Help with this mess...

[Sebastian]

Hi there guys. Would you please help me understand what's the best way to fix my mess? I know the easy answer is "pay your old debts you fool!" but that's not a possiblity as of now. So maybe you can help me attack one item at a time, and decide what's the best way to do it.
I only have 3 "stains" ... all small old accounts.

FIRST PREMIER
Payment Status: Charge-off / Balance: $477 / Limit: $300 / Open date: 03-2022 / Last activity: 05-2022.

MIDLAND CREDIT (Capital One CC)
Collection / Balance: $2,617 / Date assigned: 07-21-2022.

PORTFOLIO RECOVERY (Capital One CC)
Collection / Balance: $1,040 / Date assigned: 08-18-2022.

I have not had a credit card in years. Those Capital One were the last ones. So I don't have credit history. 
Just a couple of weeks ago my mother add me as an authorized user on her credit card (just a $200 credit limit), and it seems that that alone push my score from 488 to 501.

The goal is to fix my credit report and start building it strong and continuosly.

THANKS!

[LIGHTNIN]

Hi and Welcome to the myfico family 😉

What is the DOFD for both the OC (Capital one accounts)?

You don't need date assigned for the CA's.

Check out the link below, you'll find very helpful info there.🙂

I'll check back with y'all later. Enjoy reading/ learning. 

What Steps Do I Take?Do I DV?PFD?

,Frequently Requested Threads
 

[Sebastian]

Hi there @LIGHTNIN 

I don't have a way of finding out DoFD, unless I call Capital One.
But I will say it was 3.5 years ago the most. So I'm far away from the 5 year mark (accounts opened while living in Florida)

Just to be clear, the DoFD is the last time I was behind on payments to Capital One, right? That eventually led to the account being sent to Collection, right?

[GZG]

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@Sebastian wrote:

Hi there guys. Would you please help me understand what's the best way to fix my mess? I know the easy answer is "pay your old debts you fool!" but that's not a possiblity as of now. So maybe you can help me attack one item at a time, and decide what's the best way to do it.
I only have 3 "stains" ... all small old accounts.

FIRST PREMIER
Payment Status: Charge-off / Balance: $477 / Limit: $300 / Open date: 03-2022 / Last activity: 05-2022.

MIDLAND CREDIT (Capital One CC)
Collection / Balance: $2,617 / Date assigned: 07-21-2022.

PORTFOLIO RECOVERY (Capital One CC)
Collection / Balance: $1,040 / Date assigned: 08-18-2022.

I have not had a credit card in years. Those Capital One were the last ones. So I don't have credit history. 
Just a couple of weeks ago my mother add me as an authorized user on her credit card (just a $200 credit limit), and it seems that that alone push my score from 488 to 501.

The goal is to fix my credit report and start building it strong and continuosly.

THANKS!

---

contact portfolio and midland, ask how much it will be to settle those in full 

and then pay each of them the full settlement amount (settled in full) in whichever order will motivate you to pay the next one. 

this (in the grand scheme of things) is not a ton of money, so if you truly want access to good credit in the future, putting forth some extra hours at work or doing some uber/doordash should help you knock this out fairly quickly. 

[Sebastian]

Thanks @GZG 

So I should definitely try to pay them in full, right?

If I settle for less (they offered me 50% off), will it affect my Credit score?

[FicoMike0]

Its a little confusing. If you owe $2000 and they agree to settle for $1000, if you pay the $1000, you're paid in full as far as the credit bureaus are concerned. You will have a zero balance. 

[GZG]

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@Sebastian wrote:

Thanks @GZG 

So I should definitely try to pay them in full, right?

If I settle for less (they offered me 50% off), will it affect my Credit score?

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FICO doesn't care as long as the balance is $0 and that's the goal, all 3 tradelines need to be at $0 or deleted 

the two collections should delete after settling in full, the card will say "settled in full/paid in full, previously charged off". 

[Sebastian]

I see... one of the CA said to me that if I settle for less, it will actually state on my report "Settle for less"... and he made it sound like it was a bad thing. 

[GZG]

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@Sebastian wrote:

I see... one of the CA said to me that if I settle for less, it will actually state on my report "Settle for less"... and he made it sound like it was a bad thing. 

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both midland and portfolio will, as a matter of their policy (it's right on their website), will delete their reporting if you settle in full after about ~60 days 

so what you want is the one payment amount to settle the balance in full, when you have that number, pay them. if you start faffing about in payments, you risk missing payments and not making any progress whatsoever. 

ask for the one payment cost to settle in full, and then pay it and be done with it. 

you can likely just go onto their website and see settlement offers, and you'll want to find the one for a singular payment to settle in full. 

[FicoMike0]

You're probably lucky that the defaults are with capone. They seem to be pretty forgiving as far as future credit. If you cost amex or navy money, they will hold a grudge for a very long time.

If you want credit in the future, addressing these defaults is a great start. The next thing is, to get credit, you need to have credit. That means you need accounts reporting good history. Low limit secured cards count just fine. Try banks with preapproval, so you don't waste a hp. Try capone, see if they offer you anything.