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No idea where to start and what to pay off....

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GOLF81
New Contributor

No idea where to start and what to pay off....

I've been doing a lot of reading and research on credit repair and have been faithfully paying all my bills on time for over 12 months.  Every negative account that I have is an old account and is either a c/o or collection account.  I have made no attempt to settle any of these debts.

                                                                                                                        
                        
I have 6 accounts in good standing and have never been late with any of these.  (1)Auto Loan, (2)Orchard Bank: CL 300 BAL 125, (3)BOA Credit Card: CL 2800 BAL 2000, (4)CAP ONE: CL 200 BAL 100, (5) Merrick Bank: CL 500 BAL 150, (6)Finger HUT: CL 400 BAL 135.  I just signed up with my FICO and my score is 524.  Do I need to address my c/o and CA accounts in order to raise my score?  Most of these accounts fall off in 2016.
TU - 550 / EQ - 521 all from myFICO as of 3/3/13
TU - 558 / EQ - 573 all from myFICO as of 3/23/13
TU - 610 / EQ - 603 / EX 655 - all from myfico as of 1.22.14
TU - 632 / EQ - 619 / EX - 673... all from myfico 3.15.14
TU - 658 / EQ - 619 / EX - 659 ... all from myfico 3.31.14
Message 1 of 7
6 REPLIES 6
guiness56
Epic Contributor

Re: No idea where to start and what to pay off....

Yes, in order for your score to go up, the collections would need to be removed.  Just paying them will not help your score.  As for the COs, it really depends on how they are reporting.

 

Say for instance it is a credit card that is CO'd.  If the balance and the CL are being reported, that TL is factoring into your utilization.  Once it is paid it will forever be taken out of scoring for utilization but the CO itself will still impact your score for nearly the entire 7 years.

 

Before you do anything, if you haven't already, get your free reports from annualcreditreport.com.  You get one from each CRA every 12 months.

 

You will need to know the DoFD (EQ shows the DoFD, TU and EX have drop off dates) and your states statute of limitations for debt.  If they are still within your states SOL and you can't pay the entire amount, sometimes it is better to wait.  If they have been dormant for a while doing anything might prompt them to take legal action.

 

You can post a few TL at a time and someone will be happy to help you.

 

Welcome to the forums.

Message 2 of 7
GOLF81
New Contributor

Re: No idea where to start and what to pay off....

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TU - 550 / EQ - 521 all from myFICO as of 3/3/13
TU - 558 / EQ - 573 all from myFICO as of 3/23/13
TU - 610 / EQ - 603 / EX 655 - all from myfico as of 1.22.14
TU - 632 / EQ - 619 / EX - 673... all from myfico 3.15.14
TU - 658 / EQ - 619 / EX - 659 ... all from myfico 3.31.14
Message 3 of 7
GOLF81
New Contributor

Re: No idea where to start and what to pay off....

I do have the money to payoff my C/O and C/A accounts (I didn't a few years ago that's why I defaulted).  I guess my question is it it worth it to do so or just let them fall off in 2016?  Also the collection accounts have offered me settlements which i can afford to pay in full.

 

Also will my score increase by paying them off.  I do not want to make payments on anything that will not improve my score...

TU - 550 / EQ - 521 all from myFICO as of 3/3/13
TU - 558 / EQ - 573 all from myFICO as of 3/23/13
TU - 610 / EQ - 603 / EX 655 - all from myfico as of 1.22.14
TU - 632 / EQ - 619 / EX - 673... all from myfico 3.15.14
TU - 658 / EQ - 619 / EX - 659 ... all from myfico 3.31.14
Message 4 of 7
awdsmama
Established Contributor

Re: No idea where to start and what to pay off....

For your collections have you looked into PFD/pay for delete letters on here?  There are some great samples.  I found that when I sent them to my CAs they were usually accepted.  Sometimes i had to send them 2 or 3 times but eventulally it worked.    The key is the deletion - you need the collections off your reports to see it help your score.  Just a paid off collection won't matter for your score.

 

Good luck!

Fico: 701 (5/22/14) 682 (5/9/2014)
Discover IT $5,200 / CU Visa $1,000 / JC Penny$3,000
App Free since 2/2013
Message 5 of 7
GOLF81
New Contributor

Re: No idea where to start and what to pay off....

If I PFD with a collection agency the only thing that is removed is the collection agency info, the original creditor remains right?  Does this help my score, just the CA being removed?

 

Also, if I PFD with a collection agency the original creditor is updated as paid in full... Does that "restart" the clock on my original debt making it stay on my report longer?  Most of my stuff has 2016 drop off dates.

 

I just want to make sure that if I decide to pay these old debts its helping not hurting.  I don't want to waste good money on bad money,

 

Thanks!

TU - 550 / EQ - 521 all from myFICO as of 3/3/13
TU - 558 / EQ - 573 all from myFICO as of 3/23/13
TU - 610 / EQ - 603 / EX 655 - all from myfico as of 1.22.14
TU - 632 / EQ - 619 / EX - 673... all from myfico 3.15.14
TU - 658 / EQ - 619 / EX - 659 ... all from myfico 3.31.14
Message 6 of 7
guiness56
Epic Contributor

Re: No idea where to start and what to pay off....


@GOLF81 wrote:

If I PFD with a collection agency the only thing that is removed is the collection agency info, the original creditor remains right?  Does this help my score, just the CA being removed?

 

Also, if I PFD with a collection agency the original creditor is updated as paid in full... Does that "restart" the clock on my original debt making it stay on my report longer?  Most of my stuff has 2016 drop off dates.

 

I just want to make sure that if I decide to pay these old debts its helping not hurting.  I don't want to waste good money on bad money,

 

Thanks!


Yes, paying the CA and getting it deleted only removes their TL.  If the OC sold the debt they will no longer update the report to paid, it should already be at a 0 balance.  If the debt was assigned, the CA is responsible for letting the OC know.  Then you send GWs to the OC to ask for deletion.

 

Getting a collection removed will help your score.  It depends on how new/old it is and other things on your report.

 

Nothing restarts the CRTP.  It is mandated by federal law and it is illegal to restart it.

Message 7 of 7
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