I could use some help, despite reading and researching I don't know where to start.

[Anonymous]

I hope this is the right place to start.  I've decided to take control of my very out-of-control credit.  

I've done a lot of reading and research (including this site).  I have NO idea where to start and feel completely overwhelmed.  I logged onto www.annualcreditreport.com.  It gave me some basic information, who I need to contact to start making some calls.  But that site just took me around in circles.  I paid the extra $4.99 to get all three reports...but it only gave me the Experian.  I paid for my scores, but wouldn't let me access them.

Should I go to each credit reportint company and get the scores from there?

I'm committed to getting this done but don't know the first step of where to start.  I hate to ask but can any of you walk me through this process.  I know I'm in for a long proccess but I'm willing to do what I have to do.  I see some of you have you past and current credit scores on your signatures, can I ask how you got those?

From what I can see on my reports so far:

Chapter 7 back in 2009, due to come off my report September 2019

Score 599 (per my Turbo Tax report)

MANY medical bills that have gone to collection that I plan on calling and making payment arragements

In California (if that helps)

Single, divorced mother (if that makes any difference)

So...what's the FIRST thing I should do?  Thank you so much in advance for any and all help!

[LakeLife]

Some people on this forum are not big on Credit Karma, but I think it's a good tool.  CK does report a little low on my scores, but it does show all of my active accounts (as well as closed accounts) and gives me a good snapshot of my credit outlay.

Once you can get to a point (if not already) you can check scores for free with credit cards such as Discover, Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo, (with just a checking/savings) and I'm sure a ton of others that I'm not familiar with.  They all use different methods (there are dozens of different scores) but are the same that lenders commonly use.  

Obviously, it's important to start getting any negatives off of your report.  Start with smaller ones and work your way up.  Good luck on your journey.  This forum is a great resourch, so read everything you can. 

[DIYcredit]

You are entitled to one free credit report from the three  credit bureau's each year from annualcreditreport.com.Most importantly to improve your Fico score you will need atleast one cc, even a secured cc that reports to the three credit bureaus with monthly on time payments.On the cc keep the utilization between 1-6%.Pay any debt that you do owe like collections.One goal in the long term will be to have three unsecured cc's no rush.Keep one cc open to make your oldest cc account.Don't open any credit accounts that you don't need.As everything ages on your cr your credit score will improve if you follow these steps,GOOD LUCK...

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I hope this is the right place to start.  I've decided to take control of my very out-of-control credit.  

I've done a lot of reading and research (including this site).  I have NO idea where to start and feel completely overwhelmed.  I logged onto www.annualcreditreport.com.  It gave me some basic information, who I need to contact to start making some calls.  But that site just took me around in circles.  I paid the extra $4.99 to get all three reports...but it only gave me the Experian.  I paid for my scores, but wouldn't let me access them.

Should I go to each credit reportint company and get the scores from there?

I'm committed to getting this done but don't know the first step of where to start.  I hate to ask but can any of you walk me through this process.  I know I'm in for a long proccess but I'm willing to do what I have to do.  I see some of you have you past and current credit scores on your signatures, can I ask how you got those?

From what I can see on my reports so far:

Chapter 7 back in 2009, due to come off my report September 2019

Score 599 (per my Turbo Tax report)

MANY medical bills that have gone to collection that I plan on calling and making payment arragements

In California (if that helps)

Single, divorced mother (if that makes any difference)

So...what's the FIRST thing I should do?  Thank you so much in advance for any and all help!

---

Your BK will fall off soon, I would not worry too much about that. If inclined to do so, you may request EE with CRAs.  I cant remember the exact timeline, I think TU is up to six months prior, EX three (when willing to do so) and EQ one month before. I'll defer to others on the actual time for EE.  CRAs can be quite inconsistent with early removal, so I would not hold my breath, but it's worth a try. 

Best thing to do is to work on your medical collections. Before paying them, see if PFD is an option.  You want those collections gone or at least paid so they stop updating and bringing your scores down. If collections are present after BK falls off, they will still hold your scores down, so make them a priority. 

As far as getting your scores, you can try credit check total, it's something like $1.00 trial, just make sure you cancel before trial period expires. 

Also, you can get free EX score here   https://www.discover.com/free-credit-score/ 

You dont have to have Discover card to use it. 

You did not mention your current revolving and instalment accounts, but general recommendation is three cards for the maximum scoring benefits. 

