@Anonymous wrote:
Hey everyone, I just joined this site and I am thrilled I did. I feel like its the best $20 I've ever spent! Obviously by looking at my scores I wasn't spending the money on bills so needed to buy something!! lol
Here are my numbers and they are rather terrible...
Equifax 469
TU 474
Experian 484
I have just a couple debts and just disputed several others that have been "charged off" to try to get them off of my report. I may be mistaken, but I think charged off means they are no longer trying to collect the debt? No, charged off is just an accounting requirement so they can move your account from the 'asset' collumn to the 'loss' collumn for tax purposes. It in no way obligates them to stop trying to collect the debt. In fact they can now either assign the debt to a debt collector or sell it off (usually for pennies on the dollar) to a Junk Debt Buyer. So why would it need to stay right? Ahh...if it were only that easy.... It will stay for 7.5 years from the Date of First Default (DoFD). I have a ton of inquiries as well. I think 11 from last year alone. Stop applying for credit, you're not going to get approved with your current scores.
I have been told by a coworker to just pay my debts and not get a secured card to try to build credit because a secured does nothing and paying off the debt is what will improve my score.
Is this fact?? No. He is flat out wrong on both counts. Any advice? Stop listening to your co-worker for starters. If you need to know more just ask and I'll answer.
Think of your score as a helium balloon. Derogatories, collections, charge offs, late payments, judgments, bankruptcy are all weights tied to the balloon, and the helium inside is your current credit accounts. Even if you have just a few derogatories, if you fail to inflate the balloon with current credit accounts your score will continue to drop.
You need some credit accounts. With your scores of course, they are going to be difficult to get, as you have discovered. The solution is to get a couple of secured credit cards, and a secured personal loan (installment loan) - not a huge loan, just a few hundred will be enough. If you have any student loans in good standing, or an auto loan, that will suffice, you only need one installment loan. I would suggest a credit union like SDFCU to start with. They offer share secured loans and credit cards and they are really easy to join, just become a member of American Consumer Council ($5 to join) to qualify. Once you get the card, use it responsibly. Use it for 'every day' spending that you would normally use cash (or debit card) for and pay it down several times per month. After 6 months of usage like this you should start seeing a steady rise in your scores.
