Help Going Further

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for some advice on things I can do or the next steps to push my credit higher. I will say, after finding these forums a year ago, I have made tremendous leaps with my credit; however, I feel like I'm being held back by one of my accounts. My goal for this year was to be around 650 and it seems like I'm going to be falling a little short.

Before I found these forums, my credit score was in the very low 500's. As of today, my credit looks like this: 

EQ - 600

Credit Uti 23% ($650 Credit Limit - 3 cards)

Open Accounts - 8

Accounts Late - 5

Closed Accounts - 2

Collections - 1

Inquiries - 8

TU - 618

Credit Uti 23% ($650 Credit Limit - 3 cards)

Open Accounts - 8

Accounts Late - 7

Closed Accounts - 5

Collections - 2

Inquiries - 5

EX - 627

Credit Uti 33% ($625 Credit Limit - 3 cards)

Open Accounts - 9

Accounts Late - 6

Closed Accounts - 5

Collections - 1

Inquiries - 8

I had an emergency, so my UTI went up which I know I need to get down. Other than that, I have 2 other major things on my report. One is a repo from August of last year, and the other is a car loan that I co-signed on. I broke rule #1 to help someone (long before I found this forum) and now that person and I are no longer friends. They have been late on that car every month since July 2019 (16 late payments in total).

I'm hoping I didn't miss anything that could help further, but I feel like I've hit a brick wall when it comes to my credit. My goal for 2021 is to get a house and I'm nervous that this is going to make it extremely hard for me.

Sidenote: I haven't tried this, but I have read somewhere on this forum about disputing the repo. I never received any of the documentation or notices to purchase the car back when it was taken. I forgot exactly what law this broke but has anyone tried that route?

Thanks in advance.

[OmarGB9]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm looking for some advice on things I can do or the next steps to push my credit higher. I will say, after finding these forums a year ago, I have made tremendous leaps with my credit; however, I feel like I'm being held back by one of my accounts. My goal for this year was to be around 650 and it seems like I'm going to be falling a little short.

Before I found these forums, my credit score was in the very low 500's. As of today, my credit looks like this: 

EQ - 600

Credit Uti 23% ($650 Credit Limit - 3 cards)

Open Accounts - 8

Accounts Late - 5

Closed Accounts - 2

Collections - 1

Inquiries - 8

TU - 618

Credit Uti 23% ($650 Credit Limit - 3 cards)

Open Accounts - 8

Accounts Late - 7

Closed Accounts - 5

Collections - 2

Inquiries - 5

EX - 627

Credit Uti 33% ($625 Credit Limit - 3 cards)

Open Accounts - 9

Accounts Late - 6

Closed Accounts - 5

Collections - 1

Inquiries - 8

I had an emergency, so my UTI went up which I know I need to get down. Other than that, I have 2 other major things on my report. One is a repo from August of last year, and the other is a car loan that I co-signed on. I broke rule #1 to help someone (long before I found this forum) and now that person and I are no longer friends. They have been late on that car every month since July 2019 (16 late payments in total).

I'm hoping I didn't miss anything that could help further, but I feel like I've hit a brick wall when it comes to my credit. My goal for 2021 is to get a house and I'm nervous that this is going to make it extremely hard for me.

Sidenote: I haven't tried this, but I have read somewhere on this forum about disputing the repo. I never received any of the documentation or notices to purchase the car back when it was taken. I forgot exactly what law this broke but has anyone tried that route?

Thanks in advance.

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You should only dispute inaccurate info. Disputing in hopes of something simply falling off rarely works. It usually just comes back verified. What you should do is reach out to the OC/collection agency if applicable and ask them to send over all the relevant documentation of the auctioned off vehicle, statements, etc.

Is the collection related to the repo? Or is it for a charged off credit card?

[Anonymous]

The collection is from a hospital bill. Roughly $1500 from 2016.

[OmarGB9]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The collection is from a hospital bill. Roughly $1500 from 2016.

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Is there a way to have the hospital recall the debt and pay them directly?

[Anonymous]

I've tried that and was told it wasn't possible.

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous The best thing you can probably do is the following:

- Do not apply for any new accounts or take on any hard inquiries. This is important especially if getting a mortgage is your goal for next year.

Check on the fall off dates of your inquires. They become unscorable after 12 months and fall off after 24 months. Hopefully you will be recovering some points as they become unscorable. 

- Attempt to contact the collection agency and see if you can negotiate a PFD. Keep in mind, you might be able to negotiate a substantial discount. If you don't feel confident on the phone, send them a letter via snail mail. You should see a decent boost if you manage to get both accounts deleted. 

The lates and repo are going to sting for a while. You can try sending goodwill requests for your lates, especially if you have been paying on time recently. Its a marathon, but some have seen amazing results once you reach the right person.