We had 1 small child and he took care of us and allowed me to stay at home full time. We had a hiccup when we moved out. He turned in a hand written move out notice, and we thought all was good until we moved into our new apartment. The day after we moved into our new place, we were told we were missing a form that needed to be signed by the old apartment verifying we put in our move out notice, so we happily obliged. It turns out, according to my ex, that the move out notice he turned in was given to a new person who accepted it but it was not signed by the manager. The new person lied and changed his story twice, and later we learned that he was fired, but they still would not fix our situation. Rather, they tried to get us to put in our 60 day notice that day and claimed they would "back date" it...and that also meant signing a 2 month lease, on top of paying rent in our current apartment. Absolutely not. Fortunately because we were given our keys before we knew of the form, the new complex did not try to make us leave.


Fast forward to 2013. I am married now and we cannot get a nice place because of my credit. This is the only thing that has ever been on my credit. I went from a 645 score to a 590 score in a week just from checking it, and before that this account hadn't hit my credit in over 3 years. We have a blended family, and a child of our own. When we got the place we live in now, it's pretty much in the ghetto. We do not feel safe here and we are really packed in here. My ex is aware of the debt, and when I approached him to help clean it up and told him WHY it was so important, he said he was going to dispute it because of the shenanigans we went through.He was so positive and reassuring in telling me that all he needed to do was dispute it and it would be gone. Then he tells me stories of his friends who told him that it was removed from their credit after they disputed it once, etc, etc, etc. Well, we broke up because he was a habitual liar and he procrastinated badly. He seems like a very nice guy, always, but he isn't responsible. I did not know this for a long time, but now I know that he is full of crap. He hasn't even attempted to help me dispute it. I have even offered to pay half of the debt and he just absolutely refused and said it wasn't necessary. An overabundance of confidence is usually his attitude, with no end result.


I am a stay at home mother. We have 3 children in our house, and my husband is the breadwinner. No place will rent to us because of the ding on my credit. I've been honest... I have proof of excellent rental history in the last 4 years and nothing has been late. My husband has nothing on his credit and he makes more than these places require to rent. We thought about renting a bigger place and just not listing me as an occupant but I don't want to risk getting in trouble. Our attorney thinks it's ridiculous that no one will rent to us given that my husband is the financially responsible party, but it's not her area of expertise.


What are some things that I can try? Is there anyway I can get my name removed from the account and hold my ex as the responsible party? How are my husband and I supposed to get a new place if this stupid ding is keeping us from being able to do so? I don't want to start being irresponsible by hiding myself on the lease, but we are desperate to get our children a safer place. Thanks!

Is there a way I can have my name removed from a joint collection account?