Help with credit repair and advice on what to do with old debts

[ebeds18]

Hello all im new to the forum and was wondering if i could get some advice on repairing my credit. First off i have a 508 FICO and want to buy a house in the next few years. I have several negative items on my report because I was stupid when I was 18 with credit cards. I paid off one big balance for one of my cards, and one big balance just got cancelled in Nov 11. I have law firms that call me every once in a while about debts that dont even appear in my report. I applied about 9 months ago for a cap one secured card and was apprived with a $200 dep. I forgot about it and when I realized I went to apply again and was denied twice in 5 months. I applied again the other day and was approved with a $49 deposit. A sign of my credit getting a bit better. My question is what should I do about really old debts? What about debts that keep getting handed off and handed off to other collectors? Also what can I do about getting some hard pulls off my file? I currently have 17. Lastly my wife was 30 days late on her car payment once, is there any way I can get that removed from her file?

Thanks in advance.

[llecs]

Welcome to the forums!

I'd suggest reading the following:

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

and Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.

For the old debts, check out the links above. Post back with details if wanting more info.

Ignore inquiries. If you app'd, then they should be reporting there anyway. When I first started, I had about 30 each on EQ and EX. IMO, i tisn't a big deal. Per FICO scoring, FICO ignores ALL inquiries outside of 12 months old. They'll report for 2 years, but FICO completely ignores that last year. Also, inquiries are duped together and ignored if pulled in a certain time frame, all but one, for mortgage and car inquiries.

When was the 30-day? Is the loan open or closed? Generally, FICO largely ignores 30-day lates after a couple of years. If older than that, then I personally wouldn't do anything about it. If the account is closed, then doing anything, like sending a GW, can result in the account's deletion which can have an adverse effect on scores, in some situations. If the account is open and current now, then that's not so much of an issue.

[JM-AM]

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@ebeds18 wrote:

Hello all im new to the forum and was wondering if i could get some advice on repairing my credit. First off i have a 508 FICO and want to buy a house in the next few years. I have several negative items on my report because I was stupid when I was 18 with credit cards. I paid off one big balance for one of my cards, and one big balance just got cancelled in Nov 11. I have law firms that call me every once in a while about debts that dont even appear in my report. I applied about 9 months ago for a cap one secured card and was apprived with a $200 dep. I forgot about it and when I realized I went to apply again and was denied twice in 5 months. I applied again the other day and was approved with a $49 deposit. A sign of my credit getting a bit better. My question is what should I do about really old debts? You can pay them since you know they were valid debts you owe or you can just do nothing and ignore them. If they are within the SOL you still have the possibility of being sued. What about debts that keep getting handed off and handed off to other collectors? They have the right to try and collect from you forever. Also what can I do about getting some hard pulls off my file? Absolutely nothing, you have applied numerous times and they are legit on your credit reports. They will fall off automatically in 2 years and have no impact on your scores after 1 year. I currently have 17. Lastly my wife was 30 days late on her car payment once, is there any way I can get that removed from her file? Try sending a GW to the bank and asking if they will remove the late payment. There are numerous post about sending and writing a GW with several examples in the forums.

Thanks in advance.

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[ebeds18]

I was told that no matter how many times the account switches hands it can only remain on your report for 6 or 7 years. Is this true.

Thanks for the replies

[rckstrscott]

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@ebeds18 wrote:

I was told that no matter how many times the account switches hands it can only remain on your report for 6 or 7 years. Is this true.

Thanks for the replies

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The number that matters is the DOFD, and that is a finite date.. so even if the account changes from collection company to collection company, they are all allowed to report, but they will be required to fall off 7 1/2 years from the time you went delinquent on the original account..

-scott

[ebeds18]

And the DOFD will be on my reports?

Thanks

[llecs]

If you pull your free reports from annualcreditreport.com or purchase them directly from each CRA, you'll see a DOFD listed on your EQ reports. EX and TU will show an estimated drop off date and you can roughly subtract 7 yrs to get a DOFD.