Humiliating Credit Score, debating whether to negotiate or file BK? HELP!

[wa3more]

Remember BK is nuke option. Only use if you have threats of bank levies or garnishments.It is for last resort.

[buttercup415]

---

@trnj88 wrote:

I sympathize with your situation greatly and think you have come to the right place. I will tell you from personal experience that my time here on myFico has saved my credit and perhaps my future. In the time I have been active here, about 15 months, my score has improved from 510 to now almost 700.

I'm not a real financial guru so my advice here may be a bit more limited than some other users, but I hope to just provide some hope.

Like you I was embarassed to admit my 510 score, but with time I felt that the best way to overcome a problem is first realizing it.. I always think of this quote when I need a little motivation: "Not 'till we are lost do we begin to find ourselves."

In 2010 my father went through a severe sudden medical emergency and our family was struggling as we had lost my father's income unexpectedly. I saw my mother trying to pay for a large mortgage, credit cards, utilities, food, a car payment and insurance, and all of the expenses that come with life, all in the blink of an eye.

I put my finances aside to help her and in exchange suffered 57-- yes FIFTY SEVEN-- delinquencies on my credit file, and I sadly have screenshots to prove it! They included everything from 30-day lates to 120-day lates. My score dropped from the mid-to-high 700s to 510. It was abysmal and I felt like dying.. long story short, I found ways here on myFico to slowly trickle my score back up point by point.

I would highly suggest looking into "goodwill adjustments" here on the forums. They have helped me greatly and due to them, I have had many many lates removed from my credit report thus far, and am still going. Lenders and creditors can often sympathize with certain situations so it's worth a shot. If you get turned down for any adjustments, KEEP TRYING. Some of my goodwill adjustments came on the 4th, 5th or 6th try.

As for bankruptcy, I hate to see that happen for only $10K in debt especially if you are getting a lump sum of cash in the near future to pay it off. I would personally suggest doing what you can for the next few months trying to avoid having your car reposessed, then pay off whatever you can strategically. Look into "PFD" (pay for delete) here on the forums as well. Some creditors will agree to remove negative reporting if you pay what is owed-- however always get this agreement in writing before paying. Plenty of info here on the forums. If you are seriously considering BK, I'd advise you to speak with a BK attorney (even a free consultation) to see the long-term effects, like perhaps not being able to cosign a student loan, etc.

In the immediate short-term, have you inquired about having *any* of your accounts put into some sort of deferment or grace period until you receive your lump sum?

I type too much and ramble, but just keep pressing on. Your score will improve over time and don't ever feel lost. Keep reading on these forums and do your best and it will begin to work out.

---

Thanks so much for your heartfelt reply. I am very happy you were able to get back on your feet! I'm surprised your score didn't go lower with 57 delinquencies!

I have less than 1/2 that and my score has tanked much lower than yours! Once again, I am too embarrassed to say because I haven't seen anyone on this board yet with a score low as mine now.  That's why I was considering BK because I literally have nothing to lose at this point.

However, after reading replies I am going to give some of the suggestions (goodwill adjustments and PFD) a try. I will have to study these on the forum as I'm not that familiar with them and they seem to be similar to other things I've read. There is so much conflicting information that's giving me a headache.  

I will have the money by summer to pay off all the late payments that still haven't gone to collections yet. My concern is that I will pay all this money and it won't help my credit, it will still show that I was late for 5 months.  

Thank you again for your helpful reply.

[buttercup415]

---

@wa3more wrote:

oh yes, the dreaded "this is going to charge off soon " I said go ahead.'

You wont get serious offers until CO time or just before. You have to take care of personal situation first. The credit stuff will work out.

You will have some leverage. They know from your credit report that there isn't more to go after in terms of filing suit. Chase walked away from 19k and 5k accounts of mine. Did not even bother.

---

Wow I can't believe Chase walked away from that amount! You got lucky, I hope you were able to re-establish after that!

I just found out today my CareCredit was charged off. They have the most infuruiating call center. I called yesterday requesting something similar to PFD on my credit report, the guy clearly didn't understand me and told me to call a different number to help me with that, I thought he meant a different department etc. I call the number and it was EQUIFAX credit bureau!?!! Ugh...

I called CareCredit again today and got the run around, after being transferred twice and held on for almost 15 minutes I had to hang up and go to an appt.  

