Starting over at 30

[AKO17]

Hi all - new here. 

I've been working to repair my horrendous credit history I built as a teenager, and would like to accelerate this effort as much as possible. I hit a bump in the road last year when my boyfriend suddenly passed away and I lost my job. Now gainfully employed once again, I'm working very hard on this effort. I monitor my reports for activity via LifeLock (hasnt updated since April.. Kind of strange) and CreditKarma and pull my actual scores at least yearly.

Here is my current situation:

4 old debt accounts scheduled to drop no later than February 2016 (almost there!):

Green Mountain Energy $395 

Time Warner $282

Lincoln Properties $12214 (original debt was $700. This company is the devil)

Cash Store Loan $752

Here are the things that are currently making me ill:

Nordstrom debit account that I had somehow missed in the midst of my grief, went to collections/credit report: $582, paid in full now. Nordstrom/Sentry tells me this will drop off my report in 90 days. I'm not sure how, but either way its paid. 

Nordstrom credit card, current, but closed by grantor last year: $640, paying off this Friday. They tell me I can reopen a card in the future, just not this one. 

3 late pays on my unsecured capital one card last year, otherwise pays as agrees, CL: $750, Balance: $0, opened March 2013

Good things: 

Secured capital one card, opened Feb 2015, pays as agrees, CL $200, balance $0 - I can increase the CL/deposit here if it will help. 

Capital One unsecured card (I am an AU), CL $6500, open since 1995, never late, pays as agrees, balance $0 and some CRA still report currently, some havent reported since 2005.

4 year old installment loan, oringal bal $30,000, pays as agrees, never late and will pay off Jan 2016.

Other:

I have other cards that I opened in the early 2000s and never used. They were closed due to inactivity. Target (opened 11 years ago) and Old Navy (opened 13 years ago). Should these still be on my report?

My last credit inquiry was December 2014. 

Any thoughts on where to go from here? I know my score may improve once the baddies are removed early next year, but I don't have much credit otherwise. Appreciate any input. This seems like a wonderful group so far!

[Anonymous]

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@AKO17 wrote:

Hi all - new here. 

I've been working to repair my horrendous credit history I built as a teenager, and would like to accelerate this effort as much as possible. I hit a bump in the road last year when my boyfriend suddenly passed away and I lost my job. Now gainfully employed once again, I'm working very hard on this effort. I monitor my reports for activity via LifeLock (hasnt updated since April.. Kind of strange) and CreditKarma and pull my actual scores at least yearly. I am very sorry for your loss

Here is my current situation:

4 old debt accounts scheduled to drop no later than February 2016 (almost there!):

Green Mountain Energy $395 

Time Warner $282

Lincoln Properties $12214 (original debt was $700. This company is the devil)

Cash Store Loan $752

^^^ If you need any of these removed sooner than later you can try "pay for delete" (PFD) offers. If you can wait, do some reading about "early exclusion". As far as the Lincoln Properties, is this even legal in your state? I would review your state laws or run that by an attorney.

Here are the things that are currently making me ill:

Nordstrom debit account that I had somehow missed in the midst of my grief, went to collections/credit report: $582, paid in full now. Nordstrom/Sentry tells me this will drop off my report in 90 days. I'm not sure how, but either way its paid. Great news!! Hopefully they remove it quickly.

Nordstrom credit card, current, but closed by grantor last year: $640, paying off this Friday. They tell me I can reopen a card in the future, just not this one. 

3 late pays on my unsecured capital one card last year, otherwise pays as agrees, CL: $750, Balance: $0, opened March 2013 Keep making your payments on time and when next year rolls around send them a "goodwill letter" with a heartfelt apology and explanation and ask for removal. They are usually unwilling to remove charge offs but are known to remove lates on occasion.

Good things: 

Secured capital one card, opened Feb 2015, pays as agrees, CL $200, balance $0 - I can increase the CL/deposit here if it will help. No more deposit on this one, instead get another card even if it is secured and make sure it reports to all three credit bureaus. Also be sure to have one report a small balance, because fico will punish you for not using revolving credit.

Capital One unsecured card (I am an AU), CL $6500, open since 1995, never late, pays as agrees, balance $0 and some CRA still report currently, some havent reported since 2005.

4 year old installment loan, oringal bal $30,000, pays as agrees, never late and will pay off Jan 2016. If you will not save a large sum in interest, do not pay this off early, run it out to the end, because when you close it, it will likely reduce your score.

