topic Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first? in Rebuilding Your Credit

Which CR should I work on fixing first?

JShidell — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:32:30 GMT

As many people know not all 3 of your credit reports are the same, unless you are one of the lucky ones. For most its like reading a confusing book and having re-read to understand it.

All 3 of my credit reports are completely different, which is very frustrating. Some are reporting, some are not, some are reporting as collection accounts some are not. Its a mess.

I currently have 8 accounts left to settle and close that are reported differently on all 3 credit reports.

My question is which credit report should I work with first. Or should I say accounts?

Out of these 8 accounts I have only 2 accounts that show the same on all 3 credit reports.

The remaining 6 accounts only have 1 or 2 of the credit reports reporting.

I have 2 or 3 of these accounts showing as Collections on 1 credit report but are not showing as collections on the others, they are showing either as open or revolving accounts but in the status its showing collection/charge-off. So i'm a little confused. Well thats an understatement, i've really confused.

Should I not worry about how the Credit Bureaus are reporting and just take care of known accounts regardless on who is reporting or not? I considered that to probably be the best solution. Knowing that I have these 8 accounts to settle I should just settled regardless of where its reported on my reports.

What are your thoughts?

v/r

James

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

BungalowMo — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:41:59 GMT

'morning James...or should I say good afternoon? :-)

Definately look at it as accounts to work on...not reports. Although, if one acct is reporting one way on one report & differently on another, you can possibly address this with the acct reporting, but tread lightly. If one is looking better than another, they can possibly change the not-so-bad one to reflect like the others.

I'd just continue with the GW's, PFD's & calls & whatnot & hope all reflect in a positive light eventually.

Just an FYI...not all accts report to all 3. Everyone's reports are that way. Rarely do you have the same accts showing on all 3.

Mo~

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

llecs — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:40:16 GMT

It is a matter of organization. I'm visual. What helped for me was to draw up a spreadsheet. I made two distinct blocks: good and bad. In the good section, I had 4 columns: creditor, EX, TU, EQ. So, I'd write the name of the creditor in a new row and place an "OK" in the box corresponding to the CRA and highlight all of that green. If the account wasn't on a CRA, it would place an "XXXXXXXXX" in lieu of the "OK", but would still keep it green. I would also place the accounts in order by age with the oldest on top.

The second set was for the bad stuff. Same setup. But I would place the baddies in order by whether or not they were reporting to all three. If so, they were at the top of my list and I would place those in order by CAs first (most damage). I would include all late (at one point) accounts in there, all COs, CAs, etc. Again, "XXXXXXXX" if not present on the CR or "OK" if reporting ok in a sea of baddies and highlight those green but highlight all the negative info yellow.

Finally, I would put the bad section in a new spreadsheet. I'd use the same order, columns and rows but remove the highlighting. I would expand it out and type in each square what I plan to do with those baddies. This way, I always had a plan of action all the time. Below the chart, I would write out each baddie and place a date in one cell and next to that write out what happened to that account on that day. This way, I track every single CMRRR, every letter, every response, every address, every DW, DV, PFD, etc.

Overkill? Maybe, but it works for me. Not to mention I have a separate spreadsheets for FICO score tracking (since day 1 and includes an avg. and goals), applied for credit (every CC appd for and CLI, which CRA, score, date, and denial reasons), TC info (found on TC's summary box), CCT info (same), Account balances (balance, CL, utilization, due date, report date), Calls (track every unknown call that comes into the house phone), and finally a debt page (tracks every single debt we ever incurred since 1996 with balances, pmt info, CA letter, CA info, etc....).

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

JShidell — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:08:22 GMT

llecs,

I pretty much have the same thing, except I have all mine within one spreadsheet. I list all accounts on my credit report seperated by what type of accounts they are: CC, Hospital, Loans, etc

I then have about 12 different columns

I have check marks in the June, July, and August columns to show me which accounts I plan on paying off that month, and my comments show when I paid off acounts, when I sent off letters, faxed letters, etc basically the history of my activity with that certain account.

I total across and the bottom for when I pay on accounts so I can keep track how much I owe and how much i've paid.

My spreadsheet works great. That is why I was kind of asking which credit report I would work on fixing first because in my |Who's Reporting| column I list the credit bureaus who are reporthing the debt.

Thank you for your information.

v/r

James

Message Edited by JShidell on 06-09-2008 05:08 AM

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

JShidell — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:09:49 GMT

BungalowMo,

Thanks that is what I thought I should do. Just concentrate on the accounts I owe and settle them regardless of who is reporting that debt or not. I just wasn't sure if I should concentrate on certain accounts or reports first.

So should I concentrate on oldest/biggest, oldest/smallest, or newest/biggest or newest/smallest first?

Or should it not matter?

Thanks guys.

v/r

James

Message Edited by JShidell on 06-09-2008 05:09 AM

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

llecs — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:05:56 GMT

JShidell wrote:

That is why I was kind of asking which credit report I would work on fixing first ......

Short answer.........focus on what hasn't reported yet first. Draw a line in the sand and tackle anything that has the potential of reporting tomorrow, if you know what I mean.

Next, focus on any CO that has the potential to have a CA report or judgment.

Then focus on the reports. Recent lates (w/in past 6 mo.) and CAs have about the same amount of damage. Then I'd do COs (newer than 4 yrs) and then older lates. Then I would save older COs for last. Take time on your older COs. You can easily remove an older CO and actually see a score drop (removal of mix of credit and loss of history).

I prefer to tackle everything at once in one day. Makes it easier to track everything and saves extra trips to the post office. Remember this, doing anything to any past due account within SOL will increase collection activity and increase your odds of being sued.

