What in the WORLD can be done??

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums I think they are an awesome resource and I wish I would've known about them a long time ago. Anyway...

I have a credit score of 444, please don't laugh, but if you do I understand:-(according to Equifax), I have charge offs (paid and unpaid), I've been garnished before,  and have student loan issues on my credit report. Most of my debt was aquired as an (STUPID!) undergrad. During those times, to name a few,  I've had a BoA, Amex, and Chase, each card had a $2000 limit...before I F'ed it up:-(

I am going to apply for the Wells Fargo Secured Visa - do you think I'll even get a secured credit card? Honestly, am I better off just filing for bankruptcy, I have a little over 30 negative items on my credit report. I sincerely want to turn my credit around and eventually start a business someday, but you need good credit for all of that.

Lesson learned though... the hard way....the Real Hard Way:-(

[Anonymous]

Hey, I am in the same boat with you! I am sitting at 451.

First of all, do not be discouraged. 

Second, write it all up.  What I did was I wrote out every account I had listed as negative with the remaining balance. Look at what I did http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Bouncing-back-from-450-Journal/td-p/3709359

Check the exact amounts, when do they come off from your CR and if are you able to pay them at all? If so, try to call the company and see if you can negotiatie a PFD, or dispute the validity of the dept if it is old, as with so many accounts, there might be something wrong in there. A GW letter might help too. 

Next, your student loans, bad thing about them is, they will not go away in a bankruptcy. They are exempt from them. So you might want to decide if at that point bankruptcy is a good option. Are they Federal? Enter the rehabilitation program, they charge 15% of your disposable income, if it is low you can qualify as low as $5 per month. Then they are removed from default and go back to the original lender. They say it happens after 9 months, but after the new laws, it can be as soon as 5 months. 

Keep reading the forums and have a lot of patiences. Most important of all DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED! 

[cartwrna]

Just heads up the student loan Rehabilitation takes 11 on time monthly payments, then it is put with a NEW lender, not your old one. They remove all negative info and it will show as a positive loan since when you first took it out. I just did this with mine last year. I ended up getting assigned Sallie Mae, now Navient.

[cartwrna]

I'm not sure where you got 5 months from Smithys78

[Anonymous]

Oops sorry. Garnishment can be suspended after 5 months at your request. Sorry typing was faster than my brain. 

http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/new-rules-loan-rehabilitation/

[Anonymous]

Hi there! I'm new to the boards, too, but have been working on recovering my credit and my wife's credit for about 6 months. Check the Student Loads board for great info and success stories about the loans. I'm 6 months in to rehabbing mine. And from what I've read they will be the biggest asset on my credit report after allo is said and done. I would work for those first. And secured credit is a good quick boost, but if you're like me, it will only be a small boost.

Good luck and don't give up!!!

[msbia]

Hi Murphy, I don't think anyone will laugh because many of us have been/are currently in your shoes. Others have given great advice about your student loans, but I wondered if you had your true FICO score from this site? If so, start with requesting all three credit reports from annualcreditreport dot com, and go over them writing out a list of who you owe. Then search the forums for information on Pay for Deletes, Good will letters and medical collections, if applicable. Pay for delete has been most helpful for me.

Finally, if Wells Fargo will offer you a secured card, go for it. Otherwise I would suggest State Department FCU, they offer a secured card with no hard pull on your credit (it does not graduate).  You might also want to start out with a Fingerhut account just to have a mix of credit, soon as you start growing you can close it. Just as a data point, last February my daughter had a 430 credit score; she started with a secured USAA card, like me, with $200 on it. She has used it faithfully while paying down her debt. Early last month she was approved for a Amex EveryDay, with a 644 score. So it can be done! As far as burning those lenders, I'm not sure about getting back in with them, I think Amex is more forgiving than Chase as long as there is no bk with them. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I forgot to say that I had a garnishment on my paycheck for my defaulted student loans as well. I was having $400/month taken directly from my pay and my current rehab payment is $348/month. It hurt to have to pay both, but after 5 months I did have the garnishment removed. That was a big relief as now I will also receive my tax refund as well. Again, good luck!

[Anonymous]

No one on this board will laugh at you.  Many of us have been in the same boat.  This is the nicest, most supportive group you'll ever meet.  

It is true, student loans are not discharged in bankruptvy, and there is no statute of limitations on them.    I defaulted on my student loans, i made 9 on time payments to a collection agency and then my loans were considered "rehabbed"  I then disputed all of the late charges with the credit bureaus, and they were removed.   It does work, and honestly, the Dept of Ed will work with you.  They're actually the most reasonable and i cannot believe I'm saying that.   Hope this helps.  Good luck.  Pls reach out with any questions.   

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums I think they are an awesome resource and I wish I would've known about them a long time ago. Anyway...

I have a credit score of 444, please don't laugh, but if you do I understand:-(according to Equifax), I have charge offs (paid and unpaid), I've been garnished before,  and have student loan issues on my credit report. Most of my debt was aquired as an (STUPID!) undergrad. During those times, to name a few,  I've had a BoA, Amex, and Chase, each card had a $2000 limit...before I F'ed it up:-(

I am going to apply for the Wells Fargo Secured Visa - do you think I'll even get a secured credit card? Honestly, am I better off just filing for bankruptcy, I have a little over 30 negative items on my credit report. I sincerely want to turn my credit around and eventually start a business someday, but you need good credit for all of that.

Lesson learned though... the hard way....the Real Hard Way:-(

---

Everyone here knows that very low scores are no laughing matter. In August mine were 490-500. I'm in the 550-ish range now and trying to work my way up. We all know that nobody 'wants' to have bad credit. Nobody 'wants' to appear to be a deadbeat that doesn't pay their bills. Everyone with a bad score (possibly aside from criminal ID thieves) got that way because life happened to them. Accident, sickness, job loss happened. We all try to cope and keep up but at some point we get overwhelmed by it all. There is no shame in that and anyone that would laugh at that would probably find themselves quickly banned from this site.

Your first step is going to be to establish at least 2 positive credit lines. These will require you to put up some money up front to get secured cards, but thats really not very difficult to do, even if you have nothing saved up. These lines are going to be your 'anchors' by which you will pull your scores upwards during the cleanup portion of the rebuild process. If you wait until after cleaning to establish credit lines you end up with a 'thin file' and it drags the process out that much longer.