Help on rebuilding credit..PLS!

[Anonymous]

Hi, I'm new to this board (posting wise) but I have been doing extensive research on the steps I should take with rebuilding my credit.

I'm a 21 year old college student and I will be graduating May 2013.  With "real life" approaching faster and faster I wanted to make sure everything was in place for a prosperous adulthood.

I first learned about my "awful" credit back in September of laster year when making a banking account with Wells Fargo.  Like clockwork, a collections letter followed soon after.  However, that did not stop me from digging my hole into debt much deeper.  Within the last year I have managed to put 4 more negatives on my credit report (bummer).  Now I find myself in this horrible position, looking for efficient and quick ways to get out.

My first negative on my credit report came from a Verizon Wireless phone that I didn't even have on for a full day.  I was a stupid freshman, making a boneheaded mistake.  Somehow, someway that bill is reporting on my credit to be a whopping $599.  When I called Verizon to see which collections agency it was through they told me MRS Associates Inc.  However, it is VZW reporting on my credit report.  The guy I spoke to at Verizon told me to make arrangements to pay with the CA and to call back to Verizon and they will report it to the CRAs as "paid in full" or "settled". Now, a month or so ago I would have made this boneheaded mistake and paid VZW and have no impact to my credit score.  But through countless hours roaming through these boards, I know better.  

The second negative on my account comes from a Suntrust checkings account that was disputed by me but somehow its showing up.  Long story short, I was scammed by some shoe company out of Roswell, GA for shoes costing $250 but with late fees and such it is reporting on my CR as $352.  Less than a week ago I received a letter from NCO Financial trying to settle the debt for $211.  This is my first time learning that this debt was even with collections. Go figure.

The third debt is also with NCO Financial for an AT&T Landlines bill that my mother had while I was off to school.  This debt is for $136.  No, I am not suing my mom.  I'm sure I've did 10 times the damage to her credit.  However, I do want this to go away.  

Being a dumb stupid idiotic college student, I made the horrible mistake to move in with a girl who was extremely financially unstable. This was my first time moving out on my own (or with a roommate) into an apartment.  Both of our names are on the contract, as well as her father who co-signed.  August through April everything was satisfied bill wise.  Mind you this complex does not accept partial payments.  So at the beginning of May I sent my part of the rent, utilities, etc. Into the leasings office and the next morning it was returned to me because her half hadn't been paid. She was instead out in Las Vegas basking in the sun while my CR was taking a steep decline.  My logic was what's the point in giving this APT money to hold that they can't process it until the other half is paid? ya know. School was out in May, but our lease wasn't up until the end of June.  However, I wasn't living there and she still hadn't paid her rent for May or June.  They end charged us partial rent for July -__- . Around the end of July I received a moveout statement saying that we owed nearly 4,000 bucks. SMH. That's utilities and all included.  The collections agency this was sent to was National Credit Solutions.  Sadly, I purchased the Comcast cable in my name, which I now owe 600+ dollars for plus 1200 more for equipment.  The CA on this debt is Credit Protection Associates.

SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. 

I really never thought I would be in such a tough position at a young age.  I should be trying to build my credit, not in the process of restoring and the rebuilding.  I've never even had a credit card and with this much on my report, I can cancel the idea of getting one anytime soon.  

Through research upon research, I've been raking through forums trying to formulate the proper process in getting all of this GONE by the time I graduate.  The question I have for you veterans is where to start.  I know I need to send a DV letter ASAP (I am within 30 days of most of my negatives).

If that doesn't work, I will truly be stuck until 2019 with sucky credit.  I'll never be approved for anything.  Never be able to buy things on my own without a cosigner.  It's just really frustrating.  The first thing I'll be doing Monday morning is sending a DV letter to all of the CAs and then I'll wait patiently for 30 days and after that it gets rather tricky to me.  If the CA ignores the letter and I receive nothing within the 30 days, then what?

I was planning on getting a secured credit card through Wells Fargo to counter the negatives on my report, but I really don't know if that's a bright idea.

Please guys, I need help, POSITIVE help.  I need positive attitudes with success stories with companies such as NCO, CPA, MRS & NCS.

Success stories with DEBT VALIDATION LETTERS! Help with the correct process to go about.  ANYTHING!

