topic Re: 8 Collections need some guidance in Rebuilding Your Credit

8 Collections need some guidance

amclv0 — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 22:33:37 GMT

Currently, my wife and I are trying to buy a home within the next 6 - 12 months.

As of right now Feb 9, 2021

Fico 8 | EQ: 574 | TRANS: 600 | EX: 559

Accounts:
Merrick Bank | Balance $0/$200 | Current never missed payment

Self CC | $100/$500 | Current never missed payment

Self Builder Loan | $725

~~Citibank Secured Card~~ | Charge off/Paid in full | Still shows on my report but says closed

~~Discover Secured Card~~ | Charge off/Paid in full | Still shows on my report but says closed

Collections: from low to high

UPDATE (03/31/2021)

~~Comed | $623 | RevcoSolutions | Assigned: 08/19/2019~~ - Settled for $406

Comcast | $624 | I.C Systems | Assigned: 09/18/2020

Really looking for the best insight possible. If I took care of the payment for the collection and it's not a PFD does it still ruin my credit? Will my score go up or down? Most places I have called have not offered a PFD and will only update the past balance.

CURRENT SCORES (03/14/2021)
TU: 600
EQ: 559
EX: 524

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

gdale6 — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 21:29:29 GMT

You want to attack anything updating monthly first, try to get the PFD from the collectors getting one with the OC is pretty tough, once they stop updating after payoff they begin to age so that translates to a higher Fico score. Those remaining AUs are hitting you pretty hard too as they are considered maxed out.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

amclv0 — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 22:03:24 GMT

None of them are being updated monthly or at least that's what I see.

@gdale6 wrote:
You want to attack anything updating monthly first, try to get the PFD from the collectors getting one with the OC is pretty tough, once they stop updating after payoff they begin to age so that translates to a higher Fico score. Those remaining AUs are hitting you pretty hard too as they are considered maxed out.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

mycreditscoreisfair — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 22:12:55 GMT

I would remove yourself as an authorized user on the maxed out credit cards. Unless you plan to pay those down/off in the near future. But, either way you're probably going to have to get those balances down if your wife is going to be on the mortgage.

You'd probably be better off with a third credit card from OpenSky (secured, no credit hit) or somewhere like Capital One if you can get preapproved for the secured or platinum cards. Then you'll have a far lower utilization.

Is the Credit One card reporting as a charge-off? And if so, does it have a balance listed? It's in collections, but I don't see it under the cards listed. That could potentially affect your utilization as well.

Your biggest problem is that some, and perhaps most, traditional mortgage lenders won't approve a mortgage with unresolved collections. So, whether they're deleted or not after paid, you're probably going to have to resolve them.

With that said, it is much, much, much better to obtain a PFD. Paying a collection account that's not removed from your report will probably have little to no impact on your score. I know LVNV does PFDs and IC Systems did a PFD for me a while back. You may be able to get some more info from this thread:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Collection-agencies-that-do-PFD/m-p/5675391

Searching the forum for the collection agencies is also a good resource.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

gdale6 — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 22:49:14 GMT

@amclv0 wrote:
None of them are being updated monthly or at least that's what I see.
@gdale6 wrote:
You want to attack anything updating monthly first, try to get the PFD from the collectors getting one with the OC is pretty tough, once they stop updating after payoff they begin to age so that translates to a higher Fico score. Those remaining AUs are hitting you pretty hard too as they are considered maxed out.

In that case I would move from most recent collection to the older ones.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

amclv0 — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 23:01:04 GMT

Thanks for the info. I tried the ATT UVerse call and they didn't do pay for delete which sucks. But I'll try the rest of them thanks for the link.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

mycreditscoreisfair — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 23:08:28 GMT

@amclv0 wrote:
Thanks for the info. I tried the ATT UVerse call and they didn't do pay for delete which sucks. But I'll try the rest of them thanks for the link.

Are you calling the original creditor or the collection agency? It's unlikely an original creditor will deleted anything they have on your report, assuming it's accurate. Some collection agencies tend to be more willing to do PFDs. But PFDs are a bit of a grey area.

You can try to resolve the debts three ways:

One, contact the collection agency and offer to settle/pay the debt if it's delete from your credit reports.

Two, contact the original creditor and ask to pay the debt directly to them and have them recall the debt from the collection agency.

Three, pay the debts and try a goodwill campaign. It's unlikely these will accomplish removal but a slim chance is better than no chance, I guess.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

amclv0 — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 23:10:12 GMT

I have been trying through the collection agency.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

mycreditscoreisfair — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 23:14:33 GMT

@amclv0 wrote:
I have been trying through the collection agency.

Then it may be worth calling the original creditor and saying something along the lines of "hey, I noticed this account was listed on by credit report with _______ collection agency. Sorry, I wasn't aware that I owed this and would like to pay you to resolve the account. Can you recall the debt from _____ collection agency and accept my payment today?"

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

amclv0 — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 01:21:38 GMT

Is it better to wait to see if they recall from the debt collector and then pay or just pay the same day they recall?

