cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

400 club AND new

tag
Anonymous
Not applicable

400 club AND new

I am brand new to this website. I have been lurking around for a couple weeks and decided to post something, although I don't even know where to start. I work as a credit analyst (HA! The irony!) and have a credit score in the mid-400's. I had good credit for a newbie a few years ago- a discover $1500 paid on time and not maxed out, a cap one $500 paid on time, a bunch of little things.

 

Then I bought a car through Santander that I couldn't afford- somehow got talked into a payment that was FAR too large for my budget, and ended up with a repo and a $4500 c/o after about a year. I fell ill and ALL of my open credit went into collections. Not to mention medical charge-offs. Now I am in a spot where i can't even get approved for a secured credit card. 

 

I was wondering if anyone has any idea where to START? I'm completely overwhelmed and do not have a whole lot of extra money laying around so it's going to be a slow process. Should I work on paying off the repo c/o first? Or should I try to pay off my credit card collections? Please be patient with me, I am brand new- as in still using the legend to look up all your fancy acroynyms Smiley Happy 

 

 

Message 1 of 10
9 REPLIES 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 400 club AND new


@Anonymous wrote:

I am brand new to this website. I have been lurking around for a couple weeks and decided to post something, although I don't even know where to start. I work as a credit analyst (HA! The irony!) and have a credit score in the mid-400's. I had good credit for a newbie a few years ago- a discover $1500 paid on time and not maxed out, a cap one $500 paid on time, a bunch of little things.

 

Then I bought a car through Santander that I couldn't afford- somehow got talked into a payment that was FAR too large for my budget, and ended up with a repo and a $4500 c/o after about a year. I fell ill and ALL of my open credit went into collections. Not to mention medical charge-offs. Now I am in a spot where i can't even get approved for a secured credit card. 

 

I was wondering if anyone has any idea where to START? I'm completely overwhelmed and do not have a whole lot of extra money laying around so it's going to be a slow process. Should I work on paying off the repo c/o first? Or should I try to pay off my credit card collections? Please be patient with me, I am brand new- as in still using the legend to look up all your fancy acroynyms Smiley Happy 

 

 


Where are you a Credit Analyst, and where have you tried to get a secured card?

Message 2 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 400 club AND new

Hiya Smiley Happy

I am brand new here, too. So, since I don't yet have any advice to offer, I'll just start with a welcome.

I'm with ya on those acronyms, lol. Good luck to you - you can SO do this.
Message 3 of 10
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: 400 club AND new


@Anonymous wrote:

I am brand new to this website. I have been lurking around for a couple weeks and decided to post something, although I don't even know where to start. I work as a credit analyst (HA! The irony!) and have a credit score in the mid-400's. I had good credit for a newbie a few years ago- a discover $1500 paid on time and not maxed out, a cap one $500 paid on time, a bunch of little things.

 

Then I bought a car through Santander that I couldn't afford- somehow got talked into a payment that was FAR too large for my budget, and ended up with a repo and a $4500 c/o after about a year. I fell ill and ALL of my open credit went into collections. Not to mention medical charge-offs. Now I am in a spot where i can't even get approved for a secured credit card. 

 

I was wondering if anyone has any idea where to START? I'm completely overwhelmed and do not have a whole lot of extra money laying around so it's going to be a slow process. Should I work on paying off the repo c/o first? Or should I try to pay off my credit card collections? Please be patient with me, I am brand new- as in still using the legend to look up all your fancy acroynyms Smiley Happy 


Welcome to the board Smiley Happy

 

The first thing to do is get hard copies of all 3 reports directly from the CRAs, once you have these you will triage your accounts into managable groups, since funds are limited you will want to start by going after the smaller amounts first and I recommend you Google search for the HIPAA Process  and use it for all your medical accounts. How you attack these is going to be determined by your states SOL as well, contacting creditors who can still actively sue is a touchy subject and should only be done if you have the funds to PIF.

Message 4 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 400 club AND new

thank you for your response, gdale6- you're helping me get down to a starting point, I very much appreciate it! What groups should I pile my debt into? Medical, student loans, credit cards, and installment credit? And which one would be the best to start with? 