[stargazer25]

My score was about 500 (lor less)  when I first joined these forums a little less than a year ago, with 15 negative tradelines. a beater car and no credit cards and also less than $10K of debt. I am currently in the high 600's. Is the credit score from Credit Karma or a real Fico score? I ask this b/c CK scores tend to be lower than your real scores. You can get them for $1 from CCT.

I understand being embarrased about my credit score. When I first pulled it when BF and I were looking to move in together, I had a panic attack. I didn't know what to do. I freaked. I cried. Hell, I even lied. Eventually I 'fessed up to BF after having another middle of the night panic attack and he was worried about why I was having a panic attack and then he was like "that's it?" Point is we all survive these things. I am in the LA/OC area too, so I understand how the rents are here. There are individual property owners who will work with you but get ready to have to pay a double deposit. Hopefully you will get your lump sum before you have to move.

Are your negative tradelines to do with medical debt? Depending on how far out you are from that you could look into Charity Care from the hospital. How many of those are credit cards? The ones that are credit cards you may be able to negotiate a lower interest rate in exchange for closing the accounts. Check on the boards which companies are more likely to do GW adjustments on lates, PFD's and settlements. That would have me be strategic on who I pay first. 

I thought about BK'ing. 90% of mine was medical debt. I'm personally not a fan of Lexington Law. It's stuff you can do yourself with better results. I made a spreadsheet and broke it down to pieces to be able to digest it, otherwise I feel loverwhelmed too. Good luck. Feel free to reach out.

[buttercup415]

---

@stargazer25 wrote:

My score was about 500 (lor less)  when I first joined these forums a little less than a year ago, with 15 negative tradelines. a beater car and no credit cards and also less than $10K of debt. I am currently in the high 600's. Is the credit score from Credit Karma or a real Fico score? I ask this b/c CK scores tend to be lower than your real scores. You can get them for $1 from CCT.

I understand being embarrased about my credit score. When I first pulled it when BF and I were looking to move in together, I had a panic attack. I didn't know what to do. I freaked. I cried. Hell, I even lied. Eventually I 'fessed up to BF after having another middle of the night panic attack and he was worried about why I was having a panic attack and then he was like "that's it?" Point is we all survive these things. I am in the LA/OC area too, so I understand how the rents are here. There are individual property owners who will work with you but get ready to have to pay a double deposit. Hopefully you will get your lump sum before you have to move.

Are your negative tradelines to do with medical debt? Depending on how far out you are from that you could look into Charity Care from the hospital. How many of those are credit cards? The ones that are credit cards you may be able to negotiate a lower interest rate in exchange for closing the accounts. Check on the boards which companies are more likely to do GW adjustments on lates, PFD's and settlements. That would have me be strategic on who I pay first. 

I thought about BK'ing. 90% of mine was medical debt. I'm personally not a fan of Lexington Law. It's stuff you can do yourself with better results. I made a spreadsheet and broke it down to pieces to be able to digest it, otherwise I feel loverwhelmed too. Good luck. Feel free to reach out.

---

Thanks so much.  My score is actually from the 3-1 Equifax report, so it's pretty accurate and traumatizing.

I honestly thought I had identity theft when I saw it.

The majoirty of my debt is Credit Cards mainly Comenity and Synchrony Bank stores.

These forums are a god send! I'm trying to read up on methods to take care of this but it seems like a lot of the debt settlement is regarding things that have been charged off, I would actually like to keep my late payment accounts open, i just want the negative removed from my credit. Not sure how realistic that is.

You have some helpful advice and referrals, THANKYOU!

[wa3more]

yes i recovered, all three scores about 830.

You will recover too. Just educate yourself and know your rights. Keep reading these boards.

[hippychic823]

No real advice to give other than to just stay on these boards and learn everything you can.

I was in a similar situation with a credit score this summer of 436. I had a high 700- low 800 score at one point in my life and then life happened and I ended up maxing out all my cards just to live day to day, fell into the trap of only making the minimum payments, then eventually quit paying them altogether in order to pay my mortgage. All the cards are now CO or in collections and I foreclosed on my house Oct 2015.

