Tips to take care of collections

[Anonymous]

I am new to this so I hope I am doing it right.  I hope this is where I can get free advice.  I have been working on improving my credit for the last 2 years and have almost gotten into the okay range.  Right now I am about at 610.  I think the main things that hurt me are 7 accounts that I currently have in collections.  I see people post something about a pdf to send to collection companies to make a settlement offer.  How do I get this?  Also I have one negative account with capital one that I dont know the best way to take care of.  On my report it says

Account Name	CAP ONE
Account #
Account Type	Credit Card
Balance	$3,224.00
Date Opened	5/1/2002
Account Status Closed         Mo. Payment           Past Due $3,224.00         Payment Status Charge-off         High Balance $3,224.00         Limit           Terms Revolving         Comments Credit line closed-grantor request-reported by subscriber

It doesn't give me a current collections agency so I don't know how to try and make a settlement offer or if I even can.  Also I have 3 or 4 accounts in medical collections.  Is there a way to offer a settlement to pay them off.  If anyone can help me I would appreciate it.  I have been working a lot of overtime trying to pay stuff off and raise my credit and I want to make the best and most informed decision before paying off a bunch of stuff that might not help me out much.  Thank you.

[llecs]

Welcome to the forums!

I'd suggest reading the following:

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

and Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.

For CapOne, send a PFD. If they agree in writing, then pay them and they'll delete. You could offer a settlement amount in the PFD. CapOne is very tough to deal with. They love to sue unfortunately so be on guard and they'll continue to own the debt up to the end of the SOL period. If after 2-3 tries they say "no", I personally would PIF and be done with it. It may or may not be impacting your utilization right now. I don't see a CL listed. But if it is and you pay it off, then you coulds see a significant score gain.

For the medical CAs, send a DV. If they verify and you agree, then send a PFD. The only way to improve your scores with a CA is to get it removed. A $0 balance CA is equally damaging as one with a balance.

ETA.......just noticed that your CapOne is 9 yrs old. If your AAoA is less than 9 years old and/or this is your oldest acct overall or your oldest CC, then I would not send a PFD. I'd PIF and GW later to ask them to remove any lates or CO reference.