Other:

I have other cards that I opened in the early 2000s and never used. They were closed due to inactivity. Target (opened 11 years ago) and Old Navy (opened 13 years ago). Should these still be on my report? If they are still on your report and they are positive accounts, under NO circumstance try to remove them. They are helping your score.

My last credit inquiry was December 2014. 

Any thoughts on where to go from here? I know my score may improve once the baddies are removed early next year, but I don't have much credit otherwise. Appreciate any input. This seems like a wonderful group so far! You currently have an installment loan so you are covered there. Being that you only have 1 card in your name right now, you may want to get 2 more cards. Just make sure they report to all three bureaus.

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[AKO17]

Thank you so much for your response. Luckily, I really have no need for the for bad debt accounts to drop off before early next year. I'd like to buy a home in about 1.5-2 years, and I'm hoping that will be enough time for my scores to improve. I may try an EE, but I wont do a PFD since theyre so old and I dont want to wake a sleeping giant. As for Lincoln Properties, I tried to pay them what I actually owed (a month of rent) and they refused, so I never touched it again and its so old now it will drop in February. I'm in Texas. I should read up on our laws here for good measure. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Best of luck to you...

In my wallet: Capital One (secured) 1917; Quicksilver 5000; Venture 15,000; Barclay Apple Rewards 2000; CareCredit 3300; Bank of America Platinum Visa 2000; Bank of America Travel Rewards 3500; Bank of America Travel Rewards 3500; Amazon Store Card 5000; Discover 10,000. Total Credit: 51,217.
6/13-FICO: EQ - 764; TU - 717; EX - 681; GOAL: 780 across the board. Gardening until further notice.

[Anonymous]

Lincoln Properties $12214 (original debt was $700

I really see no way that this can be legal. I would consult with an attorney about it. Many consumer law attorneys work on contingency. Companies that conduct business like this are way out of control and need to be stopped. I would be on the phone tomorrow searching for consumer attorneys that practice in Texas and work on contingency and sue this outfit. Print off a copy of your reports to have for evidence. The attorney general in your state should be notified of this as well, I am sure that the attorney general will have something to say about this. See what a lawyer says first, since this company enjoys to bully people, you should bully them back and make them pay some penalties.

This is absolutely terrible, take a stand against this and you may save many people from future harassment from these people. This is completely unreasonable.

[Anonymous]

How in the hell did that $700.00 debt go to $12,214.00 ???? That's ABSOLUTELY LUDICROUS !!!!! How long did it take to get to that amount from $700.00 ??? Did you accidentally add an extra number by mistake and it should read $1214.00 or something ????

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
How in the hell did that $700.00 debt go to $12,214.00 ???? That's ABSOLUTELY LUDICROUS !!!!! How long did it take to get to that amount from $700.00 ??? Did you accidentally add an extra number by mistake and it should read $1214.00 or something ????

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Since its from a rental, my geuss would be that they keep tacking on a "late fee" of ~$100 each month as well as statutory interest. I would definitely investigate the legality of it. Its past SOL in Texas, so there is no worry about being sued for it.

[Anonymous]

AK, In my opinion, whats hurting your scores the most is probably those recent late pays. Are they all 30 day lates?

[AKO17]

They lates are 30-60 days, which really, really hurts. The most recent was November 2014. I'm hoping that with a GW letter maybe next year and some kind of proof that I was unemployed at the time, they may be nice and remove, but highly unlikely. For now my plan is to continue to pay everything early!

As for the rental, what a nightmare that was. It is both the property and collection company who continued to tack on added fees. I moved one month early from my apartment in 2009, and agreed to pay the last month of rent, turned in my keys, cleaned the place, proper move-out. The property manager was a true you-know-what. I couldnt pay the last month of rent until slightly after the agreed 30 days (I was young and barely making ends meet). At that point, she tacked on an extra $6000 (yes, six thousand) and it grew in collections from there. I am currently in a brand new, $2k/mo high rise in downtown Dallas, with downtown views and every stinking amenity I could ever imagine, and if I wanted to break my lease now it would be significantly less than $6k!! But, according to Lincoln Properties at the time, all of the fees were legal for them to add. Its really a joke because my unit was leased out within 2 weeks of me leaving. I tried everything, as did my father who is generally very good at negotioating with these people and they wouldnt budge. So, I left it alone. At this point, I suppose I could have an attorney review the account, but what good would that do now? It would probably take them just as long to have it removed as it would if I just let it disappear in Feb, no?

[AKO17]

Wish I added an extra digit there, but nope. twelve. thousand. dollars.