topic Re: newbie with a few questions in Rebuilding Your Credit

newbie with a few questions

Anonymous — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:09:10 GMT

Hello guys and gals. Ive been lurking these forums in hope of finding some resources on how to get my credit back up into the 700+ range. Im 26 and in great need of improving my score for my future.

I pulled my credit via annualcreditreport.com and I wasnt even sure what I was looking at. I couldnt find a # score all I had was a list of whats on my transunion report. As of now my credit is around 650 as i remember from the last time I tried to get a cc. I have 2 acoounts with bad payment histories but never went to collections. I only found this out when I pulled my credit this year and it was the first time I even knew all these accounts in my name existed, my mom apparently took these out and I wasnt even informed. The late payments were her fault as she is the one who took these accounts out and was paying for it. So up till a few months ago I took over all these accounts and I am paying for all of it.

So to start this all off I had bad credit knowledge before I came to this site and started reading. I have a cc with a limit of 5700 and was almost maxed out making a little more than min payments each month. So at the start of this year I was detemined to pay it off. From Jan 2013 til Apr 2013 it went from 5700 to 200.

I have a line of credit with 2 bad marks 30 days late. Balance is 3600 and this is an account I didnt know existed. I have taken over and hope to pay this off in a few months. My question is can I send GW letters even though I am still paying this account off?

Second, my mom has a cc under her name and me under it also. I have also taken over this account and didnt know this card even existed till recently. Balance is now 800 but this is the account that is driving me insane. From 01/2011 it goes 30 days 60 days 90 days 120 days 120, 120, 120, 120, 90 days then ok, ok, ok. So 9 bad marks, serious delinquencies. WHAT CAN I DO? All my other accounts have been paid off in full and in good standing. But I believe these 2 accounts are hurting me bad.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post but Im at a lost right now as to where to go from here.

Re: newbie with a few questions

Countingpennies — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:36:26 GMT

I'm sorry your mom trashed your credit. She no longer has the cards or access, I hope. Any chance she may open more in your name? You may have to put a freeze on your credit reports, but wait to hear from some others on this, I'm not that familiar with it.

I'm not an expert, I'm sure they'll be along soon with more help. However, technically, this is identity theft. To prove this, it requires a police report, and since this is your mom, I don't know what to advise.

As far as your reports go, did you get all 3 from annualcreditreport.com? If only one, get the other two. You need to check all of them. No, your scores are not included.

Re: newbie with a few questions

Anonymous — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:21:23 GMT

okay I think I only printed the transunion but viewed all of them. stupid move by me. cc is closed and she has no more access

Re: newbie with a few questions

Anonymous — Sun, 05 May 2013 23:44:21 GMT

anyone have any ideas on what I should start doing with the account with all the delinquencies??

Re: newbie with a few questions

qd — Mon, 06 May 2013 00:15:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
anyone have any ideas on what I should start doing with the account with all the delinquencies??

I know people here talk about sending GW letters to try and remove the lates from their report on their active credit cards...so that should be an option for you as well.

Re: newbie with a few questions

simi_go — Mon, 06 May 2013 00:23:36 GMT

First of all, I would definitely do the freeze. If she has done this in the past she still has the ability to do it in the future. Next you say that the card that has the latest is your mother's card but you are on it. Are you an AU? Is it joint? Is she the AU? If you are the AU then you can have yourself removed from the card then ask the issuer to delete the TL since you are not on it. If it's your card or joint then I would pay it then start sending good will letters.

Re: newbie with a few questions

DaBears — Mon, 06 May 2013 00:23:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
anyone have any ideas on what I should start doing with the account with all the delinquencies??

Hi hoe_nah and welcome to the formums. I would seriously think about getting a police report it doesn't matter how old the debt is. get a freeze put on your reports. The CRA's are required by law to remove the TL's that have identity theft on them and block them from eveyone else.