I buried my head in the sand hoping it would just go away. It didn't, lol. I considered filing a Ch13 BK (Ch7 wasn't an option for me but if it was, I would have filed a Ch7). Decided that I would just face it all head on and thanks to the advice on these boards I have made settlement arrangements for the collections and CO's (no one would do a PFD OFF but you should still try for PFD just in case you are one of the lucky ones that can get a PFD) and had one collection completely removed. My scores are now 570 range which is still bad but better than 436 and hopefully as I pay the remaining accounts off and they age my score will improve.

I guess the point of this rambling post is that the majority of us have been where you are. And we can all empathize with the feelings of frustration and hopelessness but please know that it WILL get better, it just takes time, planning and research. Wishing you the best on your journey

[buttercup415]

---

@hippychic823 wrote:
No real advice to give other than to just stay on these boards and learn everything you can.

I was in a similar situation with a credit score this summer of 436. I had a high 700- low 800 score at one point in my life and then life happened and I ended up maxing out all my cards just to live day to day, fell into the trap of only making the minimum payments, then eventually quit paying them altogether in order to pay my mortgage. All the cards are now CO or in collections and I foreclosed on my house Oct 2015.

I buried my head in the sand hoping it would just go away. It didn't, lol. I considered filing a Ch13 BK (Ch7 wasn't an option for me but if it was, I would have filed a Ch7). Decided that I would just face it all head on and thanks to the advice on these boards I have made settlement arrangements for the collections and CO's (no one would do a PFD OFF but you should still try for PFD just in case you are one of the lucky ones that can get a PFD) and had one collection completely removed. My scores are now 570 range which is still bad but better than 436 and hopefully as I pay the remaining accounts off and they age my score will improve.

I guess the point of this rambling post is that the majority of us have been where you are. And we can all empathize with the feelings of frustration and hopelessness but please know that it WILL get better, it just takes time, planning and research. Wishing you the best on your journey

---

Sorry to hear about your foreclosure. It sounds like you know what I'm going through. Thank you for the supportive words!

[saltlakere]

---

@buttercup415 wrote:

---

@stargazer25 wrote:

My score was about 500 (lor less)  when I first joined these forums a little less than a year ago, with 15 negative tradelines. a beater car and no credit cards and also less than $10K of debt. I am currently in the high 600's. Is the credit score from Credit Karma or a real Fico score? I ask this b/c CK scores tend to be lower than your real scores. You can get them for $1 from CCT.

I understand being embarrased about my credit score. When I first pulled it when BF and I were looking to move in together, I had a panic attack. I didn't know what to do. I freaked. I cried. Hell, I even lied. Eventually I 'fessed up to BF after having another middle of the night panic attack and he was worried about why I was having a panic attack and then he was like "that's it?" Point is we all survive these things. I am in the LA/OC area too, so I understand how the rents are here. There are individual property owners who will work with you but get ready to have to pay a double deposit. Hopefully you will get your lump sum before you have to move.

Are your negative tradelines to do with medical debt? Depending on how far out you are from that you could look into Charity Care from the hospital. How many of those are credit cards? The ones that are credit cards you may be able to negotiate a lower interest rate in exchange for closing the accounts. Check on the boards which companies are more likely to do GW adjustments on lates, PFD's and settlements. That would have me be strategic on who I pay first. 

I thought about BK'ing. 90% of mine was medical debt. I'm personally not a fan of Lexington Law. It's stuff you can do yourself with better results. I made a spreadsheet and broke it down to pieces to be able to digest it, otherwise I feel loverwhelmed too. Good luck. Feel free to reach out.

---

Thanks so much.  My score is actually from the 3-1 Equifax report, so it's pretty accurate and traumatizing.

I honestly thought I had identity theft when I saw it.

The majoirty of my debt is Credit Cards mainly Comenity and Synchrony Bank stores.

These forums are a god send! I'm trying to read up on methods to take care of this but it seems like a lot of the debt settlement is regarding things that have been charged off, I would actually like to keep my late payment accounts open, i just want the negative removed from my credit. Not sure how realistic that is.

You have some helpful advice and referrals, THANKYOU!

---

You're actually in a better position than most. Please understand your financial health is very different from your credit health. Right now you need to focus on your financial health. I would contact every single creditor, explain your situation and try to get lower payments, deferred payments, whatever you need to buy you time to get out of this. Definitely tell them you're getting this lump sum. That's your exit strategy and why they will want to work with you. Same on your car loan. Installment payments can be tacked on to the end of the loan to bring them current.