Thank to you guys in advance. 

[jamie123]

Okay...Stop and take a deep breath!

Welcome to the forum!

It will all work out in the end. It may take a while but by taking action now your scores will get better.

First off you need to get all 3 of your free annual credit reports at annualcreditreport.com if you haven't already done so.

Then you need to find out where you stand. You need to get your scores. There are a few websites that track changes in your credit report, myFICO being the best of them. I would HIGHLY recommend signing up for Score Watch here at myFICO. It is the best credit monitoring service available IMHO. It is well worth the monthly cost and will provide you with the only TRUE FICO scores available. Sign up at least for the Equifax portion now.

Another highly regarded site on these forums is creditkarma.com. It's acronym on these forums is CK. This site produces a FAKO score that is not very accurate under most conditions but it has AWESOME resources for following your credit rebuilding journey. And it is FREE! Sign up for this NOW!

There are 2 other sites that are just so so with their abilities that you need to join eventually. They are creditsesame.com and quizzle.com.

You now have some work to do. Sign up at these websites so we can have your scores to work with. Everyone will be asking for your scores when they try and help you.

This is the first step in the marathon! You can do it!

We are here to help.

[Anonymous]

Read up some more on these forums. start with http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Frequently-Requested-Threads/td-p/224981. Then move to the last link Other Frequently Requested Threads. After that go through the stickies in Bouncing Back from Credit Problems>Rebuilding Your Credit. Don't send DV letters until after you check your sol on these collections. Check quickly. Then maybe someone here that's more experienced can give you more advice. Also check the forum rules. They don't offer advice on removing accurate credit information. They will help you straighten things out. In the short run you might have to deal with some bad credit files for a bit but you can make them better. Also check on some PFD and GW letters. If you owe, you owe, but you can make that alone work for you. Good luck.

[jamie123]

There are 2 avenues to rebuiding credit and you should do them both at the same time. Remove the baddies and add GOOD credit.

We can get into the specifics of removing the baddies when you get back with your scores. You will need to have a LONG term plan and execute it starting at the beginning and making sure to follow through to the end.

We can get into the specifics of adding good credit when you get back with your scores. This also requires a LONG term plan. You just don't want to apply for credit when the odds of approval are low. You also don't want to apply for credit that you don't really need or won't use in the future. You will need 3 credit cards ASAP. We can discuss which ones fit you best when you return with your scores.

A couple of questions....

Are you currently employed?

How much money do you have on hand to rebuild your credit? How much per month?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for replying Jamie!

I'll have to get my actual score sometime next week, but I did do the FAKO account and it showed at a 579.

0 credit card utilization

100% of on time payments

Average age of open creidt lines (2 yrs & 5 months)

5 accts

1 hard inquiry

2 derogs

Don't know if theres much you can do with that information, but thats all i've got thus far.

[jamie123]

The first thing you need to address is ALL the issues regarding the apartment. That is a lot of money and they will take you to court to get their money. You definitely don't want to go down that road.

You need to find your roommate and ask (demand) her half of they money. If she refuses to pay her half, call her father. Is he aware of the situation? Do you have your half of the money to pay your share? You might have to set-up some type of payment arrangement if you do not. You also need to negotiate a pay for delete or else refuse to pay.

Same goes for the cable. Do you have the money to pay in full?

Now is the time to take care of both of these issues. Most creditors will be willing to negotiate at this early point in default.

DV letters really aren't proper for these 2 issues at this point.

When you stop back we can discuss this further.

[jamie123]

Read my posts and answer my questions about how much money we have to work with here.

Where did you get the FAKO score?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I have the money to pay for both, but paying for something I know I dont owe COMPLETELY is out of the question.  Especially if its not going to come off of my CR.

From what I've read a DV letter is always worth a try and it is very lawful to demand one.  Maybe i'll luck up, who knows.

I went to creditkarma.com to get my FAKO score.

[jamie123]

This is the wrong time for a DV letter.

I may have missed something. What exactly are you disputing that you owe?

If you clarify that we can attack that issue first.

[Anonymous]

When is the right time for a DV letter?

From my understand a DV letter is to validate that the correct agency is collecting the proper amount, not necessarily disputing.

I need proof of what I owe and why I owe it.  I also need advice on what to do on a joint account.