Servicemember here, I would like some advice.

[Anonymous]

Hello all, 

I've been lurking these forums for a while now and decided today to become a member. I've used a lot of information here to help rebuild my credit. I was irresponsible when I was in college and that resulted in a few of my accounts being charged off. I now serve in the military and im able to pay back some of my debts. I recently paid back American Express in full. I eventually want to get back in with Amex, but at this time I want to increase my credit scores. 

Here's a little info on my credit profile

Current Scores Per Credit Karma: 

TU- 724

EQ- 721

EX- 692(from USAA, hasn't updated this month)

1 auto loan- 47 months of on time payments 

4 credit cards- Total Utilization @ 1%

NFCU Cash Rewards- $5,000 cl

Capital One QS1- $2,000 cl
Wells Fargo Secured -$400

USAA Secured- $450 

Now to my baddies 

4 charge offs

Chase - $3100 

Capital One - $450

Macy's- $230 

AMEX- $1300(PIF)

Now, what should I do next? I can definitely pay off Cap1 and Macy's, but the Chase CO is going to take me some saving to pay off. I want to get back in with AMEX, but should I first write a GW letter before I apply? Or should I pay my other debt first?

[RobertEG]

What is the date of first delinquency (DOFD) on each charged-off account, and what is the statute of limitations (SOL) for your state?

Have you been contacted by a debt collector on any of the charged-off accounts?

[Anonymous]

SOL for CA is 4 years

Chase: The acct was close in January 2014, so I guessing the DOFD was some time during the last quarter of 2013

Capitol One: DOFD May 2014 closed on December 2014

Macy's 2012: past my state's SOL, what can I do to get this off my credit report?

AMEX: just paid in full last week.

[SouthJamaica]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello all, 

I've been lurking these forums for a while now and decided today to become a member. I've used a lot of information here to help rebuild my credit. I was irresponsible when I was in college and that resulted in a few of my accounts being charged off. I now serve in the military and im able to pay back some of my debts. I recently paid back American Express in full. I eventually want to get back in with Amex, but at this time I want to increase my credit scores. 

Here's a little info on my credit profile

Current Scores Per Credit Karma: 

TU- 724

EQ- 721

EX- 692(from USAA, hasn't updated this month)

1 auto loan- 47 months of on time payments 

@4 credit cards- Total Utilization @ 1%

NFCU Cash Rewards- $5,000 cl

Capital One QS1- $2,000 cl
Wells Fargo Secured -$400

USAA Secured- $450 

Now to my baddies 

4 charge offs

Chase - $3100 

Capital One - $450

Macy's- $230 

AMEX- $1300(PIF)

Now, what should I do next? I can definitely pay off Cap1 and Macy's, but the Chase CO is going to take me some saving to pay off. I want to get back in with AMEX, but should I first write a GW letter before I apply? Or should I pay my other debt first?

---

1. First pay off all your debts.

2. Start sending verification letters to the bureaus which might hasten the chargeoffs getting removed.

3. Start looking at your FICO scores rather than your Vantage scores.

4. You don't say how long you have left on the auto loan, if it's another 13 months, I would say just keep on doing what you've been doing.

[Anonymous]

---

@SouthJamaica wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hello all, 

I've been lurking these forums for a while now and decided today to become a member. I've used a lot of information here to help rebuild my credit. I was irresponsible when I was in college and that resulted in a few of my accounts being charged off. I now serve in the military and im able to pay back some of my debts. I recently paid back American Express in full. I eventually want to get back in with Amex, but at this time I want to increase my credit scores. 

Here's a little info on my credit profile

Current Scores Per Credit Karma: 

TU- 724

EQ- 721

EX- 692(from USAA, hasn't updated this month)

1 auto loan- 47 months of on time payments 

@4 credit cards- Total Utilization @ 1%

NFCU Cash Rewards- $5,000 cl

Capital One QS1- $2,000 cl
Wells Fargo Secured -$400

USAA Secured- $450 

Now to my baddies 

4 charge offs

Chase - $3100 

Capital One - $450

Macy's- $230 

AMEX- $1300(PIF)

Now, what should I do next? I can definitely pay off Cap1 and Macy's, but the Chase CO is going to take me some saving to pay off. I want to get back in with AMEX, but should I first write a GW letter before I apply? Or should I pay my other debt first?

---

1. First pay off all your debts.

2. Start sending verification letters to the bureaus which might hasten the chargeoffs getting removed.

3. Start looking at your FICO scores rather than your Vantage scores.

4. You don't say how long you have left on the auto loan, if it's another 13 months, I would say just keep on doing what you've been doing.

---

I called Macy's today and the CSR said that the debt is past the SOL. What she said I could do is voluntarily send in a payment and wait until the acct falls(2019) off my report. Should I pay the debt or just wait for this to fall of my report?

[Tazman81]

Does Macy's still own the debt or have they sent it to a debt collection agency.  You could send in a PFD (pay for delete) request.  So, basically letting them know that you are not saying you owe the debt, but you want to resolve the issue, and in exchange you would like them to remove it from your credit report.  If that doesn't work, and it's pass the statue of limitations, it will be the same amount of time for it to fall off your credit report whether you pay it or not.

Amex typically doesn't care much for baddies on the credit report.  You could see about getting a CLI with your NFCU card (if it's been more than 6 months since your last CLI) as they are more lenient.