newbie here.....where to start?

[topcop12]

Hello all.  I knew my credit was bad as I had run into some financial troubles.  I pulled my credit reports and my EQ is 516 and TU is 560.  I don't have many negatives but the ones ihave are biggies.

I have two capital one cards.  Once since 1997 and it only has one 30 day late.  I just sent a letter asking them to forgive that one payment.  On my other capital one card that i have had since 2004 there were two 30 day lates and again I sent a letter on that card asking for them to forgive those two.  I am not sure how accepting capital one is to that but the accounts are still open and there have been no late pays other than what I mentioned.

I have a kay jewlers account that went 90 days past due in 2008 but then i paid it off.  The status shows paid as agreed but still is negative

I also have a car loan and mortagage thru Wells Fargo.  They were both ran 30-60 days behind for several months last year before I got them caught up.  (Last year was bad financially for me).

Then there are the medical bills.  The hospital I go to uses their in house collections agency for a while and then sells the debt off.  Is there any way to get medical bills removed as negatives or is this a myth i've always heard about.

It just seems so much I'm not sure where to start.  I just started reading up on all this. I have heard of companies like Lexington Law and Sky Blue that claim to have success getting things removed but I dont want to get scammed so have been avoiding them.

My initial goal is to get to 600 - 650 - 700.  My schedule is super hectic so i am looking for any and all input that may be of help.

thanks again for any input.  Oh if it matters I live in Ohio.

[apriestl]

I totally understand how crappy it is to discover a credit score in the 500s.  I'm there too.  My situation is a little different, but I can say I haven't had luck with Cap1 and GW letters.  Some people do, but I think it has more to do with the type of card you have with them.  If it is a rebuilder card or secured, less likely than one of the cards they offer consumers with good credit. 

Don't pay Lexington Law or Blue Sky.  They do letters for you, but you still get all the mail and need to push things back to them.  It seems redundant.  You can get the templates online for free, send them yourself for cheaper.  Always send CMRR.  Then they have thirty days from receipt to investigate and get back to you.  If you have collections send validation letters to them before you dispute with the CRAs.  Then if the CA doesn't have proof, you have cornered them and they can't verify with the CRA.  It will then get deleted.  I deleted roughly eight charge-offs and CA account entries this way.

I have found that Equifax is the most compliant with investigations.  Transunion is ok, but you usually hear nothing until the very end of the thirty day window.  Experian has been horrible (responding late, refusing to investigate, and parroting information). 

I hope something I said helps.  I'm new to the forums, but I have been in active credit repair for 6 months or so.  It is an uphill battle, but don't give up!

[topcop12]

thanks for the info.....keep it coming.  also would it help to obtain a secured card?  I have the two cap 1 cards in good standing and want to keep them due to the length of credit but should I get another secured card, as i will not get an unsecured card at this point.

[Melanie220]

The late payments are hurting your score but the effect dies down after 2+ years. I would continue to send gw letters to very company that is reporting late payments. The motto here is you can get 100 NO's but all it takes is one YES. As far as the medical collection goes I would ask the CA if they PFD pay for delete. If so set up payment arrangements if possible and pay them off. I did this with the $1200 I owed I paid $100 every two weeks until I paid them off then the ca removed them from my credit report. If the CA is unwilling to pay for delete you may be able to ask the OC original creditor to recall the debt and see if you can pay them directly. If they can't recall the debt and the CA doesn't PFD you should still pay the accts and send gw letters out. While your score may not improve from paying the accts if they aren't removed it looks better under a manual review. What are the DOFD on the medical collection accts??