Not approved for secured card... how to rebuild

[Anonymous]

I feel like I have done a lot of combing through this forum to find out a step by step guide and one minute I think I have my plan all mapped out and I read something different to do! Hoping for a little guidance: 

Do I pay off charge offs or collections first? Is this why I can't get a secured card? Help... 

Scores: 

Experian-444

Equifax-456

Trans Union-468

Collections: 

ATT- $303

Comcast - $542

Credit One- $871

Charge Offs:

Capital One- $557

First Premier - $414

Credit Card - $793

Also, what is GW? 

Thanks in advance!!!

[gdale6]

Welcome to the board

I would say yes you need to work on getting these derogs settled. GW is goodwill. While you are working on these I would get a secured from Open Sky they do not check your credit to open so you can begin the rebuild. 

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/PFD-Q-amp-A-Examples-and-PFD-Success-Stories/...

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/PFD-Example-Letter/td-p/4519

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/GW-letter-Q-amp-A-Examples-and-GW-Success-Sto...

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/m-p/88458

[Anonymous]

Agree with everything mentioned above.
Only other part I would add is trying for a secured if you are part of a credit union or have one close you can join. Talk with them about what you are looking for before just straight applying. They may at least be able to tell you if they can help or not without applying blindly

[rmduhon]

I'd suggest working on the charge offs before they turn into collections.

[tricie17]

First call companies and set up pay agreements.  If you have enough to pay them off, negotiate a pay for delete to settle and if you do this get it in writing otherwise continue to settle with largest to smallest.  You do not want them to sell the debt so try to deal with original company.  Give this process at least 3-6 months and then try a secured card with primarily a Credit Union , if not try Capital One.  Slow will get you there quicker and in a better place.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I feel like I have done a lot of combing through this forum to find out a step by step guide and one minute I think I have my plan all mapped out and I read something different to do! Hoping for a little guidance: 

Do I pay off charge offs or collections first? Is this why I can't get a secured card? Help... 

Scores: 

Experian-444

Equifax-456

Trans Union-468

Collections: 

ATT- $303

Comcast - $542

Credit One- $871

Charge Offs:

Capital One- $557

First Premier - $414

Credit Card - $793

Also, what is GW? 

Thanks in advance!!!

---

Hi! Welcome to the forums! Do not fret. I started out in the 300's!! When you're down this low, the only way to go is up!

As others have mentioned, you should absolutely start with requesting for a deletion in return for a payment. You didn't mention what kind of capital you have, but since you are looking for a secured card, I'd strongly advice paying off all of these debts first and then reapplying for Discover and Capital One secured. I believe you've been denied by Cap1 because you still owe them a debt. Seems silly to tell a lender, hey, can I give you some money to hold I don't need right away, but not pay you the debt I owe you, right?

Next question, have you burned any banking institutions with overdrawn accounts? If not, I highly recommend a self-lender loan. As long as you're good on ChexSystems, you can get an account with them: https://www.selflender.com/ - and at the end, you get the money you put in right back! What a great teaching tool, right?!