Re: newbie with a few questions

Anonymous — Fri, 10 May 2013 06:46:07 GMT

so I am the primary on the acct and my mom made herself the AU. going to pay off the remaining $830 this month and start sending gw letters. could I ask this bank for past statements? like what it was used for? the whole police report seems out of the question as of now, but I will look into doing the freeze you all reccomend.

Re: newbie with a few questions

Anonymous — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:30:21 GMT

In addition, whatever cc's your Mom opened without your knowledge, move to have her removed as AU. Immediately.

Re: newbie with a few questions

Lasardo — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:07:24 GMT

Welcome to the forums and congratulations on starting the journey to better credit !
I'm glad you made it here, this is will you get all the advise you need to get things rectified and we will get these things fixed through persistence.. That is key.
As suggested previously; I would start with your goodwill letters now, no need to wait until the cards are paid off.
Read through the bottom portion regarding goodwill letters which I have copied and pasted for you.
When writing these GW letters do not hesitate to advise your circumstances regarding your mother and what steps you have taken to rectify the situation. Additionally, explain that you realize you could have her charged with fraud but considering ITS YOUR MOTHER it is not an option (building understanding and sympathy with the reader). Don't worry she will not get in trouble with the bank, ( what you do with your credit is your business ) only if you file charges.
Ask for them to remove the negative marks, I think you should get some if not all removed especially since you are paying or have paid off. Keep sending these letters, find a vp/presidents name etc.(remember persistence?)
You still have some good accounts, see if you can get the credit lines raised, this will improve your scores.
Additionally, I would spend the 9.95 a month to have access to your scores (on this site) while going trough your credit repair.
I might get this bleeped out so shhh.. BUT if you ask Myfico.com they will discount your membership to the 9.95 a month .. you just have to ask! Kind of the theme for the night.. Huh?
Hope you receive some helpful advise, which I am sure you will, and get those scores back above 700!
Good luck

Re: newbie with a few questions

Lasardo — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:13:58 GMT

I found this under "Rebuilding your credit" forums at the top of the page with the forums listed below it, it will say "GW Q&A; GW example letters etc,

Sarah Administrator Emeritus
Sep 4
Compiled by llecs, myFICO moderator.

Many of us have made that mistake a time or two or more when we let things slide and we were late with a payment here and there. Or maybe there was a major financial event like a death in the family, divorce, disability, job loss, or others which resulted in lates, charge-offs, and collections. Based on the Fair Credit Reporting Act, these items can continue to haunt us for the next 7 years which can impact your interest rates, your credit terms, or even if you'd get approved for future or not. Thankfully there are creditors and collection agencies out there who will forgive our past and help us move on by deleting these items early off our credit reports. How do we ask for that forgiveness? We use a Goodwill (GW) letter.

Q&A:

What are GW letters?
A Goodwill letter is communication from you to an Original Creditor (OC) or Collection Agency (CA) asking for goodwill or help in removing specific reporting of a tradeline like lates, status, comments, or even removing the reported tradeline entirely.

Who are GW letters for?
GW letters are only for OCs or CAs. GW letters do not go to public records (PRs) like liens, bankruptcy listings, or judgments. GWs also are not mailed to the Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs). Also, GW letters are only for paid items on your credit report. If you have any unpaid items you would like off, then an alternative is to send a Pay-For-Delete letter (PFD) instead. Be sure to read What Steps Do I Take.

Why should I send a GW?
If a GW is accepted, then your credit report could look better for it. This can result in higher scores in many cases which would improve how your existing creditors view you now and improve your odds of credit approval in the future.

What's in a GW letter?
All GW letters should be customized and tailored to your own situation, though there are several examples below to give you an idea. The best GW letters out there are short and to the point within a page or less. They'll usually include a mention of your name, address, contact info, and your account number for easy lookup on their end. It'll sincerely mention your business relationship, what happened to cause the baddie, what steps you took to correct it, and what you steps you took to make sure it never happens again. Finally, it'll wrap up with your specific request like request to remove a late or lates, remove the account, and so on.

