PAID OFF DEBT, NOW WHAT??

[Serasvae]

Hello,

I recently (over the past 6 months) have paid off all my debt - by settling accounts that were in collection - I had four credit cards (two major, two store cc) that I was not able to pay and those went into collection and I did the ultimate no-no and ignored them for approximately two/three years :/  

I also paid off an old phone bill that was on my report and as far as I know, I have paid off (or "settled in full") all my debts.

It has only been about a month since I paid off everything and I have not yet looked at my credit report again (since I already received my free CR this year...) but, the question is.... now what?  How do I re-establish my credit to a good score? I know that just paying off these debts by settling is not going to magically make my credit score better, so what steps do I need to take in order to really fix my credit now?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Shogun]

Congrats on satisfying all your old debts, but as you said, just paying them doesn't make the baddies go away.  You will need to send GW letters.  I'll put a link below for you to do some research and formulate your gameplan.  Let us know if you need any help.  Good Luck.

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

[Serasvae]

Thank you SO much for that information ! I will get right on those.

Would you suggest that I try applying for a secured credit card (for bad credit) to help with re-establishing my credit?

In your best estimation, what time-frame am I looking at to really turn my credit back around?

Thanks for all your help!!

[Shogun]

Yes, I do suggest building new credit while cleaning your CRs.  That's part of the rebuilding process.  As far as how long it takes, YMMV, everyone is different but with hard work you could see significant increases in 6 months to a year.

[Serasvae]

Great, Thank you.

One last question (sorry) but any chance you could point me in the right direction as to which secured credit card(s) would be most suitable?

I have been researching this a lot, but I just don't want to get into a bad situation after all this hard work so far... 

Any information would be helpful.

THANK YOU!

[Gypsie77]

Congratuations Seravae!  What a relief it must be to have everything paid off.  Check out the "Finding savings & credity card" section of myFICO.  

[ezef3ar]

I will go with capitalone  secured credit card. 

[madmann26]

I'd stick with the major banks on a secured card or a local credit union.

[Serasvae]

Just got approved for a Capital One Secured Mastercard Today !!

Things are beginning to turn around.... Excited to be going in the right direction finally !!

Thank you all for your help and support, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[sphinx313]

Congrats on the approval and satisfying your debts! Get those GW's going!