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Help me rebuild

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Help me rebuild

First, thank you for taking the time to read my situation...

I got into some trouble with credit cards two years ago,when I was 20, and now I have gotten to the point where I want to repair my credit.

In total I have a 2300.00 dollars in debt combined from 5 credit cards according to my Credit Report I pulled up tonight..

They are valid debts, and in statue of limitations.

One was: a Profit and loss writeoff, 
one was :Closed by credit granitor, 
one was Smiley Tongueurchased by another lender,
one is :Closed by credit granitor
Last one is : Placed for collections.


The above accounts are what is listed as my Adversed accounts..
I currently have Six Satisfactory accounts.


So my question is, what is the next step? I want to get this going, and improve my credit score.

Message 1 of 16
15 REPLIES 15
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Help me rebuild

Welcome to the forums!

I'd suggest reading the following:

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

and Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.

 

Question: Are the 5 you listed OCs? If so, are all 5 reporting a balance?

Message 2 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Help me rebuild

    Below is what shows...  

                                                                                 Balance                 Past Due                       Credit Limit
CAPITAL ONE BANK USA
Show Details
acct#07/2007$883  09/2010$883  CHARGE-OFF$500  
CHASE BANK USA, NA
Show Details
acct#11/2006$0  08/2010 CHARGE-OFF$500  
DISCOVER FINANCIAL S
Show Details
acct#05/2007$1,088  08/2010$432  CHARGE-OFF$500  
ROGERS & HOLLANDS JE
Show Details
acct#01/2008$237  08/2010$237  CHARGE-OFF$300  
VERIZON WIRELESS-GRE
Show Details
acct#N/A$433  08/2010$433  

Message 3 of 16
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Help me rebuild

To confirm, Chase shows $0? If so, any you didn't pay it off, then they likely sold it to a CA. Keep an eye out for any appearing or letters. Your only option with that is to send a GW letter asking them remove any lates or CO references. I'd also pay them off first if they let you pay and assuming a CA hasn't contacted you yet.

 

For CapOne, Discover, and Rogers, I personally would just pay them off ASAP. You could send a PFD letter instead of paying them off, but the chances of a PFD acceptance by Discover and CapOne are slim. I don't know about the others. Also, PIF would stop the collections, stop the interest, and your FICO scores would likely increase. CapOne and Discover are showing as maxed out and paying that would lower your utilization and increase your FICO scores by quite a bit, IMO. After you pay it, you could send a GW letter to each asking them to remove any lates or CO references.

 

With Verizon, I would send a PFD. Paying it won't help your FICO scores at all unless they agree to a PFD first. Some lately had success with Verizon PFDs so you may have a pretty good shot.

 

Finally, don't do anything to any debt unless you have the $$$ to PIF (if you had to) or SOL expired. Doing anything inside SOL can get you sued, and CCs like CapOne love to sue.

 

 

Message 4 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Help me rebuild

Thank you for your quick response.I appreciate it.

 

Chase ,when I view more info shows a balance of around 1000.00 .I haven't paid on it at all.

 

 

I am 22, I was foolish and got over my head, I am lucky its only 2000-2500.00. 

 

I don't have that kind of money to Pay in Full, so what should I do? I want to resolve this..

Message 5 of 16
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Help me rebuild

Ah...the good old days....I remember leaving school with $20k+ in bad debt. I used to joke that the debt collectors would carpool to my house. Not fun times. Glad you caught it early.

 

If Chase shows a balance, then treat it like the others.

 

If I was in a bind, and cash flow was limited, I would prioritize my priorities in the following order: 1) do anything to keep from getting sued, 2) do anything to prevent the debt from being sold, 3) do anything to prevent a CA from reporting, 4) do whatever it takes to prevent added lates and interest, and 5) do whatever it takes to save my FICO score (dead last, IMO).

 

Before doing anything, check your state's SOL. Maybe, by luck, you are out of SOL and then your worry-factor would drop a great deal.

 

If I read right, the amounts in the past due column aren't too bad, relatively speaking. If I couldn't PIF or work out a settlement (you don't have to PIF, but it helps), I would start a list a put the lowest past due on the bottom and work my way down to the most expensive. I'd then look at my budget and based on that budget, call each. If one only wanted $300, and that's the cheapest, then I'd do that. I'd go down the list and call each and try to work the lowest amount. In my list of priorities, that would eliminate #1-#3 at the least. You can't avoid interest if you don't PIF, but getting caught up goes a long way.

Message 6 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Help me rebuild

Thank you for your help..

 

All in all, I have around 2200.00 in debt..

 

SOL is 4 years away so that's not a option

 

I will be working in a month, as a college student, I'll make 300 a week, so 1200 a month... Should I lay low, and save then when I get enough pay one off , then another? Or should I start contact with them now?

Message 7 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Help me rebuild

Any tips on what I should do?Should I make contact with those I owe, and work something out?Or save my money and then negotiate and hide until then?

Message 8 of 16
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Help me rebuild

Kinda hard for me to recommend laying low.

A charge-off is usually a precursor to referral to a debt collector, who can then post a collection to your CR.

Once an OC does a charge-off, they have automatically recovered a portion of the bad debt by reducing their tax obligation.

That is what a CO is all about.

From that point on they have increased incentive to sell the debt to someone else, or to just hire a debt collector to try to recover as much of the bad debt as they can.

As soon as they hire a debt collector to assist them, the debt collector has full authority to post their collection activity to your CR.  Wham, another score hit.

Then, if you pay the debt to either the OC or the CA, even with a PFD agreement, it does not requrie the other to do any CR deletion.

My recommendations:

It depends on your level of risk.  YOu can offer PFDs to the OCs, and if accepted, would result in CR deletion. Just lay low and wait.....

However, if they dont respond or accept your PFDs, laying low could result in additional CAs being posted, or even legal actions.

No one can tell you what is the best course.  It is a gamble.

A lot, in my opinion, depends on your current needs.  If immediate score increase is a mjaor goal because you have immediate need to apply for new credit, then the PFD gamble may be worth a shot.

But if you dont plan on applying for new credit in the near future, then maybe protection against the real liklihood of current additional shots to your CR are worth avoiding, which may lead you to consideration of just doing a PIF, and then hoping for future GW deletions.

No simple answers.

 

Message 9 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Help me rebuild

Well, since this post I have organized my debts, and have been just waiting for my job to start( I am a college student) , today I received a letter stating I have a court date in two months , and Chase is seeking a judgement against me for 1000.00 dollars, any suggestions on what I should do ? Thank you.

Message 10 of 16
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