cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Rebuilding Credit.. Need advice!

tag
Kennasmommy
New Member

Rebuilding Credit.. Need advice!

I am a newbie to these forums, I have been reading over these posts for months trying to pick out advice here and there to help boost my credit score. My current Fico score is 638 which is a big improvement from last year when I started at 543. My goal is to get to 700 or higher and I'm not quite sure what else to do from here. Here's what I have:

On my credit report negative I have one defaulted student loan with the original creditor and a second listing with another creditor but same debt. I recently got in touch with secondary creditor and joined the rehab program. According to ECMC they will remove both entries (original creditor and them) after I finish the program in November 2014. Next baddie is a charge off from capital one from 2008 for $600 who sold the acct to midland funding who now is also listed on the credit report stating the new balance is $1400+ these items are slated to drop off in April 2015. Not sure if it's worth it to try and PFD. Lastly I have two medical bills for my daughter from 2012 in which I never rec'd a bill originally but now listed under two separate collection agencies one bill each. My ex took my daughter to the hospital and listed me as the responsible party even though I had no idea he took her or that there was a bill. I have been trying for months to have these accounts removed from my credit report as identity theft but none of the three credit bureaus will budge. The bills total $900. Not sure if I should just pay for deletion. The credit repair agency I visited advised me to report the identity theft to local police and send the police reports to the CR agencies for deletion. Not sure if it is the best idea since he and I share custody of our daughter. Any other ideas?

Now for the good stuff. I've had a capital one secured card for two years, paid as agreed and have had the original credit limit increases from $300 to $950. I have a kohls card for almost 3 years always paid as agrees however they have never ever raised the limit from $200. I have asked at least 3 times they give me some sorry about how they aren't granting any cl increases. I also have a credit line with GE capital for $5500 for living spaces furniture, this acct is new haven't used it yet, my mom was gracious enough to open an acct, she as the main and me as the joint acct holder to try and help me improve my credit. Right now I have under 5% utilization on all cards and have never missed a payment. Most times I pay in full. With the exception of GE capital I have been so called gardening for two years and although I have seen an increase in my credit score in the amt of 93 points I need your advice on how to get from 638 to 700? Should I apply for more credit? I would like to get a target credit card but I don't want to apply for anything that I won't be approved for. I guess what I'm asking is what should my next steps be? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. It is sure appreciated!
Message 1 of 5
4 REPLIES 4
GenericUser
Member

Re: Rebuilding Credit.. Need advice!

Stay away from "credit repair agencies" imho, reporting your EX to the cops for identity theft will get you nowhere because he didn't steal your identity.  He listed the mother, who has shared custody, as responsible party.  You could try small claims court against him but that's really not worth doing considering the time/cost/hassle.

 

Request "proof of debt" from the collection agencies.  The hospital may have written off the debt and sold it rather than contract the collection agencies to actually collect it.  If they can't provide "proof of debt" then you don't have to pay them, and then you can get the reporting agencies to delete the entries.  It's normal that the reporting agencies don't delete it just because you say it's identify theft.

 

Ask Cap1 to graduate your card to unsecured.

BK 7 2010, no idea what the FICO was after that
Current FICO8 TU 734 EQ ??? EX ???
Short Term Goal: 750+ | Long Term Goal: 800+
TCL: $73,000 as of May 2019
Message 2 of 5
AzaleaB
Established Contributor

Re: Rebuilding Credit.. Need advice!

Cap1 does not graduate secured cards. BoA and some others do.

Starting Score: EX:570, 8/2011
Current
Scores(8/30/18):
EX08:850; EQ08:850,
TU08:847
Inqs(12 mo): EX/0, EQ/0, TU/0
Goal Scores: 800+
My Cards: BoA Rewards: 30K, Discover IT: 50K, Arrival : 13.3K, CDP: 30.1K, Amex PRG, Amex ED: 22.5K, Amex BCP: 20K, FU: 21K, CSR: 35K, Amazon Store: 20K, Macys:10K, Diners Club:40K
Message 3 of 5
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Rebuilding Credit.. Need advice!

1. If you have the money to pay the 2 medical I would because they should delete rather you make PFD arrangements or not because of medical (but try for PFD)

2. Capital One and Midland, if they are dropping off in under a year I would not touch them as they are past SOL and you won't help yourself with only a year left before delted.

3. you could try the pre-qual for an unsecured capital one card... I would not apply if you don't get pre-qual for one.

4. you might be able to add something like Walmart or a gas card from 76 or chevron if any of those would help you.

5. kohls has recently been giving very small increases out to follks, so if it's been a little bit since you have asked, might be worth a try again.

Message 4 of 5
Kennasmommy
New Member

Re: Rebuilding Credit.. Need advice!

Thanks everyone. I may try hippa on the medical otherwise I'll prolly just pay. I would have split the bill with him originally if he told me but he had the bill sent to his house under my name, never knew about it until it was sent to collections. I had insurance for her then but he took her to a opt out facility and they only covered part of the bill. If he would have taken her to one of the opt in hospitals it would have been $50 co pay. I think he did it on purpose because right before that happened I got remarried and he was feeling spiteful, that's just my opinion.

Anyways thank you very much for your replies. I'm going to take the advice and leave cap one and midland alone and try for another credit card.

Good luck to all on your credit journey
Message 5 of 5
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.