How should I send a GW letter and whom shall I address it to?
You can send it via mail, fax, a phone call, e-mail, communication through their website, or you can send it through a 3rd-party. If you mail it, mail it via a stamp and don't send it certified or CMRRR. Doing so could appear confrontational. You can also use a third-party via sites like planetfeedback.com. There are several success stories out there where sites like that resulted in GW success. Also in sending GWs, be very cordial and friendly. They are doing you a huge favor.

One good starting point is to address your letters "Dear Sir or Madam" and to use the address as listed on your credit reports. Most of the success stories in here never involved a specific person or department. If after time passes and success is limited, then certainly ask a higher up within the organization, but don't bombard that person or department with multiple requests. You want to ask for help and not annoy them.

What are the odds of success?
Can't remember who said it, but you'll miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Same applies with GW letters. Sending no letters will result in no results. It is a numbers game too. You and I can have the same baddie on our report, send identical letters on the same day and have opposite results. But never ever give up. It's not that common to see success with your first try.

What response, if any, should I see?
Most of the time, you won't get any response from the OC or CA. The response will be the correction yourself so be sure to pull your credit reports regularly or use a Credit Monitoring Service (CMS) to see if there's any success before giving it another go. On some occasions, they will contact you and will let you know what action they'll take. If denied for your GW request, they'll usually flat out tell you "no" that they won't remove it. In some examples in here, the creditor might say something like "it is illegal to remove accurate items from your credit report." Ignore it. It is illegal to report inaccurately, but not to remove items early.

Is there any risk to sending GW letters?
You should be aware of some risks to sending GW letters. A vast majority of the time, there are no issues, but you should know these just in case. First, there are a few examples in here of a GW resulting in the cross-reporting of a baddie. Maybe the baddie was only reporting on Equifax, but after the GW is received, they could report to TransUnion or Experian if they wanted to. Second, a GW sometimes leads to a dispute comment on your credit report. A dispute comment can impact how FICO reads that tradeline, like ignoring the balance and CL on a current account which would mess up utilization. Also, some lenders have been known to deny a mortgage if a dispute is reporting. Third, a GW in rare cases can result in additional baddies or lates being added. Maybe the OC was underreporting the baddies and a GW updated those. Fourth, in a few isolated cases, the GW resulted in the OC closing the tradeline entirely. Finally, there are quite a few cases in here of a GW resulting in in the entire tradeline being deleted when you didn't want it deleted. This can impact your score if it was an older account or helped your AAoA. Use due diligence in weighing risk.

Any last minute tips?
Be patient! Never give up!

Great threads on Goodwilling:

GW Example Letters
GW this....support group!
Goodwill Primer
Induction's guide to finding important company contacts

User-submitted GW examples:

A GW resulted in....

Chase deleted 3 TLs (1 settled and 2 had 90s)
JCPenney deleted a 30 day
Countrywide removed three 30 day lates
Amex removed a paid CO
Citi/Citgo and Citi/Shell removed two 30-days each
Aspire CC deleted the TL
Citi/Sears deleted 2 lates
Americredit deleted 30 day lates
HSBC removes a 30-day after a GW e-mail
Citi removed lates after a successful GW
RJM Acquisitions deletes after a GW ...scroll down a couple more posts to see the success.
Two medical CAs removed after a GW
Santander removes several lates
AFNI deletes after receiving a GW
BofA removes a 30 day late
Capital One removes a CO thanks to a GW

Be sure to see the next post for more GW success!

