Rebuilding credit.

[BigKat]

Hi guys, new here. Looking to rebuild my credit that i got off to a bad start on! I have 2 auto loans that are in good standing, one is closed though.Never any late's on either of them! The bad on my credit though, a sprint bill from 08, but looks like it wasnt reported untill 10, so wouldnt fall off untill 17, then some medical bills that are extreme small amounts, that id assume came down to a time where i was moving around and didnt recieve the bill. I wish i would have known what i do now about credit but thats what happens. I also have one charged off acount with Capital one. 

I plan to take care of all of these debts, but after joining here i started hearing about GW letters and PFD. I was wondering if i should try dispatching letters like these and where i would begin collecting information from as to where to send them!

Thank you guys in advance for your advice and time!

[InvincibleSummer3]

I started by pulling my reports from all three bureaus. You can go to annualcreditreport.com to get one free report per year from each of the three big credit reporting agencies. Each tradeline (account) will list the creditor's name, address, & phone number. I sent a DV (debt validation) letter to each, to make sure they were truly my debts. And once I got a response I sent a PFD letter. Sometimes that worked, and sometimes it didn't. If not, sometimes paying it in full and then sending GW letters worked.

GW letters are a bit of an art form - you can send them to the address on your credit report or see if you can Google up an executive contact. That sometimes works too. but GW letters will only work if payment's been made first.

Good luck, and welcome to the forums!

[nma851]

---

The bad on my credit though, a sprint bill from 08, but looks like it wasnt reported untill 10, so wouldnt fall off untill 17, then some medical bills that are extreme small amounts, that id assume came down to a time where i was moving around and didnt recieve the bill. 

---

Hey BigKat & Welcome - 

We all are in it together, some way, some how. 

I noticed something in your post that struck my eye that I quoted above as well.  First, I had a similar - well identical actually - situation with the DOFD (Date of First Delinquency).  I would dispute the Sprint bill based on the fact that it was Charged-Off (CO'd) and/or reported as "First Delinquent" in 2010 instead of 2008.  This would, upon successfully disputing, allow that to fall off in 2015 versus 2017.  Mine was Verizon - and they were off by 3 years.  Whenever I disputed it, the ENTIRE trade got deleted, not just "updated" to the accurate DOFD.  You could luck out and have it deleted - but beware that it *could* reappear.  Should that happen, ensure that the date IS the correct DOFD so your "clock" is counting down properly.  

Whether they reported it today or back in the day, the CRA's are obligated to report ACCURATE information - and since you know of this Sprint bill was CO'd back in 2008, that would be the basis of this particular dispute (Incorrect payment history from the drop-down menu when you click on "Dispute". EXP gives that option, I'm not really sure with the others however just search around once you are in the dispute area for the best reason why).  If you have the option to add a remark/comment, state that this was not in 2010 but 2008.  

Remember: DOFD is the date in which the CRA's start the clock on when that derogatory item will be purged - not when it was first "reported" as some, like in your case, don't report it for years and all of a sudden it shows up with the inaccurate FIRST delinquency and/or CO date. 

Do all 3 CRA's show it as 2010 or just one?  Do this for all of the CR's that show it as 2010 instead of the 2008 date.

As for your medical bills, given the extreme small amounts and sometimes just "in general", I would dispute those all as well as "Not Mine".  You may find that some will come back as "Deleted" since they could not be verified.  At minimum, even if they come back as "verified as accurate", be SURE that those dates are the true & accurate dates the same as you would do with the Sprint one.  No creditor can just "pick and choose" a date of FIRST delinquency; if you have that last Sprint bill by chance, or if you already know the date it was closed, you may be able to put that in the comments section stating such. 

You WILL get there!!    

NMA