Seeking advice on action plan...pls

[anniev2]

This is long but here is, in a lot of details, what I have done toward credit improvement and plan to do.  I hope that outlining this and sharing will help someone else as I don't have many stories to share or advice to give yet but I hope I will soon.  Also, I don't like just being a taker so I hope it helps - YOU!

- Pulled all credit reports.

3-in-1 CR from TU (638 FAKO)

FICO score and EQ CR from MyFico.com (624 FICO)

Free CR from AnnualCreditReport.com for EX and EQ for good measure

- Organized info in spreadsheet to see where I am across the board of all three CRA. Here it is if you care to see my madness.  I focused on those "indicators" that I have learned from the board matter most to the score. 

Indicator	Value	Commentary
AGE, avg*	7 years, 9 months	Good?
REVOLVING LIMIT*	$8,200	Excluded limit on CO revolving accounts; OK?
REVOLVING BALANCE*	$4,201	Excluded balances on CO revolving accounts; OK?
UTILITY*	51%	Is different if CO should be considered
TLS - Total	15	TLs inconsistent across all three CRAs
TLS W/ NEGATIVE (COs, Collections -  Paid And Unpaid, Late Payments In Previous 7 Years)	10	Late 29 times in total: 30 days late 16 times // 60 days late 9 times // 90 days late 4 times (dual SL acct)
COLLECTIONS - PAID	2	Paid off 1/2009 and 3/2012.
COLLECTIONS - UNPAID	2	$1,980
OLDEST LATE	30 days late: Aug 2007	See spreadsheet for details on frequency of lates…it gets interesting.  Lol
MOST RECENT LATE	30 days late: Aug 2011	Missed auto loan payment by HOURS! Eek!
TLS - GOOD STANDING*	5	Lease (possible error), Paid auto loan, Open SL, 2 open Macy's department store cards (duplicated, so possible error.)
INQUIRIES	7	1 fall off Apr 2013, 5 fall off June 2013, last one fall Nov 2013.

- Created my plan of action and seeking advice. Its also outlined on the spreadsheet - here - in the far right column but here is a summary.

Next 30 - 45 days

1. Pay down balance $3,000: With income tax refund pay down open revolving account // making UTIL 15% if CO account shouldnt be factored
2. PFD arrangements on charge off: Dell / Web Bank PFD w/ payment arrangements for $1,752 charge off / or if OC directs me to CA since CA is the entity actively pursuing the debt
3. Pending response to GW letter sent 3/39: resolve 3 late payments (30 days late: Aug 2010, Nov 2010 // 60 days late: May 2011); Basis: loan was paid off by insurance company in Jul 2010 before lates reported
4. Dispute 2 paid collections that were paid  1/2009 and 3/2012 and hope that they don't respond or agree to remove since they are paid
5. PFD with payment arrangements a $228 unpaid utility collection that falls off in 7 months anyway
6. GW correction on open revolving account.  Have had perfect payment history since curent lates were reported in 2007 (30 days late: Aug 2007, 60 days late: Sept 2007)
7. GW correction on 2 open auto loans payment was late due to technality, have had perfect payments since Aug 2011 (this may be a stretch since 2011 seems like yesterday, but worth a try; husband had been laid off and we were struggling to make ends meet)
8. (?) Determine best course of action for SL - sold/transferred but reporting late
• I believe SL was in forebearance at the time because I've been keen on credit worthiness for a while and I know that I picked the smart option.
• Called Citibank to inquire they said "we sold all your records to Sallie Mae and we cannot look at any of the history"
• Called SallieMae they checked but didn't see foreberance/deferment - however - on CR the dated opened of Sallie Mae is same as it was before purchasing from Citi
• Option 1: Dispute with Citi, they have no records it will fall off additionaly on the basis that the payment history is inconsistenly reported across CR for all three CRAs so there has to be some inaccuracy that makes that TL fall off

By end of 2013 (organic aging):

• 1 of 4 collections will come off
• All inquiries will come off

By end of 2014 (organic aging):

• July 2014 longest standing revolving card will go to good standing, no negatives

Goal Score

850 of course!

