Any advice from those with experience?

[Anonymous]

Hello to all in this forum!

I have read these forums for a while, some very helpful information has really made me feel better about my situation. 

I would appreciate any advise on the following:

during my late teens and early 20s I had made some major mistakes with credit. Lots of charge offs, closed accounts, collections, etc. 

later in my 20s I cleaned it all up and had some what "normal-good" credit. 

im now near 30 right back to where I was as a late teen. 

Within the last 45 days ive paid all collections on my credit, settled lots for less then full, paid off my cards that are not closed, settled a 10k charged off auto loan from an accident without gap insurance. To sum it up, paid off everything both good and bad. 

First question: I now only have a $1300 bill from a Barclays card that I CAN NOT pay as Barclays has me as "deceased" in there system. What to do? 

Second question: I need 30 ish days for these creditors and collection agencies to update the credit reports. What can I do to start rebuilding? 

current Experian score Is 623

i have the following bills.

lexus lease monthly for 36 more months- $677 a month

The following cards with small limits all under $1500 each and 0 balances on all: 

Nordstrom store card

destiny 

blaze

cap 1 quick silver

cap 1 (not sure of type)

khols store card

What can I do to boost my scores, get cards with higher limits, or get credit increases on current cards?

any advice will help- I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! 

[Anonymous]

Could try goodwill letters on your derogs

Time will heal your scores the most

IMO if you currently want high limits you need to let those things update, and find a credit union to do your deposits with, then they may extend you larger lines. Depends on the CU.

If you are eligible for Navy Federal that would be the your one stop shop for everything. Start with secured card and SSL, move up to large limits after 91 days

Finances before credit, address what caused your past spend to get out of hand so it doesn't happen again

If you didn't burn Amex you can try their pre-qual when your report updates, I suggest one of their charge cards if you want a high limit that doesn't negatively affect your utilization  (no set limit).

[Anonymous]

Try filing CFPB complaint on Barclays and contact them again and ask for higher up, they may also try to contact you.

Penfed is definitely tougher than NFCU from the anecdotal evidence. If you have direct deposit payroll, maybe split it between Penfed and your main institution. Their card products aren't that interesting, though.

I'd definitely wait for stuff to update, try to resolve the Barclays again, then attempt pre-qual at Amex. Maybe even risk a hard pull on a cold app for one of their charge cards if your Fico 8 scores are in the higher 600s. Amex charge cards have flexible limits and can help you a lot if you can't charge enough on a debit nor want to carry cash.

At the same time, if you want a mortgage, you should probably avoid new credit a year prior to applying, so it's a toss-up between what you really expect and see yourself doing.

[Anonymous]

Need to try that cfpb you mentioned. Is navy federal something anyone can open? I'll have to look into that. 

My utilization is at 26% per Experian app- good or bad?

I have never burned Amex. Only people I have ever burned were:

credit one

one main financial 

chase

barclays 

all my synchrony cards were closed on me a few years ago when I started being irresponsible. They're smart, they kept lowering my limit as I paid cards down, then closed them on me. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello to all in this forum!

I have read these forums for a while, some very helpful information has really made me feel better about my situation. 

I would appreciate any advise on the following:

during my late teens and early 20s I had made some major mistakes with credit. Lots of charge offs, closed accounts, collections, etc. 

later in my 20s I cleaned it all up and had some what "normal-good" credit. 

im now near 30 right back to where I was as a late teen. 

Within the last 45 days ive paid all collections on my credit, settled lots for less then full, paid off my cards that are not closed, settled a 10k charged off auto loan from an accident without gap insurance. To sum it up, paid off everything both good and bad. 

First question: I now only have a $1300 bill from a Barclays card that I CAN NOT pay as Barclays has me as "deceased" in there system. What to do? 

Second question: I need 30 ish days for these creditors and collection agencies to update the credit reports. What can I do to start rebuilding? 

current Experian score Is 623

i have the following bills.

lexus lease monthly for 36 more months- $677 a month

The following cards with small limits all under $1500 each and 0 balances on all: 

Nordstrom store card

destiny 

blaze

cap 1 quick silver

cap 1 (not sure of type)

khols store card

What can I do to boost my scores, get cards with higher limits, or get credit increases on current cards?

any advice will help- I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! 

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Now that you have organized your credit, spend a bit of time organizing your finances as well so this doesn't happen again. I was in a very similar place as you and it was a repeating loop where my credit was destroyed in my late teens and then my mid 20s. I remember the days of having a $700 lease payment. Those were not good days. I'm glad you are able to afford such a lease payment without a detrimental financial impact. Make sure you have enough savings for 6-12 months of expenses, do a budget, etc and be financially stable. Credit will come. Mail the CO creditors and CA and request an exclusion of the accounts based on that fact that you paid it and see if it helps getting those removed. 

[Anonymous]

I am working on organzing, savings, and not going backwards. The lease situation is a domino effect from bad credit. I usually always lease with Lexus (LFS) and even a year ago at my lowest point I was approved but had some unfavorable terms. I have 36 months left and considering paying some cash to get out in a year or so to be in something more affordable. 

I know credit is not something that changes overnight and takes time. I was considering a secured card however, I just closed one with Capital one that i have had for about 8 years. I closed it in the beggining of this repair journey in March (6 months ago). Never "graduated" so i paid in full and closed it. 

I thought about one of those self lender loans or even a secure line of credit with wells fargo. In Febuary im have a Wells Fargo (auto) loan fall off. It was paid in full within 9 months and stopped reporting Feb 2014. Not sure if this will help or what..

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am working on organzing, savings, and not going backwards. The lease situation is a domino effect from bad credit. I usually always lease with Lexus (LFS) and even a year ago at my lowest point I was approved but had some unfavorable terms. I have 36 months left and considering paying some cash to get out in a year or so to be in something more affordable. 

I know credit is not something that changes overnight and takes time. I was considering a secured card however, I just closed one with Capital one that i have had for about 8 years. I closed it in the beggining of this repair journey in March (6 months ago). Never "graduated" so i paid in full and closed it. 

I thought about one of those self lender loans or even a secure line of credit with wells fargo. In Febuary im have a Wells Fargo (auto) loan fall off. It was paid in full within 9 months and stopped reporting Feb 2014. Not sure if this will help or what..

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You have enough cards in my opinion and already have a loan reporting. I'd concentrate on getting some of the oldies removed. 

[Anonymous]

I'll utilize what I have. Here's my question how do I be the best version of me with the cards I do have? When should I use? When should I pay? 

anyone have advice on how to get Barclays to help me? Everyone I spoke to today was in a 3rd world country and had zero help. 

Today I discovered a judgement that my local county court awarded the creditor. Initially credit one bank then lvnv funding in the amount of 900. Not on my credit (yet) what should I do with this- it's practically the last thing owed here