Hey all.
Here's where I'm at: Transunion 486 Equifax 471 (Please don't judge...)
I have 2 open credit cards. Both have been late 60-90 days. One has $341. The other is paid off. I have another closed card that amounts to $754 and a merchant account in the amount of $110. I have a ton of other (mostly derogatory) items listed that are fairly old.
In collections I have 3 accounts, $1920, $81, and $774. The last one is from 2006 but the other two are recent.
I'll be paying this off in the next few months. What should I tackle first, the collections or the accounts?
Starting Score: TU: 489 EQ: 471 12/8/2012
J_S, Welcome to myFICO!
I assure you, there will be no judging going on here. I was at an abysmal 388 when I started my journey, so this is just the first step in the right direction. One thing you have to do first if you haven't already, is pull your Credit Report from annualcreditreport.com. It is 100% free and provided to you once a year should you request it. This report will give us all the information we need, such as DOFD's so we can see if they are still within the SOL of your state. These reports will have all the information necessary to lead you down the right path.
Feel free to post copies of the collections/accounts sections so the members here can formulate a plan for you! Good luck!
Thanks for the reply, and encouraging words.
The adverse accounts section was too long to post here. Too many characters. Really, the ones I still owe on are recent. The one that was 2006 is the only one that I still owe on that's old. The rest are just a couple of months old. This is actually my second attempt to fix things. I just screwed it up again a few months ago. 
Don't worry about anyone judging you here, as sphinx said. A quick note of advice before paying anything, try and get them to agree to a PFD every time. It will boost your score quicker and you have a little leverage before you pay-- not the case afterwards. Good luck bro, you have already made a good choice (coming here). I am still pretty new here, but I have been reading, reading, reading, and following the advice of the knowledgeable people here. It is coming along nicely.
J_S wrote:I didn't think about PFDs. I may give it a try.
Another question: Is it better to close accounts that have blemishes on them and reopen secured cards or keep the cards with blemishes? Do the blemishes of an open account ever go away?
It actually just depends on the blemishes. Were they just 30 or 60 day lates? Or were they more serious?
Starting Score: 504
Current Score: EQ FICO 819, TU08 775, EX "Who Knows?" Quizzle 756
Goal Score: All Scores 760+, Newest goal 800+
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The accounts are current as of today. They've been open for 6 months to a year. My payment history was good until I had the hiccup.
I think I'll work on GW letters today. When asked why I missed the payments I told them it was due to medical issues. What's the likelyhood of GW working with medical as the reason given for being late? In any case it's worth a shot... But do they work with open accounts?
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