@Anonymous wrote:First time poster, here!
I've been reading the forums off and on for the past few months and I *think* I know what I should do, but wanted to get a second (or third) opinion before getting started.
Current scores are currently hovering around 600. They got this way because of my damn student loans. After finishing grad school I was unemployed for a year just barely getting by and fell behind. I feel SO STUPID because I know I could have just called and put them into forebearance (I did wind up doing this eventually). Instead, I just played the denial game because too many things were out of my control. Excuses, excuses--I know. Anyways, now I have 9 accounts with lates/missed payments. A total of 62. All 120+ days late. So, so bad, I know.
The thing is, though, that apart from those lates I'm doing ok overall. Utilization could be better on one of my credit cards, but I've been quite dilligent about paying it down. To give you an idea, I had maxed out a credit card with a $15,000 limit during my unemployment, but have worked really hard at paying it down. Once I was at $4000 I did a balance transfer to another card at my local credit union. That one is down to about $3700 ($4500 limit). I'm working on that and should have it paid down in the next 3-4 months (hello & goodbye tax return).
I also have one stupid small collection for a $40 electric bill that I lost when I moved. I found the bill inside a book when I decided to read it....a year later. I paid it online immediately, and only realized later that it was showing up as a collection (paid, $0 balance reporting) on my report. Are they allowed to put things into collections without ever contacting you? No, they have to send bills or notice of a collection to the address they have on file for you. If you never put in a mail forward or it has expired the letters will be returned to the creditor. I didn't get a single letter/phone call/etc regarding that...I was always under the impression that collection agencies never left you alone. Is it because it was such a small amount? Seriously, $40. I'm so mad at myself. Begin a GW letter campaign to the EO asking for removal of the paid account. http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/GW-letter-Q-amp-A-Examples-and-GW-Success-Stories/td-p/1573680
Anyways, I'm pretty sure that GW letters are my only way out of this one, correct? The loans were never defaulted/sent to collections (this is good, I think). Should I do the same for the small collection? Try the GW letter on any lates you may have as well,.
Sorry for the novel! I'm looking forward to everyone's advice. You guys seriously seem like such a great, helpful bunch!
tl; dr : I thought denial would make my student loan payments go away. It didn't and now I have a sh*t ton of lates. Do I just have to be a GW letter writing machine?
As Norman has pointed out you want to get your utilization under control ASAP and add at least one new card. You are going to be looking to continue to add cards to your portfolio as your credit score increases and I would suggest cards for your spending habits. (Cash back, travel rewards, low interest rate, etc). The thicker your credit file is the better. Welcome to My Fico 
Thanks for the great info! I brought a stack of envelopes & stamps with me to work today to get started
So for the collection am I better off starting with the CA or the OC? I paid the OC in full if that matters...like I said, I didn't even realize that was in collections in the first place. All my other mail was forwarded when I moved, so I'm not sure why it wouldn't be from this agency.
I am working on bringing down my utilization for the cards. Considering that I've managed to pay off $10,000 in the past 4 months or so I'm confident that I can get it down to an acceptable % sooner rather than later.
Seriously, I am so thankful for these forums. I was honestly lost before reading here, and you guys make me have hope that things will get better!! Hubs and I are thinking of buying a house later this year, which I NEVER thought could actually happen. Success!!