Confused by ScoreWatch

[Anonymous]

I just recently got the free trial of scorewatch and it says that something that will help my score is if that I pay down some of my open credit card balances. But the thing is, I don't have any cards open. The ones I did have are now in collections (young and stupid...lol) so it's not as if they are still active. I know that they still matter, but I also know that paying them down isnt going to make my score any better.

Any suggestions? Also, my Equifax is 563. Are there any credit cards for such a score? I got approved for a Credit One card the other day, but I can't think of anymore to apply for. First Premier was one of the ones that went to collections.

Thanks so much!

[Jazzzy]

I take ScoreWatch advice with a grain of salt. Sometimes it applies. Sometimes it does not.

Have you tried working with the derogatory items that are currently on your report? For example, have you offered to settle an account with a collection agency in exchange for them deleting the account from your credit reports?

I understand your not wanting to simply pay them and have them continue to report as settled or charged-off. However, maybe you can take care of some of them and have them removed.

Do some reading on the Rebuilding Your Credit forum. That will help bring up your score. As for new credit accounts, you can do some reading on the Credit Card forum and see where people are getting secured cards that are helping rebuild credit.