Other user-submitted GWs...success, if any, wasn't mentioned:

GW for First Nationwide CA after payment
GW for an unnamed CC for late removals.
Example GW letter for a paid medical CA.
GW to Primus Financial
GW to CMI Group
Request for removal of lates reported by Chase.
Sarah Administrator Emeritus
Sep 4
Continued:

These are just a few of hundreds of GW success stories out there. There are too many to post, but here's a select few success stories. Notice that many of these posters requested just a late or two to be removed and were successful. Some asked for 30 to 120-day lates to be removed and were successful. Some asked that the CO-reference be removed and were successful. Some asked for the entire tradeline to be deleted and were successful. The GW success stories covered credit cards, installment loans, mortgages, student loans, and collection agencies. Some of these were seemingly impossible for creditors like Bank of America, Chase, AmeriCredit, Target, Capital One, First Premier, and CAs like Arrow Financial, AFNI, NCO, and many more.

Below are some GW success mentions found within these forums:

Called-in GW resulted in success with lates being removed for American Honda Finance, Chevron, and GEMB/Dilliards.
Persistent GWs letters resulted in lates being removed from Macys and Bloomingdales.
GWs resulted in 30-days lates being removed from Citi/Shell.
Capital One removed a 30-day late due to a GW.
GEMB/Dilliards success
Citimortgage removed a 30-day late
GW success with Everhome Mortgage and Chrysler Financial
GW win for Citi/Children's Place - 2 lates, GEMB/WalMart - 2 lates, Orchard removed lates, Macys - 2 lates, & Citi/Shell zapped a CO.
Credit One removed a 30 day late.
Three paid CAs removed with help from GWs.
CapOne success all around. They removed a 120-day late, a 90-day late, and updated a 30-day TL between 2 posters via phone.
Success with Direct Loans and CapOne. SL removed 6 lates up to 120 days and CapOne removed two 30s.
GAP deleted a TL.
Target deletes 4 lates.
AmeriCredit and HSBC partial success with a GW. Americredit deleted 2 lates off EQ and HSBC deleted a late off TU.
Big time success with GAP, Discover, and FIA CSNA.
Partial success with Citi/Sears
GW success with GEMB/Lowes
First National Bank of Omaha deleted due to a GW
More Discover GW Success
Phoned GW success for an unnamed GEMB store account.
Bank of America removed a 30-day late thanks to a GW.
E-mailed GW to Macys results in a 30-day late being deleted AND a refund of the late fee.
ACS Student Loans deletes several lates, including a 120-day.
RJM Acquisitions deletes after receiving a GW.
Chase GW success after using Planetfeedback.
GW win against Midland Credit Corporation (MizzB)
Wells Fargo Financial (WFF) deletes a 30-day after a GW.
Asset Acceptance and CMI both accepted GWs.
Portfolio Recovery Associates agreed to delete after a GW.
Wachovia deletes after a GW.
Diversified Adjustment Services deleted after a GW.
Arrow Financial deleted thanks to a GW.
Another Portfolio Recovery Associates GW success
NelNet SL agreed to delete after a GW.
Capital One CO deleted with the help of a Goodwill Letter.
Two HSBC charge-offs removed
AFNI deletes after a GW
Bank of America CO deleted
GW e-mail success for MOHELA (Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority)
GW deletion with ER Solutions, R&R Recovery, AFNI, and Arrow Financial.
NCO deleteion after a GW
Lexus Financial removes a 30 day late.
First Premier lates removed after a GW.
GW success for CACH, LLC (aka Square Two Financial).
Credit Control Corporation deletes after a GW.
Verizon Wireless paid CO deleted .
GW success for GEMB/Paypal
Santander removed lates after a GW.
United Collection Bureau deleted after a GW.
Collection Company of America GW success
Palisaides Collections disappears after a GW
GW deletion for IC Systems
Another Verizon Wireless GW success using Planetfeedback.
Kohls GW success via e-mail
PG&E utility GW success
Wells Fargo CC goodwill success in removing a 30-day late.
Citi removed a 30 & 60 day late

..........and hundreds of others!

Never ever give up.

Re: newbie with a few questions

Anonymous — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:21:53 GMT

thank you for all the helpful advise. I should have the cc paid off by the 21st of this month but I will get on those gw letters asap