Rebuilding Credit, with Debt, w/o Bankrupcy

[Anonymous]

I have a couple questions, but first some quick context:

13 months ago my credit score was just shy of 800. Then I became unemployeed and had to survive off of Unemployment Insurance and Credit Cards for 7 months. I've since incurred about $15,000 in credit card debt across all four of my credit cards. Two have been sent to collections, a third is about to go to collections, and the fourth hasn't indicated how soon or whether they'll send to collections.

I've since found a new job, which pays well, but leaves me with next to nil after paying my regular bills (which are few and necessary). I also pay my home mortgage which remains in great standing depsite the snafu with my credit cards. I own my car.

I've spoken with the CCs and collections and their minimum payments are much too high.

My current credit scores between the big-three is around 520. I'd like to rebuild my credit w/o bankrupcy; which I doubt would work anyway due to my mortgage and my generous gross income.

Here are my questions:

- How long does debt remain on your credit record? (e.g., I ran up $3000~ in debt with Student CCs over 15 years ago in college, never paid them back, and they're not on my credit history).

- Is it possible to negotiate with the creditors? For instance tell them they can either freeze my interest acruel and accept what payments I can make, or I send them nothing.

- Is it possible/worth building up my credit by obtaining a new Secured CC and ensuring I make the payments?

Thanks everyone.

[RobertEG]

The basic answer to your question regarding how long adverse information can remain in your credit report, and thus affect your credit score and be viewed by others, is set forth under the exclusion periods defined in FCRA 605(a).

Those exclusion provisions require the CRAs to discontinue the inclusion of adverse items of information in your credit report at various times, depending upon the specific type of adverse information.

Specific exclusion periods of no later than 7 years plus 180 days from date of first delinquency on the OC account are provided for collections and charge-offs (FCRA 605(a)(4)), and seven years from date of occurence for monthly delinquencies (FCRA 605(a)(5)).

Those exclusion periods do not discharge the delinquent debt, they only provide reprive to the consumer by blocking the contined inclusion of adverse information in your credit report and credit scoring.