I would strongly advise NOT doing that Credit Strong loan, reason being: you have way too many negatives to be worrying about credit mix right now. Any potential point boosts would be negated by all the chargeoffs/collections. Moreover, $800 interest on a $1000 loan is A LOT of money thrown away...
You could be putting those $15/mo towards a savings account to avoid a devastating situation like this again. I'm not saying any of it was your fault by any means. I'm simply saying it's always good to have a safety net with at least 3 months of monthly bills/salary saved up in case of emergencies. This is of course easier said than done, but any amount you can put away monthly helps.
Now, you say you have 6 collection accounts totaling $7,764. Are these true collections, or are you combining charged off accounts with collection accounts? Are those burned accounts you listed the original accounts? As in, are they still showing a balance with the original creditor on your credit reports?
Utilization includes the accounts that are closed so paying off the open accounts will help your overall utilization but not bring it to 8% based on the remaining balances on the closed accounts.
7k is alot of money to those with limited income but certainly something that you can overcome.
It would seem that the majority if not all of your closed accounts seem to remain with the original creditor. And given their age you may very well be in a position to settle for less than the full amounts on each of the accounts.
You are in the right place to ask questions and get answers. The membership and real world experience you will find in this forum group is well equipped to help you in your credit recovery journey.
There are several questions but I will start with what discretionary income do you have each month that could be applied to your debts?
And do you have any available time each month that might be applied to a second job or income stream on short or longer term basis to help you achieve your goal?
@Anonymous wrote:https://imgur.com/a/AQvyyxF
think that'll work
Yea that works. But it appears as though you owe more than that $7.7k in collections. You have 6 collections AND 2 charge offs. If you pay those 2 charge offs, you may see some score boosts, though not much. But it WILL help your utilization so it won't be skewed since charge offs count as maxed accounts and hurt your overall utilization.
@satioactually, it appears most of their accounts AREN'T with the OC. In fact, most of them (6) are with CAs now. Only 2 are still with the OC.
@OmarGB9 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:https://imgur.com/a/AQvyyxF
Yea that works. But it appears as though you owe more than that $7.7k in collections. You have 6 collections AND 2 charge offs. If you pay those 2 charge offs, you may see some score boosts, though not much. But it WILL help your utilization so it won't be skewed since charge offs count as maxed accounts and hurt your overall utilization.
@satioactually, it appears most of their accounts AREN'T with the OC. In fact, most of them (6) are with CAs now. Only 2 are still with the OC.
I see, guessing it's better it's with the CA if I'm looking for a lower settlement amount? Discover I've paid about $600~ on since the default but none of it ever reflected on my credit. It was under threat of lawsuit - i got served - paid about $600 then got a letter a few months later saying it was charged off and nothing since
@Anonymous
Good morning (at least here where I am it is "Morning"). And welcome to the forum. We have all been in tough spots before. I commend you for having the courage to come to this forum and to put all of your details out there. No one here will judge you (at least, they better not!) and everyone here will help you (they had better!).
I am going to answer in a couple of replies as each will be a bit on the longer side (whoda thunk - from me? LOL).
I would humbly suggest that you worry about the biggest issues first and deal with the 'secondary things' later. So, skip the idea of the loan in order to improve your credit mix. As has been suggested by others, your credit mix is - in my opinion - the least of your concerns at this point in time.
I would suggest this:
1. Take care of the six collections accounts. Start with the smallest one. Knock that one out. Move on to the second one. Knock that one out. Move on to the third one. Rinse and repeat. Until you have all of them gone. Build a little confidence. Get some "instant gratification". See some progress. If you are the type of person for whom this is important, then by all means....DO IT!
2. Attack the Charge Offs. Actually, you have three.
One of them - Webbank/Fingerhut - is a collections account with Jefferson Capital (for $717). Once that specific Collections Account is handled, my best educated guess is, then Jefferson Capital hands this back over to Webbank and the Charge Off goes back into effect. However, this is my best guess. I do not know if Jefferson Capital is acting as an agent for Webbank, attempting to collect a debt on their behalf ---OR--- if Webbank has sold the debt to Jefferson Capital and Jefferson Capital is now the owner of said debt. For that specific Collections Account | Charge Off I would seek clairfcation (contact Jefferson Capital for that....They should be able to answer that question).
Please find below the listing of Collections Accounts and Charge Off Accounts that I see as per your Experian credit report:
6 Collection Accounts
======================
1. Collection Agency is "HP Sears"
Original Creditor is "Western Dental Services"
Debt: $3,747
Updated: October 1, 2021
2. Collection Agency is "Jefferson Capital Systems"
Original Creditor is "Verizon Wireless"
Debt: $767
Updated: October 2, 2021
3. Collection Agency is "Portfolio Recovery Association"
Original Creditor is "Capital One"
Debt: $656
Updated: September 21, 2021
4. Collection Agency is "Calvary Portfolio Services"
Original Creditor is "Synchrony Bank"
Debt: $1,406
Updated: September 1, 2021
5. Collection Agency is "Jefferson Capital Systems"
Original Creditor is "Fingerhut Direct Marketing"
Debt: $717
Updated: October 9, 2021
6. Collection Agency is "Calvary Portfolio Services"
Original Creditor is "Synchrony Bank"
Debt: $472
Updated: September 1, 2021
3 Charge Offs
=============
1. Discover Financial Services
$2,868
Roughly four years ago???
2. TD Bank/Target
$479
Roughly four years ago???
3. Webbank/Fingerhut
which is likely the 'Collection Account' with Jefferson Capital for $717
Starting Score: Exp 627