Dire need of help in fixing my credit history, desperate.

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

Could someone please offer me some advice on my credit situation. I'm inexperienced, however I've been doing PLENTY of research and have a grasp on how to launch my full-on attack on repairing my credit history.

Me: 

• 25yrs
• Graduated from University (Dec/2015)
• Started full time job on March/2016
• Salary $85,000
• Equifax - 583
• TransUnion - 597
• Experian - 589

Revolving Accounts I plan on sending GW letters to

BestBuy/CBNA (closed)

Charge Account

CL $1400

• I have paid them off, the full balance, even after doing so, they still report it as an open account in delinquency. 

Bank of America (closed)

Credit Card (Settled)

CL $2500

• I settled the debt for 60% of the full balance; while they do report to the credit agencies with a $0 balance, I plan on sending them a GW letter in hopes that they can have mercy and remove the late remarks, or just delete it from my history.

Wells Fargo (closed)

Credit Card

CL $2400

• Currently paying it off, I'm shy of $500 to have a $0 balance. I'd like to send them a GW letter in hopes of also removing the late remarks, and ultimately remove the delinquency from my credit history.

State Farm (closed)

Auto Loan (Charged off)

Loan amount: $6000

• I had *NEVER* made a late payment in the life of the loan until I lost my job, 24months of solid payment history, then I couldn't make the payments from 08/2015 - 01/2016. By that time I still had a remaining balance of around $4000. As soon as I got my job, within THAT month, I fully paid the vehicle even though they had written it off as a "Bad Debt/Charge Off." After submitting my payments, I received my vehicle title and they reported to the credit agencies with a $0 balance, however the damage has been done and it is still reporting with a status of "charge off/transferred to another office/bad debt."
  
  
• I want to send them GW letters hoping and praying that they could delete this off my credit history, or at least report it in a positive manner since I sincerely did not mean for it to be written as a charge off. I had EVERY intention of paying the loan, for which I did as soon as I was employed. 

I have one account in Collection

National Credit Systems

Balance $1400

• This account is due to breaking my lease on the last month of my 12 month term. My term ended July 31, 2015, however I simply could not make the payment, I tried to work it out with the management of the apartment complex but they simply did not budge, even with my lease history of not missing or having a late rental payment. I was at a dead end, my family couldn't help out either -- I decided to move out on July 2nd of that last month, I tripled cleaned the apartment and made sure everything was just the way I received it, knowing full-well that it'll come back later to haunt me.

• Now this debt, I did send them a debt validation letter, and I received a full itemized list of the charges the apartment complex was charging me. A lot of it was simply false item charges such as pet hair (I never owned a pet), dead lightbulb so they charge $50 just for replacements, etc. 
  
  
• The NCS and StateFarm ones have REALLY ruined my credit, and even with a decent high salary, I am getting denied left and right on apartment complexes. I tried rebuilding my credit by applying for secure credit cards and even those are being denied. I can't image myself applying for a car loan in the future, or let alone getting accepted for a lease in an apartment. Currently I'm living with a roommate I met off of craigslist, paying cash/check for the room since I cannot get accepted anywhere.
  
  
• I have saved up the amount of $1400 needed to pay in full as an offer to NCS to have them delete it off credit history. Like I said, I don't care anymore about validating or even disputing (using CreditKarma's dispute system) it since I have been doing so for the past 4 months to no avail. I just want to contact them, pay it off, and have it deleted it. 

My concerns/questions:

1. I'm sending GW letters via certified mail; however, are the addresses listed on the credit report generated by MyFico accurate? Will I render better results if I call them directly, or google the appropriate emails of their CEO and email them?
   
   
2. I have already typed up my GW letters for each account, however once I print them, I should NOT physically sign my name at the bottom, correct? Just send them as is?
    
3. How can I approach the NCS situation? I want to handle this as amicably as I can, without dealing with nasty representatives. I understand that paying it off will help me in my search to find an apartment in the future, however I really want to have it deleted.
   
   

I am fully aware of my previous actions and take full responsibility by sincerely paying off whatever debt I have left, I just want to make them aware that I was really in a bad place last year, stressed out with family health issues, out of state tuition cost, and stressing with my final semester of engineering school. 

Thank you for reading my lengthy post, I appreciate any input, advice, feedback, or simply your two cents.  

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, it's the broken lease that is keeping you out of approval on a new apartment.

Those can haunt you, especially if you have an out-standing balance due to the complex where you broke it.

Paying that off - even if painful, since you know at least some of the charges are bogus - could help, since it'll show that you don't owe them anything on that past lease. It might let you get into a new lease in a complex willing to overlook one past problem.  Be prepared to pay an increased deposit and/or get a cosigner, perhaps, but once that balance is paid you should be in a better position with leasing than you are currently in.

I have a long-time friend who has this problem.  She makes good money, but cannot get a lease on her own, because she broke a lease in about 2012 and never paid the balance off (it was about $2500 in unpaid rent and re-let fees and some other stuff).  She's in her 40s and living with her parents right now, because she can't get her own place.

You seem to have most of your other stuff well in hand already.  The one that is closed and paid in full but reporting as open probably needs to be disputed, since they are improperly reporting on that one.  The others are subject to the respective lenders' goodwill, but at least you've paid the debts (or have almost done so) and so the wounds on those are at least healing, even if they aren't removed.  As with all things in credit, time is the hardest thing to overcome, but the impact of various things will fade over time and will of course eventually fall off entirely, albeit years down the line from now.   I know how frustrating it can be to have the good job with the good salary and be stuck living like a broke college kid just because of mistakes you made or things that happened in your world in the recent past - btdt lol   The good news is, you're moving in the right direction.  Keep your expectations low (GW letters probably won't work, they most frequently don't despite the appearance on the forum that it is a common practice, it just isn't...but there is a small chance they might, so why not...) and your determination going.  

If you need to grow your file but can't get approved for even secured mainstream cards, maybe try your bank - many of them have secured card programs that just aren't advertised, and they may require you to open a savings account to hold your security balance.  Or perhaps try a lender known to work with subprime accounts like Fingerhut or someone like that.  They're overpriced, but if you buy something small/on sale/that you would use anyway, pay it off, lather-rinse-repeat... it can help you improve your file and hopefully open the door to more rebuilder credit providers like Capital One or Merrick.

[RonM21]

Welcome to the forums!

I think you have the right approach in sending the goodwill letters. I'm not sure signing or not signing them makes much of a difference. I think you should move forward in trying to pay for delete on the collection. Sometimes these take multiple attempts, if they even work. All you can do is try though.