Help needed to rebuild credit

[JGWantsAHouse]

I'll be 30 in 3 weeks and I really want to get my credit on track to purchase a home ASAP.  I was using freescore.com to pull my scores and I was:

10/24/10

TU 591

EX 548

EQ 576

It was a little confusing because I pulled my scores a few days before buying a car in June 2010 and they were about 20 pts lower but the dealership said my score was 627.

Anyways I now use Scorewatch to see if my score changes and I've been playing with the score simulator to see what I can do to boost my score.  Almost nothing will boost my score above 600! Not even paying all of my bills on time for the next 24 months.  I don't know what to do! Here's my equifax situation. Since its my middle score I figured I'd work on it???

Creditor	30 Days	60 Days	90+ Days	Chargeoff/Collection	Amount	Date of Co
AMS	-	June-06	July-06	No
AES	September-09	-	-	No
Friendly Finance	June-05	July-05	August-05	No
Security Finance	August-05	-	-	No
Friendly Finance	-	-	-
Carolina Telco	-	-	-
Peoples Finance	-	-	-
Security Finance	Dec-05	-	-	No
Chase	-	-	-	No
Chase	-	-	-	No
Suntech	-	Jan-08	Feb-08	No
Suntech 2	-	Jan-08	Feb-08	No
COAF	-	-	-	No
AES	Sep-08	-	-	No
WellsFargo	Dec-08	Oct-09	-	No
ATT				Franklin Co	77	Aug-10
Lexington Med				Receivable	273	Dec-04
Stoney Creek				Collectron	800	May-05  Paid

11inquires since 2009.  7 of them on the same day at the car dealership.

What do I do now?? I have no credit cars to pay down... all of my debt is installment.  Please help!

[JM-AM]

IMO there are several things to make an attempt at doing to improve your scores.

1: I would apply for a secured credit card with whatever the minimum required is. Search board for secured cards and use your own judgement of who you would like to apply to.

2: I would GW all the companies that have late payments on them and see if they will remove the reporting. If they say no keep trying.

3: I would try to GW the paid collection and see if they will remove the reporting. Usually hard to do once paid. Once again if they say no keep trying. 

4: The ATT collection is very new so I would work on fixing that one first, besides it really is a small amount due. First see if ATT still actually owns the account, being so new it is possible. If the CA owns the account then you will have to deal with them. Either way offer a PFD. They do not have to accept and have the possibility since with-in SOL to sue you. Most OC's and CA's are willing to work with you. If they agree to PFD make sure you get it in writing before you pay them. This collection is having the biggest impact since it is the newest major derogatory to your CR.

5: The Lexington Med collection could be out of SOL depending on what state you are in. But also a small payment is owed. I would also offer a PFD once the SOL has expired if hasn't expired already. IMO I would wait until SOL has expired before I did anything.

Read up on board about GW letters and PFD's. There is a lot of good information with sample letters. The letters have to be re-worded for your peticular scenario. 

I am sure others will offer some great advice'

Good Luck

[JGWantsAHouse]

Thanks for your help.  My score jumped up 20 points by getting a creditone bank card.  I know its not the best card but I don't plan on using it, just paing the  annual fee and maybe cutting it up.

[JM-AM]

First your welcome and congrats.

You will benefit more by using it monthly with a very small purchase of 2-5 dollars and then paying it off. 

[BungalowMo]

JM-AM has some great advice!  Certainly try the GW letters.  The best way to go about it is finding the high up corporate execs & emailing them for the GW.  That's what worked for me. (I just googled "acme bank" CEO or CFO)

Several years ago my credit was horrid.  I had maybe one good acct & give or take anywhere from 9 to 13 negative accts!.  I got the Credit one card too.  That card helped me rebuild big time.  I used it a lot & kept it paid off.  Use it & call their # every 6 mos (or less as time goes by) & you get CLI's of 100 each time with no new inq.  I started with a 300 limit & closed it 4 years later at 950!  By then I had a couple better cards that I'd apped for & got.

For now...no more apping.  Let those inq's die off.  Do the GW's and one more thing.  The site you use to monitor your credit is fine, but the scores are what we refer to as FAKO's.  They are not real FICO scores & are basically meaningless since no lenders use them (that is why the auto loan pull gave you a different score...they use FICO).

You are on the way forward, but remember, things didn't get messy overninght & you can't fix them quickly either.  You will get frustrated, but hang in there.  I'm living proof of it!  A few years ago I had to get a car with an 18% interest rate & now...just last week, my credit union gave me a 25k visa.  NOTHING is impossible!!!

Keep up the good work & come back often.  We all want to see everyone move forward! 

[JGWantsAHouse]

Wow, so I used the card for christmas and paid off the balance before the end of the statement and they increase my credit line $100.  Although I don't plan on using it often I guess that's a good sign.

I also called AT&T and paid the balance of the account and they said they would remove it from my credit report.  Let's see if and when this happens.  I'm excited to see how much my score might jump up.

I'm going to do a pay for delete on one of the other creditors.  I'm still lost on doing the GW letter.  I'd like to do this for my Wellsfargo auto loan which was paid off 8/10 and my Student loans.

Talk to you soon!

[JGWantsAHouse]

What should I do?

I paid AT&T but Franklin collection has not updated my credit report or deleted.  Should I give it more time or do something else?

[MarineVietVet]

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@JGWantsAHouse wrote:

What should I do?

I paid AT&T but Franklin collection has not updated my credit report or deleted.  Should I give it more time or do something else?

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Just paying AT&T will not automatically make Franklin delete although now they have nothing to collect on. I would give it 30-45 days to see what happens with Franklin. At the very least they (Franklin) have to update the amount owed to zero. You might have to contact Frankilin with a GW letter if they don't delete.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[JGWantsAHouse]

Thanks Marinevietvet!

I'm almost at 600 Equifax and at 633 Transunion.  I can see myself relaxing in my own house already. 

So I want to be clear.  Its been 40 days since I paid AT&T directly.  Should I contact them or GW Franklin or just dispute it through Equifax? Also I have a collection with Partners Financial that I'd like to pay.  Do I try to contact the CO since it is only 1 years old or do I just PFD the CA?  Thanks for you help!!

[MarineVietVet]

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@JGWantsAHouse wrote:

Thanks Marinevietvet!

I'm almost at 600 Equifax and at 633 Transunion.  I can see myself relaxing in my own house already. 

So I want to be clear.  Its been 40 days since I paid AT&T directly.  Should I contact them or GW Franklin or just dispute it through Equifax? Also I have a collection with Partners Financial that I'd like to pay.  Do I try to contact the CO since it is only 1 years old or do I just PFD the CA?  Thanks for you help!!

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I wouldn't dispute anything. Just send a GW to Franklin.

On the other collection does the OC still own the debt and have just assigned it to the CA or have they sold it outright? You need to know that first.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".