Expected score

After all this -- who knows but at least I go forward fighting!

Ultimate goal

I will move my family in a affordable home of our hearts desire

off all my hard work, help from you guys and our ambition to play this credit game although the chips can sometimes be stacked against us.  Good luck everyone and I hope to keep you updated with successful stories that can help others also.

[anniev2]

I know, this was too long and no one is gonna read it in its entirety...until I get my positive results! So at least it's here for now.

I have these *specific questions* about my course of action:

-will I get a delete from Dell/Webbank while in payment arrangements, or only after I PIF? With $1,752 outstanding,what deal should we agree to?
- advice on disputing vs GW letters on paid collections? My basis for dispute is they were paid a long time ago and I think CA wouldn't bother responding. What do you think?
- should I dispute SL with Citibank based on facts I outlined in #8 above?
- how do my indicators, in the table above, look now as they pertain to getting a mortgage with 624 FICO from EQ who reports all my baddies.

[guiness56]

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@anniev2 wrote:

This is long but here is, in a lot of details, what I have done toward credit improvement and plan to do.  I hope that outlining this and sharing will help someone else as I don't have many stories to share or advice to give yet but I hope I will soon.  Also, I don't like just being a taker so I hope it helps - YOU!

- Pulled all credit reports.

3-in-1 CR from TU (638 FAKO)

FICO score and EQ CR from MyFico.com (624 FICO)

Free CR from AnnualCreditReport.com for EX and EQ for good measure

- Organized info in spreadsheet to see where I am across the board of all three CRA. Here it is if you care to see my madness.  I focused on those "indicators" that I have learned from the board matter most to the score. 

Indicator	Value	Commentary
AGE, avg*	7 years, 9 months	Good?
REVOLVING LIMIT*	$8,200	Excluded limit on CO revolving accounts; OK?
REVOLVING BALANCE*	$4,201	Excluded balances on CO revolving accounts; OK?
UTILITY*	51%	Is different if CO should be considered
TLS - Total	15	TLs inconsistent across all three CRAs  Not all creditors report to all 3 CRAs
TLS W/ NEGATIVE (COs, Collections -  Paid And Unpaid, Late Payments In Previous 7 Years)	10	Late 29 times in total: 30 days late 16 times // 60 days late 9 times // 90 days late 4 times (dual SL acct)
COLLECTIONS - PAID	2	Paid off 1/2009 and 3/2012.
COLLECTIONS - UNPAID	2	$1,980
OLDEST LATE	30 days late: Aug 2007	See spreadsheet for details on frequency of lates…it gets interesting.  Lol
MOST RECENT LATE	30 days late: Aug 2011	Missed auto loan payment by HOURS! Eek!
TLS - GOOD STANDING*	5	Lease (possible error), Paid auto loan, Open SL, 2 open Macy's department store cards (duplicated, so possible error.)
INQUIRIES	7	1 fall off Apr 2013, 5 fall off June 2013, last one fall Nov 2013.

- Created my plan of action and seeking advice. Its also outlined on the spreadsheet - here - in the far right column but here is a summary.

