Fixing my Boyfriend's Credit...

daybreakgonesXe · ‎08-27-2016

I have to say, I give you rebuilders a lot of credit in fixing your reports and having the patience for disputes or just waiting for accounts to plain fall off!

I've been periodically checking my boyfriend's credit to help him out, since he needs a new car asap. Two or three months ago I sent some GW letters for 3 collection accounts. An old cell phone bill removed it without any payments needed, and the other one agreed for a minor medical collection ($29) as long as he paid it. The other collection agency won't budge for an old 1st Financial CC he opened and defaulted on right away when he was 18 for $517. I may try to GW that again, but it will be falling off in two years anyway. I also added him to my oldest Cap One account and my Discover for some positive history. Otherwise in terms of his old accounts, it's a few student loans and his current car payment. No lates.

When I checked today though, some other more recent collection appeared on TU and EX! For Charter Communications. Looking into it, it may be his father's account (my boyfriend is a Jr. and EQ doesn't have this collection, but is reporting his father's address). Actually kind of P.O.'d over this since it was reported charged off in April of this year. I'm not up on the derogatory account scoring, but I'm presuming more recent deliquencies hurt your scores way more so than older ones? According to the Discover free FICO from EX his is a 626. I submitted all the necessary disputes, but not sure if they'll be done in time before we go car shopping next weekend. I signed him up for DCU today to hopefully get a better rate on a car loan, and since they'll put EQ which does not have that recent deliquency from his father's account he can get a decent rate.

Thanks for any help in terms of how derogatory accounts affect your score Seems like in terms of fixing his reports it's just watching and waiting...

Anonymous · ‎08-27-2016

Great job. He's lucky to have you.

Anonymous · ‎08-27-2016

I don't think anything can be helped in a week. Maybe he can refinance his car when his scores improve.

For the big picture though, he will need his own revolver, 3 for the best scores, leaving one with a balance of less than 10 percent, or 30 percent max. Being an authorized user may help a little, but he needs his own accounts. Have you tried the Cap1 preequal for him? Discover secured may be an option, or a credit union secured card.

Be sure to get the incorrect address removed from his report. I would call the CRA to see if they can remove it quicker, and also ask them to remove the fathers account. It should not have his soc sec number attached to it.

Anonymous · ‎08-28-2016

One other thing you can do is use credit check total .com to see what his tru FICO scores are. It will only cost $1 (just remember to cancel in 7 days otherwise it is $29.95/month)This was how I got mine. Also he might stand a chance at a unsecured card like me. I got a Barclays Rewards card with a 619 TU. I also have a CA and 3 CO on my record that I will be working on soon. This might be a good idea to do after you do your car shopping. One last thing for you, don't let the dealerships run credit if you have a preapproved offer that you are happy with. If it wasn't for me and my wife having our CR frozen we would have had a ton of INQ from the dealerships "finding us the best deal"

daybreakgonesXe · ‎08-28-2016

Thanks everybody! Really appreciate the advice.

Unfortunately he's not looking to refinance. He has an old '01 Chevy Silverado that's had issues for forever. His last straw was the fuel leak, in which they'd have to drop the gas tank and replace the lining. He'd rather put that $750 towards a down-payment on a "new" used car. He doesn't have a lot for a down payment (I keep telling him he needs to contribute to his savings account but he'd rather wait until he gets a police job that pays way more...trying to turn him into a saver, not a spender. Also my conundrum on why I don't want him to apply for a CC of his own just yet until I test run with him on a card I'm applying for on Friday to help meet bonus spend. Essentially I'm going to tell him use this card for everything, but every time he uses it, to send me that amount from his checking so he understands that a credit card should be treated just like a debit card but they come with better rewards), but he still owes about $4k on the Chevy, yet still wants his monthly payments to be less than $300. Not impossible, but certainly a struggle (he tried a few months ago). If he trades in the Chevy he should get some money for it to help chip away that loan, but it will still have to be rolled over into the new loan.

Since I signed him up for DCU, I'm going to see what they can offer him in terms of auto loans. He also has a pre-approval from Cap One for an auto loan for one of the dealerships nearby in PA. So great advice, we'll come in armed with the better of the pre-approvals, and not have them run his credit for other financing companies.

Anonymous · ‎08-28-2016

One last tool that I have found to work, I would have like three different written quotes from places on trade in appraisal on the truck, so that way if a car lot tries to low ball you on trade in, you hand them the printed appraisal and tell them you will walk if they don't match it. This little trick can be very handy when trading in. I recommend carmax if there is one near you, and maybe two other dealers that buy cars and print an offer.

daybreakgonesXe · ‎08-28-2016

@Anonymous wrote:
One last tool that I have found to work, I would have like three different written quotes from places on trade in appraisal on the truck, so that way if a car lot tries to low ball you on trade in, you hand them the printed appraisal and tell them you will walk if they don't match it. This little trick can be very handy when trading in. I recommend carmax if there is one near you, and maybe two other dealers that buy cars and print an offer.

Perfect, super helpful!! Thanks finz!

Anonymous · ‎08-28-2016

I just know how stressful things get when buying a car, also it always helps to stack the deck in your favor.