 

I was thinking of tackling my credit cards first, but I don't know how to go about it. I can probably PIF the cap one... would I just call them and pay it outright? Or is there a smarter way to go about this? I have heard about the PFD option.....

Message 5 of 10
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: 400 club AND new


@Anonymous wrote:

thank you for your response, gdale6- you're helping me get down to a starting point, I very much appreciate it! What groups should I pile my debt into? Medical, student loans, credit cards, and installment credit? And which one would be the best to start with? 

 

I was thinking of tackling my credit cards first, but I don't know how to go about it. I can probably PIF the cap one... would I just call them and pay it outright? Or is there a smarter way to go about this? I have heard about the PFD option.....


Thats a good method separate into types and then go for the ones you can take care of. You would want to make a PFD offer in writing that way there is a record of what is going on with the account, some would say just call but calling doesnt preserve anyones rights under the law. You want to start with the group you feel most confident with and the one that would be the easiest to take out with the finances available.

Message 6 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 400 club AND new

Not sure, but it think there are couple of issuers that will do secured cards with no credit check. I'm thinking OpenSky or CreditOne?

 

Also when things went south on you, was there a checking account that went bad? If so that really complicates the rebuild since it makes it harder to open a bank account if you are reported in Chexsystem.

Message 7 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 400 club AND new

+1..

 

My credit score is horrid and I was still able to get an open sky card but it is secured so be ready to set the deposit down... Also try to apply for a fingerhut account if you vcan they report to the CRA"s as well. GOOD LUCK!

Message 8 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 400 club AND new

The most important thing is that you will have to show patience.  All of your credit woes didn't happen in a day and it will take some time to get back to a good place.  First, I suggest that you get a copy of your credit profile and post the actual items so others can better help you.  From there, I would say to tackle, the task of getting a secured card.  Research credit cards and secured cards and make sure you have a deposit amount put aside to use.  

 

Welcome to the board....I am fairly new here too, but this is a great community. 

Message 9 of 10
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: 400 club AND new

I don't know if anyone has already said this, but you beginning to realize you needed to fix it is the first succesful step. I am new here and everyday, I'm learning something new. Since you have the advantage of working in finance (you had mentioned that you're an analyst), you should fairly understand the intricacies. I was completely devastated, sh** out of luck, and broke. The only thing I was hopeful about was getting nothing. But, then I decided to fix it but no luck, I kept searching online and some keyword helped me find found this forum! Smiley Very Happy

 

From the moment I posted my topic here, there was immense amount of support from veterans. I'm talking about people who couldn't get approved for a $100 limit CC and now their total Credit Limit is somewhere up in the clouds. The first and foremost thing I've seen is, you definitely need a boat load of patience and a strong will power. In my case, I was in college vis-a-vis stupid; and I had maxed out my CCs and took an unsecured loan and other garbage. In short I blew the good/average credit rating I had and didn't care!

 

First thing I did, was I sat down and got my affairs straight. Ordered a Credit report, found the baddies and since I didn't know FICO Forums I used a service to dispute my Credit information with the CRA's which was a waste of time and money. Then I took some advice from people here. This is your only source of valuable info that no one will be able to give you elsewhere. Because, these are people who have been through what you and I are going through now! 

 

So, I came up with a budgeted amount and I told myself not to exceed that amount every month in spending. Eg. Restaurants, Bar, Travel, Clothes, etc.  Every dollar adds up! When I say that, I literally stopped at a fast food chain and ordered a value sized drink instead of a large soda. This way I was able to save pennies, then cents and finally dollars. I used backroads instead of toll roads, reduced my social agenada to partying at homes instead of bars. It is a lot easier to buy a bottle of jack from your local liquor store than to buy three drinks at a bar.

 

When I had enough dollars, instead of gambling it away I paid off the lowest balance on my CC which was $500. I saw my score spike by about 10 points, then paid off one collection I saw it bump 9 more. I still have a long way to go but now I have paid off both my credit cards and I'm waiting to get into the 600's club except I got hit with another collection. I would suggest you monitor your credit on a weekly or atleast a monthly basis. I'm too young here to offer any advice, but I sure as hell can support you! Good luck and meet you at the 600s club soon! Smiley Happy

 

Happy New Year!

Message 10 of 10
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.