Next 30 - 45 days

1. Pay down balance $3,000: With income tax refund pay down open revolving account // making UTIL 15% if CO account shouldnt be factored
2. PFD arrangements on charge off: Dell / Web Bank PFD w/ payment arrangements for $1,752 charge off / or if OC directs me to CA since CA is the entity actively pursuing the debt
3. Pending response to GW letter sent 3/39: resolve 3 late payments (30 days late: Aug 2010, Nov 2010 // 60 days late: May 2011); Basis: loan was paid off by insurance company in Jul 2010 before lates reported
4. Dispute 2 paid collections that were paid  1/2009 and 3/2012 and hope that they don't respond or agree to remove since they are paid
5. PFD with payment arrangements a $228 unpaid utility collection that falls off in 7 months anyway
6. GW correction on open revolving account.  Have had perfect payment history since curent lates were reported in 2007 (30 days late: Aug 2007, 60 days late: Sept 2007)
7. GW correction on 2 open auto loans payment was late due to technality, have had perfect payments since Aug 2011 (this may be a stretch since 2011 seems like yesterday, but worth a try; husband had been laid off and we were struggling to make ends meet)
8. (?) Determine best course of action for SL - sold/transferred but reporting late
• I believe SL was in forebearance at the time because I've been keen on credit worthiness for a while and I know that I picked the smart option.
• Called Citibank to inquire they said "we sold all your records to Sallie Mae and we cannot look at any of the history"
• Called SallieMae they checked but didn't see foreberance/deferment - however - on CR the dated opened of Sallie Mae is same as it was before purchasing from Citi
• Option 1: Dispute with Citi, they have no records it will fall off additionaly on the basis that the payment history is inconsistenly reported across CR for all three CRAs so there has to be some inaccuracy that makes that TL fall off  You can dispute for the inconsistencies, however, all they are required to do is update the account to make it accurate.  I would instead dispute directly with Citi for inaccuracies under FCRA 623(a)(8).  The way the CRAs do disputes leaves a lot to be desired and you always stand the chance of it being verified.

By end of 2013 (organic aging):

• 1 of 4 collections will come off
• All inquiries will come off

By end of 2014 (organic aging):

• July 2014 longest standing revolving card will go to good standing, no negatives

Goal Score

850 of course!

Expected score

After all this -- who knows but at least I go forward fighting!

Ultimate goal

I will move my family in a affordable home of our hearts desire

off all my hard work, help from you guys and our ambition to play this credit game although the chips can sometimes be stacked against us.  Good luck everyone and I hope to keep you updated with successful stories that can help others also.

---

[guiness56]

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@anniev2 wrote:
I know, this was too long and no one is gonna read it in its entirety...until I get my positive results! So at least it's here for now.

I have these *specific questions* about my course of action:

-will I get a delete from Dell/Webbank while in payment arrangements, or only after I PIF? With $1,752 outstanding,what deal should we agree to? That would be totally up to Dell/Webbank as to when or if they delete.
- advice on disputing vs GW letters on paid collections? My basis for dispute is they were paid a long time ago and I think CA wouldn't bother responding. What do you think? If the paid collections are accurately reporting there is no basis for a dispute.  Just disputing to see if they will be removed is generally not a good idea.
- should I dispute SL with Citibank based on facts I outlined in #8 above?
- how do my indicators, in the table above, look now as they pertain to getting a mortgage with 624 FICO from EQ who reports all my baddies. It really depends on the lender.  Most will require all collections and CO to be paid, or at least those in the last 2 years.

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[anniev2]

Thanks! Your advice is excellent.  

I think I'm misrepresenting my basis by disputing and will just go the GW route.  The information is accurate, per se, however I believe from my research that they would have removed it if they finished their processes.  So this way a GW will hopefully get the TL updated to positive or deleted if that's their normal procedure.

If it will take me at least 6months to pay off that charge off....would you recommend I apply for new credit ahead of my potential Jan 2014 mortgage app (only have 1 CC with $4K balance, opened Jun 2000).  I've heard in the mortgage board that most want multiple CC tradelines.  I have 4 auto loan TL:  2 PIF (1 ..one w/ perfect history the other paid due to accident and may be GW to positive or deleted), 2 current in good standing (some late payments but both with 2011 30 day lates)

And do you know if my CO is considered in my UTIL calculation? 

I'm going to pull my TU FICO because I'm interested in seeing the difference betwen EQ FICO and TU FICO since EQ has ALL of my lates and TU has all of my positives but none of my collections.  I think this insight will be useful.  Was just trying to save a buck or 2 by not doing it.  Or should I not bother since I just got TU FAKO (see siggy).