If your accounts get charged off, you'll have a variety of financial and credit problems moving forward. You'll have accounts closed by the creditor. You'll have new collection accounts. Some of them may try to sue you. If they successfully sue, they can garnish your wages or attach your bank accounts. They can file liens against you. Now is your best time to negotiate. Besides the lump sum exit strategy, you'll have the bankruptcy exit strategy where your creditors get very little. This is the nuclear option and please be aware that if you file, even if you don't go through it, it will still appear on your credit report as a BK.

Good luck!

[buttercup415]

---

@saltlakere wrote:

---

@buttercup415 wrote:

---

@stargazer25 wrote:

My score was about 500 (lor less)  when I first joined these forums a little less than a year ago, with 15 negative tradelines. a beater car and no credit cards and also less than $10K of debt. I am currently in the high 600's. Is the credit score from Credit Karma or a real Fico score? I ask this b/c CK scores tend to be lower than your real scores. You can get them for $1 from CCT.

I understand being embarrased about my credit score. When I first pulled it when BF and I were looking to move in together, I had a panic attack. I didn't know what to do. I freaked. I cried. Hell, I even lied. Eventually I 'fessed up to BF after having another middle of the night panic attack and he was worried about why I was having a panic attack and then he was like "that's it?" Point is we all survive these things. I am in the LA/OC area too, so I understand how the rents are here. There are individual property owners who will work with you but get ready to have to pay a double deposit. Hopefully you will get your lump sum before you have to move.

Are your negative tradelines to do with medical debt? Depending on how far out you are from that you could look into Charity Care from the hospital. How many of those are credit cards? The ones that are credit cards you may be able to negotiate a lower interest rate in exchange for closing the accounts. Check on the boards which companies are more likely to do GW adjustments on lates, PFD's and settlements. That would have me be strategic on who I pay first. 

I thought about BK'ing. 90% of mine was medical debt. I'm personally not a fan of Lexington Law. It's stuff you can do yourself with better results. I made a spreadsheet and broke it down to pieces to be able to digest it, otherwise I feel loverwhelmed too. Good luck. Feel free to reach out.

---

Thanks so much.  My score is actually from the 3-1 Equifax report, so it's pretty accurate and traumatizing.

I honestly thought I had identity theft when I saw it.

The majoirty of my debt is Credit Cards mainly Comenity and Synchrony Bank stores.

These forums are a god send! I'm trying to read up on methods to take care of this but it seems like a lot of the debt settlement is regarding things that have been charged off, I would actually like to keep my late payment accounts open, i just want the negative removed from my credit. Not sure how realistic that is.

You have some helpful advice and referrals, THANKYOU!

---

You're actually in a better position than most. Please understand your financial health is very different from your credit health. Right now you need to focus on your financial health. I would contact every single creditor, explain your situation and try to get lower payments, deferred payments, whatever you need to buy you time to get out of this. Definitely tell them you're getting this lump sum. That's your exit strategy and why they will want to work with you. Same on your car loan. Installment payments can be tacked on to the end of the loan to bring them current.

If your accounts get charged off, you'll have a variety of financial and credit problems moving forward. You'll have accounts closed by the creditor. You'll have new collection accounts. Some of them may try to sue you. If they successfully sue, they can garnish your wages or attach your bank accounts. They can file liens against you. Now is your best time to negotiate. Besides the lump sum exit strategy, you'll have the bankruptcy exit strategy where your creditors get very little. This is the nuclear option and please be aware that if you file, even if you don't go through it, it will still appear on your credit report as a BK.

Good luck!

---

Yes, I agree I'm in a good financial situation (soon). This is not usual. But I am doing all I can to prep my finances and credit and make sure I AM NEVER IN THIS SITUATION AGAIN. As a single parent this is my worst nightmare.

I am frustrated with my car lease, they have already done all the extensions they can do, so no more can be added. My car is with Toyota Financial Services and so far they have been trying to work with me.  I will make another post because I am considering repo'ing this car if I do a BK. I have over a year left, it is much too small for our needs, I let the salesman sway me to his best interests. He told me he would be there if I ever needed any advice or trade in etc. He is now not returning my calls about my situation.  Sigh.

THANK YOU!