Where to start..

[Anonymous]

I've recently become intrigued as to what my credit score was and I can't say I'm impressed. I'm currently 21 with a rather, poor, credit score. 590. 

How this happened? I've got one unpaid bill that went into collections (I thought it was paid off) as of 03/2012 and I've got quite a few "hard inquiries" from when I was 19 and tried applying for every credit card I could imagine, without knowing the consequences that would soon follow. 

I'm looking to completely STOP it from going down, fix what I've done, and begin the process of raising my score correctly. 

How could this be done? 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.

The new collection is a score-dinger. Ignore the inquiries. FICO is no longer scoring them. If you app'd when 19 and you're 21 now, then knw that they are falling off now/soon. FICO also ignores inquiries after they turn 12 months old.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the quick response.

I'm reading those articles now, and, if they expire after 2 years..As of March 2013, I should only have 2 inquiries going based off of what I've currently got. Although I haven't received my FICO score yet, I'm going based off of Experian.

How would you suggest taking care of the collection?

[llecs]

If a CA is reporting it, then send a DV. If they verify and you agree, then send a PFD. If they agree in writing, then pay it and they'll delete.

If the OC is the one reporting the balance, then send a PFD to the OC.

[Anonymous]

Sounds easy enough. 

After I've done that, will it boost my credit score? Would it be worth applying for a Secure Credit Card through a local Credit Union that reports to all 3? 

[llecs]

If you had a FICO, and could measure the before and after, then I'd hazard a guess of a very significant increase provided you have a clean report outside this. I had a CA add themselves on a clean report and my FICO dropped 104. New baddies can be painful.

Do you have any open CCs now? If not, it probably won't hurt anything to add one. If you had one or more already, then I'd suggest holding off pending action on the new baddie. Once you have an established CC reporting, and baddie free, then future apps would be easily be unsecured and you'd qualify for higher limits, if that's the goal.

[Anonymous]

Yes, my report is 100% clean outside of the one CA. I don't currently own any CC's nor have I had any in the past, including loans etc etc. 

I'm not really looking to add an unsecured yet, I'd just like to get my score from where it is as of right now, to the point of where it's going up and clean of any baddies.