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

mycreditscoreisfair — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 01:33:07 GMT

@amclv0 wrote:
Is it better to wait to see if they recall from the debt collector and then pay or just pay the same day they recall?

They might not recall it until you pay. I tend to trust debt collectors and creditors to do what they say. Although I do tend to record conversations when payment and arrangements are made just on the off chance something falls through or comes back around (I live in a one party state). That's yet to happen but it at least eases my nerves and gives me a fighting chance to dispute if something goes wrong.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

amclv0 — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 03:26:20 GMT

I'm not sure if I can record calls in Illinois, if I can I would do it just to be on the safe side.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

Ottley — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:42:08 GMT

Revco and ERC were relatively easy ones to settle, at least in my case. LVNV gets sue happy so be diligent in watching that collection. Not sure about the others. As far as points you'll see some sort of point increase when the collections are removed. Then you can start your goodwill campaign to tackle charge offs/late payments. Best of luck.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

amclv0 — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 07:06:47 GMT

LVNV was paid and taken off my collections report. Have an email for confirmation in the future.

Plan to take care of Revco and ERC this month.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 09:05:52 GMT

@amclv0 wrote:
Currently, my wife and I are trying to buy a home within the next 6 - 12 months.

As of right now Feb 9, 2021
Fico 8 | EQ: 574 | TRANS: 600 | EX: 559

Accounts:
Merrick Bank | Balance $36/$200 | Current never missed payment
Self CC | $40/$325 | Current never missed payment
Self Builder Loan | Just finished paying today | Current never missed payment
Citibank Secured Card | Charge off/Paid in full | Still shows on my report but says closed
Discover Secured Card | Charge off/Paid in full | Still shows on my report but says closed

Authorized cards from the wife. I think these are hurting me because of the credit utilization but there most there because of the age of the card. I removed myself from two of her cards already but these are still here.
UPDATE (03/14/2021) Removed myself from all her cards!
~~Nordstrom | $2084/$2200 | Never missed payment~~
~~Discover | $3279/$3500 | Never missed payment~~

Collections: from low to high
UPDATE (03/14/2021)
~~ATT UVERSE | $307 | Sequium Asset Solutions | Assigned: 10/12/2020~~ Still on Collections but CLOSED
~~Credit One CC | $543 | LVNV Funding Inc | Assigned: 05/15/2020~~ Removed from Collections
Comed | $623 | RevcoSolutions | Assigned: 08/19/2019
Comcast | $624 | I.C Systems | Assigned: 09/18/2020
SpeedyCash | $871 | Ad Astra Rec | Assigned: 04/04/2018
Sprint | $1245 | Enhanced Recovery Co L | Assigned: 03/12/2019
Bourbon Square Apartments | $3844 | Nation Credit Systems | Assigned: 07/12/2018
Equity Property Management | $6091 | Eqtyprmgmt | Assigned: 03/11/2019

Really looking for the best insight possible. If I took care of the payment for the collection and it's not a PFD does it still ruin my credit? Will my score go up or down? Most places I have called have not offered a PFD and will only update the past balance.

CURRENT SCORES (03/14/2021)
TU: 600
EQ: 559
EX: 524

AD Astra does PFD and IC Systems does PFD.

In my exoerience with having over a dozen CAs, paying or havung one here or tgere removed did little to nothing for my scores. Not to be a downer. I have seen little gains and I am down to 3 on each bureau from the 13+.

My SO also had many and had his very last one removed and saw a large score increase.

I believe until the last one is gone, scires will be supressed. When getting mortgage, regardless of if tgey help your scores or not, you will likely need to handle these CAs.

ERC generally does not PFD, but some have had success. I would search the forum for others experiences with the other CAs.

No one will offer PFD if it is not a matter of policy. You need to negotiate it. If you get nowhere with the frontline CSRs, don't settle there, you need to work your way uo the chain of command. Speak to a manager, director, etc.

You also need to look into your mortgage scores. Are those what you listed in your post?

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

amclv0 — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 09:33:34 GMT

I have been working my way home for the last two had to speak to a manager for lvnv but for att I actually just talked to them on the phone and paid for it directly. I heard this can take 30-60 days for it to be deleted.

the scores I posted are just Fico scores

my mortgage scores are 530-540 across the board.

Re: 8 Collections need some guidance

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 11:06:51 GMT

@amclv0 wrote:
I have been working my way home for the last two had to speak to a manager for lvnv but for att I actually just talked to them on the phone and paid for it directly. I heard this can take 30-60 days for it to be deleted.

the scores I posted are just Fico scores

my mortgage scores are 530-540 across the board.

If you did not deal with the CA directly and paid AT&T instead, they cannot force the CA to delete. Did they agree to recall the debt from the CA in exchange for payment? If not, the CA is only required to update to "paid".

I believe Sequium is a CA that did PFD, but I would have to look into it, but it is past that since you apready paid AT&T directly.