Help Please!

[Anonymous]

Hi Everyone! A little backstory...

When I was 18 I took out several credit cards at the advice of my mother. She has a good job(80-90k/year) but went through a nasty divorce which destroyed her credit. She raised us without any help while taking care of an ill mother of her own. I started college and wasn't paying attention while my mom was using my new credit as her own. She startedby  just using the cards for expenses and paying them off at the end of the month, but then she started accruing debt that she couldn't pay off. Then it seems she stopped making payments...

I started  a business while in college that has continued to grow and become somewhat successful. I was focused on that as well as my education and did not pay attention to what was going on at home. I found out when applying for a busines LOC at Wells Fargo how bad my credit had been damaged. Luckilly my partners have excellent credit, so with that + our business assets at the bank they were able to ignore my horrible credit score; however, I know I need to make this a huge priority. I can't be responsible for any future headaches for my partners, and I don't want this to impact my financial future or ruin my relationships with any financial institutions.

Now I need your help! I have some savings and a decent income, and would like to fix my credit and repair my relationships with the banks to be able to apply for major credit cards again, but hopefully while conserving as much of my savings as possible for the future. My report is showing the following

Positive

The first 2 are the cards I applied for and use myself for day-to-day. Never missed a payment. Always PIF.

• Amex PRG - Showing balance of $3200 or so, but pay in full every month.
• Discover - $500 limit, use card and PIF every month, so balance depends on when it reports every month.
• Amex Blue - This account was setup for automatic payments so never went into serious issues but mom did have her hands on it. Never missed a payment CL-$2800 Balance $2389.

Negative

This is based on TU and Experian. For some reason many not showing up on Experian:

• USAA $4248 Charge Off. Closed 7/2015
•  Barclays 1 $4175 Charge Off. Closed 12/15
• Chase $4035 Charge Off Closed 11/15
• Wells Fargo $1082 Charge Off Closed 9/15
• BofA $829 Charge Off Closed 7/15
• Barclays 2 $810 Charge Off Closed 12/15
• Capital One $0(?) CO - not really sure about this.
• Portfolio Recovery $1785 based on CITIBANK
• LVNV $570 based on CapitalOne

TOTAL: $17,534

I have about 18k in savings(happy coincidence), as well as a decent income. I would like to be able to keep some of my savings if possible for the future. I am concerned about repairing my relationship with Chase, CITI, and Wells as a priority! I bank with Chase and would LOVE to have a sapphire card, and business banks with Wells so I need to be able to work with them into the future.

So.. experts of myFICO, help! What should I do? Do I submit PFD letters to start? Or should I just work out a settlement? If I settle with Chase, CITI, and Wells will they not grant me credit in the future? 

Thank you!!

[Anonymous]

I understand wanting chase m, but I’m surprised you don’t want USAA. They are by far the best car insurance and basically any other insurance renters/home owners, valuable property Insuranxe there is. Best coverage for great price. No hassle. However with a chargeoff even past SOL (not saying yours is) you are blackballed. If they suffer a loss, it’s a non starter.

[Anonymous]

Thx Debtguy- If I pay off the CO am I still blackballed?

[srloring13]

What state are you in? What is the DOFD for each of the accounts listed above? There may be different strategies available to you based on the answers to these questions.

Are all of the debts a result of your mothers actions? How much cash does she have available to pay towards these accounts once you have a strategy set up.

Do you have any installment loans?
How long have your current accounts been open?
When was the last time you got an increase on your current accounts?
What are your current scores? It's better to have at least 5 credit card accounts.
You should also work on reducing your card UT to below 50%

[Anonymous]

In AZ, DOFD approx June, July, August 2015. Scores are in the low 500s right now and limits are about where they have always been. . 

Mom does have some cash on hand to help. I was considering settling with the issuers and try to have them listed as Paid, but I am concerned about being blacklisted. Just trying to figure out what should be my next move.

Thank you!!!!