My Credit Rebuild Story

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone,

Another long time lurker.. first time poster. I've always been a little intimidated to post on here but I wanted to share how far I've gotten so far and see if anyone could help me figure out how to get further. I feel like I've hit a plateau with my progress. 

Back story:

I turned 18 and had no idea what the importance of credit was basically. No reason to elaborate on how I fudged it up. My score was 450 this time last year. Turned 25 this year and decided to buckle down and get my credit fixed.

Spring 2016- Rehabbed my student loans and consolidated them.

October 2016- App for my first credit card in 10 years. I got approved with a $49 deposit for a $200 limit secured Capital One card. I keep that card below 20% when the balance reports (The last two months I've kept it under 6%).

February 2017- App for a Credit One unsecured card and was approved for a $300 limit. I keep that one under 10% so far. They just bumped me to a $450 limit too. 

February 2017- App for VS card (Not using SCT) and I was approved for $250. I've applied for this card several times over the years and always been denied. HAPPY DAY!

Since October, I've brought my score from a 480 to a 616 by fixing my student loans, keeping my new cards at optimal utilization, and because 7 years went by and several things fell off. CK still shows me at 590, but Credit.com shows me at 616 so I'm taking that one! lol 

Lately, my score is only going up a couple of points each update. Before it was going up 20-30 points each update. Is it normal to taper off like this or can I do something else? I currently have 4 collections accounts (2 medical bills, an old ATT bill my dad took out in my name, and Dish Network for $300 for not returning equipment). I have the Dish equipment in my spare bedroom.. Just never returned it :I .. I also have one public record for a car accident that I didn't have insurance to cover. 

Collections total about $2500 and the public record is about $1800. 

I also have THIRTEEN inquiries. (I just bought a car in October and they ran my credit a million times to find someone to approve me at a rate I would pay) My car loan is with Wells Fargo at 11%. 

SO.. sorry for typing so much. I'm just at a loss. I wish my score would go up faster and I'm unsure of the best steps to take next. Should I send PFD letters? DV? Or just start paying them off and then GW letter? Or maybe I should use the SCT to get a few more cards. If anyone has any advice, I would be very very grateful. 

[stargazer25]

Don't get more credit cards. 

Dont get more installment loans. 

Your credit scores aren't real unless you paid for them. CCT will give you all 3 for $1. I would suggest you sign up for my fico so you can watch your score changes. 

List out the CA's, amounts. DOFD and then we can see where we can help you. Can you check back with dish and see if they will still take their equipment back? What type of public record in which state?

If the debts are legit and yours DV'ing isn't going to help you. Getting CA's to agree to PFD is your only hope along with Goodwills. 

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for the reply. So should I sign up for CCT and Myfico then? I'll get that done tonight. I currently use  credit.com, CK, Creditwise, CS, and Quizzle. 

The public record is from Ohio and shows as a Legal Item. 

I do need to contact Dish still about returning the equipment. Procrastinator...

CA's are as follows:

Direc Management- Medical bill- $174- 12/6/2011

Enhanced recovery company- AT&T bill my dad opened in my name in 2010- $1728- 11/24/2016

Merchants ADJ Service- Med bill- $252- 8/6/2015

Receivables Performance- Dish equipment- $374- 9/27/2016

[stargazer25]

I personally have my fico. If you see my siggy you can see where I came from and where I am at now. It's addictive watching your credit scores. 

The medical bills, are those balances after your insurance paid their part?

My bigger concern for you is closing these things out so they quit updating and if you are still under SOL you don't get sued/garnished. 

[cjane1]

Definitely don't try for anymore credit too many credit inquires isn't good, keep your total utilization at 9% or lower and Credit Karma is good for checking your credit report but the credit scores are way off so I wouldn't go by what they are reporting.... 

[stargazer25]

Might be of interest to you:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Enhanced-Recovery-Company-SUCCESS/m-p/4863703...

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the link to that thread! I'll try that out tomorrow and see how it goes. 

Both medical bills were the total after insurance billed. 

I signed up for MyFico and it shows my scores as:

Equifax- 599

Transunion- 601

Experian- 627

All are higher than what CK showed me so that's nice!

[Anonymous]

Congratulations on trying to take control of things and fixing your credit.  Changes may have come in big spurts, but yes it will slow down.

Like others have said, I'd stop applying for anything for now and start rebuilding. In 6 months or so though, I would get rid of the Credit One.

The apr on your car is not terrible, but you might be able to do better. If there is a local credit union you use, go talk with them about possibly refinancing. Be honest about scores (you have real ones now) and see if they can help. If not, you could try DCU or NFCU for the same thing. But I would suggest trying to talk with them first before you outright apply. DCU helped me refinance last year from 10.5% to 2.49

Wether or not you do anything with your auto loan now, I would look into joining NFCU in about 6 months once you've had time to work on taking care of your reports. They are a great credit union to have and have very competitive rates for all types of products

[cjane1]

With Dish Network you need to send it back sooner than later before they upgrade to different boxes then they definitely won't take it back.  Also, write down the box # for your own records. I use to work for a cable company and this info would be needed if they say they never received it.

With the credit cards I suggest keeping one for emergencies only. I save my Capital One for emergencies and unfortunately my  Mother-in-law passed away during surgery,if I didn'tt have that emergency card I don't know what we would have done. The expenses of paying for plane tickets, rental car,putting the dog in a kennel, and helping with funeral expenses added up to almost $4000.00. 

[Anonymous]

I contacted Dish this morning and they said the equipment fees are all that I owe. They sent a shipping label and I'll be sending the equipment back today. I asked if the item would be removed from my credit report and she said that they would report that the equipment was returned and balance is 0, but I would have to discuss with the credit reporting companies regarding a removal. I assume that is incorrect. (?)

Would you recommend that I discuss a refinance with NFCU now or wait until I've had the car loan longer? I currently bank with WF and have for the last 9 years. I read a lot on these forums that NFCU is best to bank with when rebuilding. Should I transfer accounts to them now or wait the 6 months?