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

JShidell — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:32:10 GMT

That is just the thing. All of them are old accounts. These accounts are from 4 years ago i'm trying to clean them up now. I haven't used or established any new credit in the past 4 years.

v/r

James

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

llecs — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:03:31 GMT

JShidell wrote:
That is just the thing. All of them are old accounts. These accounts are from 4 years ago i'm trying to clean them up now. I haven't used or established any new credit in the past 4 years.

v/r
James

In that case, I'd probably focus on the CAs. A CA removed at the 7 yr mark can give you as much as 70 or more points back (depends if you have other CAs, YMMV).

I bet you $5 you will see an increase if you got a new CC. We usually recommend repair first, but if no CCs are reporting, you'll see a bump. Nothing wrong with starting with a secured card either.

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:22:00 GMT

@llecs wrote:

@JShidell wrote:
That is just the thing. All of them are old accounts. These accounts are from 4 years ago i'm trying to clean them up now. I haven't used or established any new credit in the past 4 years.
v/r
James

In that case, I'd probably focus on the CAs. A CA removed at the 7 yr mark can give you as much as 70 or more points back (depends if you have other CAs, YMMV).
I bet you $5 you will see an increase if you got a new CC. We usually recommend repair first, but if no CCs are reporting, you'll see a bump. Nothing wrong with starting with a secured card either.

I ran the FICO Sim on hubby in regards to a new CC (he currently has none that report, except for an old Cap 1 CO) it estimated that his points would drop by 30!

How is that so??

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:30:56 GMT

I love how everyone fits in here. Where else but FICO Forums is being a spreadsheet geek so widely accepted? I am home.... *sigh*

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

llecs — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:40:06 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

@llecs wrote:

@JShidell wrote:
That is just the thing. All of them are old accounts. These accounts are from 4 years ago i'm trying to clean them up now. I haven't used or established any new credit in the past 4 years.
v/r
James

In that case, I'd probably focus on the CAs. A CA removed at the 7 yr mark can give you as much as 70 or more points back (depends if you have other CAs, YMMV).
I bet you $5 you will see an increase if you got a new CC. We usually recommend repair first, but if no CCs are reporting, you'll see a bump. Nothing wrong with starting with a secured card either.

I ran the FICO Sim on hubby in regards to a new CC (he currently has none that report, except for an old Cap 1 CO) it estimated that his points would drop by 30!

How is that so??

I don't put too much faith in the simulator. I would like to believe, though. It recently said my score could hit 800 within the next two years.

Nearly every time you open a new account you will take a score hit. I've lost as much as 40 points with a new CC reporting. However, you will get a score increase for that first, second and maybe that third CC. Also, any decrease will be offset by monthly increases within the next 4-6 months. What occured was a drop due to "New Credit" and a change in average age. Both of these account for 25% of your score combined. However, damage lessens as they age. Looks like "new credit" only lasts for up to 6 months and the history lasts forever, but damage is small in comparison to the new credit.

I started in August with 0 CCs. I appd for the first CC (actually a pre-approval (go figure)) and saw an increase. Appd for the second (secured) and saw an increase. Appd for the third (store charge) and saw another increase. However, appd for cards 4-7 within the next 3 mo. and saw a 50-70 point drop. The damage came new credit but was dramatically offset by adding to the mix of credit (10% of your score). FICO may have also read my CC utilization at 100% ($0 used with a $0 CL) when I had no cards.

In short, if your DH sees a hit, he'll recover within a few months after it first reports.

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:04:26 GMT

Ah! Makes perfect sense!! Thank you Ilecs!!!

Since hubby's scores are so low (and we expect them to boost a bit once three accounts update), I guess we'll try BoA next month -- or when his score hits, perhaps 600?!

Thanks, again!!

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

llecs — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:15:40 GMT

Wonderin wrote:
Ah! Makes perfect sense!! Thank you Ilecs!!!

Since hubby's scores are so low (and we expect them to boost a bit once three accounts update), I guess we'll try BoA next month -- or when his score hits, perhaps 600?!

Thanks, again!!

No problem. I would focus on repair a little more. Do you best to eak DH's scores to or above 600. That will give you some more CC options. There are sites out there like via BofA and HSBC/Orchard that offer a pre-approval page where you can see if you can get a CC or not without taking an inquiry hit. My First CCs were Credit One (545 on EX), Orchard Secured (545 on EX also) and then Macys (648 on EX the following month). Scores really jumped with the addition of CCs.

Also strategically apply for CCs based on your FICO scores. Work from the strongest report. Sites like whogavemecredit.com point out who pull what and who was approved for what.

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:23:01 GMT

Right now, there's not much more repair we CAN do. Our biggest hurdle is the lates with our student loan (which I've vented about endlessly in the SL forum).

We've got a tax lien that we've disputed as "Paid" and were told would just come off entirely upon disputing. And we're begging our SL servicer to forgive some lates (in exchange for the mess they've got our account in). Beyond that, everything's pretty much hunky-dory. :/

The biggest pain we're experiencing is due to 120+ lates on our SL (became caught up to the tune of $5K early last month). :/

Re: Which CR should I work on fixing first?

JShidell — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:25:48 GMT

Ok I appologize. I did receive some credit, I got a secured credit card from Orchard Bank, but I have yet to use it. I just got it last month. I haven't seen it report on my credit reports yet, i'm just hoping it doesn't lower my scores once it does. My scores are already low as it is. I want to pay off my debt first before I start using this credit!

v/r
James