D.M.K., RICHLAND, WASH.

A:

I know that the salesperson sent out my copyrighted 1993 column without permission. ITS president Ted Kaplan says he’ll tell his staff to stop. I almost never allow my column to be used for commercial purposes because I can’t control what the salespeople say. Also, the circumstances that led me to mention a company may change. If anyone receives a copy of one of my columns as part of a sales pitch, please send it to me. I’ll get a lawyer on the case.

I’m sorry about your time shares. As thousands of unhappy people have learned, these vacations (a week you “own” at a resort) are easy to buy but tough to sell. The Resort Property Owners Association (RPOA) in Northbrook, Ill., used to publish a list of time-share brokers for people to try, including ITS. But it doesn’t do so anymore. “We got so many calls from people saying, ‘We sent them this money and they haven’t sold it’,” says RPOA president Ellen Burr. Upfront fees typically run from $300 to $500. ITS’s Kaplan says his salesperson “stretched the truth” in her conversation with you. His firm has made no sales recently in McCall. Kaplan claims that he sells around 25 percent of his listings, but those figures aren’t audited.

Time shares are a glut on the market. Available resales far exceed demand. Burr thinks you should try to sell your shares yourself, by passing out fliers to vacationers at the pool. Offer a big discount from the developer’s current price, even if it means that you take a loss. Some people can sell their shares back to the developer. Alternatively, see if the company will repossess your shares without reporting you to a credit bureau. That would get the assessments off your back.

I got into financial trouble more than seven years ago and since then have made no payments to Citibank Visa and Wells Faro MasterCard. Recently, I’ve received correspondence from two companies, each of which bought one of the delinquent accounts. One company, Northland Group, implies that unless I pay a percentage of what I owe it will keep the debt on my credit report. I thought debts were erased from credit reports after seven years.

S.L., MILPITAS, CALIF.

A:

You opened an amazing can of worms. Yes, the public record of your debt vanishes after seven years. But seven years from when? Here’s the word from Janis Lamar of the credit-reporting firm TRW:

The clock usually starts when the creditor turns over your debt for collection or writes it off as uncollectible. That’s typically 60 to 120 days from the time your payment became overdue. In California, the wait is 180 days. Then the seven years begin.

If the creditor wins a judgment against you, the seven-year count starts all over again, even for debts that have already been on your record for years. Tax liens can be reported for seven years from the day they’re paid, although TRW counts from the day they were filed. Making payments on a defaulted account does not set off yet another seven-year period, as many debtors mistakenly believe. But creditors can chase debtors forever; no rule cuts off their right to collect. You owe the money. Pay if you can.

As for those collection letters: one claims that, if you pay, Northland will “instruct the credit bureaus to remove this account from your credit file.” No way. Credit bureaus will not remove accurate information. Nor can they retain bad reports past the seven-year limit. Northland is, um, kidding you. A man identifying himself as Northland’s manager refused to give his name or discuss the letter’s claim. Erroneous letters can be reported to the Attorney General’s Office, Public Inquiry Unit, Sacramento.

I had a five-year, $50,000 fixed annuity which came up for renewal. My broker (at A.G. Edwards & Go.) told me that because I am in my 95th year, I had to have a cosigner. I didn’t want that, so he switched me into Washington Mutual Investors Fund, which I understand will pay about the same as my annuity. But I’m leery of stocks because they go up and down and I can’t afford to lose my money. I want to use the interest and keep the principal intact. Is it true that I needed a cosigner for the annuity?

NAME WITHHELD

A:

Totally untrue. Your annuity company, Xerox Life, says you could have renewed as easy as pie. You didn’t need a cosigner, co-owner or co-anything. Fortunately, you haven’t lost this investment yet. Judy Drew, Xerox Life’s vice president of marketing operations, says the company will reinstate you at the interest rate available on the renewal date. That’s 6.75 percent for another five-year term. There are three-year or one-year terms, at lower rates. To get your annuity back, call Drew directly or else call your stockbroker.

I can’t get your broker’s view because you don’t want me to call him-and even if you did, A.G. Edwards, which is headquartered in St. Louis, says he wouldn’t be allowed to discuss a client’s account. A pity. This $50,000 is virtually all the money you have and you depend on it for income. So I ask: is it kosher to put a 94-year-old’s modest savings entirely into stocks, which is what Washington Mutual Investors buys? Especially when you don’t trust stocks and want to keep your capital intact? Would this be a “suitable” investment under the rules that govern securities sales?

Here’s what I do know. (1) Your broker earned more money by selling you the mutual fund than he would have by merely renewing your annuity. (2) Washington Mutual yielded around 3.4 percent last year – so this stock fund will not pay as much income as the annuity would have. (3) You have already lost some principal by paying the mutual fund’s 4.5 percent sales charge. You’re also at risk if the market falls. I think your broker should refund your losses and put you back in the annuity whole.

Send your questions to Jane Bryant Quinn, NEWSWEEK Focus: On Your Money, 251 West 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10019