Good luck. 

[Anonymous]

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@LakeLife wrote:

Some people on this forum are not big on Credit Karma, but I think it's a good tool.  CK does report a little low on my scores, but it does show all of my active accounts (as well as closed accounts) and gives me a good snapshot of my credit outlay.

Once you can get to a point (if not already) you can check scores for free with credit cards such as Discover, Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo, (with just a checking/savings) and I'm sure a ton of others that I'm not familiar with.  They all use different methods (there are dozens of different scores) but are the same that lenders commonly use.  

Obviously, it's important to start getting any negatives off of your report.  Start with smaller ones and work your way up.  Good luck on your journey.  This forum is a great resourch, so read everything you can. 

---

I would agree that it is nice for account balance monitoring and reporting new inquiries quickly.  Many people on this forum aren't "big" on CK because it does not provide the same scores that a lender will pull.  Those Vantage scores can be off as much as 100 points from the scores your lender will pull, therefore making those scores 100% useless.

CK also gets paid when they refer you.  So naturally if you follow their credit score guidance, you'll need a ridiculous number of accounts to achieve a good score.  If this was my business model, I would say that you need 50 cards for good credit.  I would just sit back and let all of the naive people click my referral links for cards they have no chance of being approved for, while lining my pockets with cash at the same time.

[Remedios]

CK is useless from scoring point of view, but it's great for simply monitoring reports if one does not want to pay for credit monitoring. 

In addition, Wallet Hub provides daily TU report. While scores may be useless and card recommendations shady at best, it gives you an opportunity to watch for changes in CR and instances of fraud. 

[Queen_Etherea]

Go to Experian and do the $1 trial for 7 days. It will give you all 3 credit reports + scores. Just be sure to cancel before the 7 days.

[Anonymous]

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@Queen_Etherea wrote:

Go to Experian and do the $1 trial for 7 days. It will give you all 3 credit reports + scores. Just be sure to cancel before the 7 days.

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Agreed, that's what I did this weekend, canceled the trial today.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I hope this is the right place to start.  I've decided to take control of my very out-of-control credit.  

I've done a lot of reading and research (including this site).  I have NO idea where to start and feel completely overwhelmed.  I logged onto www.annualcreditreport.com.  It gave me some basic information, who I need to contact to start making some calls.  But that site just took me around in circles.  I paid the extra $4.99 to get all three reports...but it only gave me the Experian.  I paid for my scores, but wouldn't let me access them.

Should I go to each credit reportint company and get the scores from there?

I'm committed to getting this done but don't know the first step of where to start.  I hate to ask but can any of you walk me through this process.  I know I'm in for a long proccess but I'm willing to do what I have to do.  I see some of you have you past and current credit scores on your signatures, can I ask how you got those?

From what I can see on my reports so far:

Chapter 7 back in 2009, due to come off my report September 2019

Score 599 (per my Turbo Tax report)

MANY medical bills that have gone to collection that I plan on calling and making payment arragements

In California (if that helps)

Single, divorced mother (if that makes any difference)

So...what's the FIRST thing I should do?  Thank you so much in advance for any and all help!

---

Welcome, this site is a great source of information from a lot of knowledgeable people. I am new to trying to rebuild my credit as well, I found it very useful to pull all three reports as accounts can be reported to one, two of the three, or all three credit agencies.  Once you have a complete audit of what all is on your credit report put together a plan of attack. As others have mentioned determine which collection accounts are actively updating and reporting and which ones are not. If you have accounts that are closed or in good standing but have late payments you should consider sending them GW letters for the removal of the late payments. For the collection accounts that are actively updating start with the smallest balance and work your way up the list. Send them PFD letters either offering to pay in full or if you are able to negociate a settlement for a lesser amount. If they agree to PFD then go ahead and pay them and they should be deleted from your reports. I personally have sent PFD letters to all my updating collection accounts, if some are not willing to PFD which I am quite sure there will be I will probable try and negociate a settlement or pay it in full. This will stop the updating every month so that they can start to age off and hurt you less and less.

Others have already mentioned getting the CC's but you will also want to have one installment account, if you do not currently have a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan you are paying on then look into opening a credit builder loan like the ones offered by Self Lender.

I am sure others can provide you even more information and I am  sure that my advice can be improved upon by others as well.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

I'm using this MyFico site for my 3B report. I'm paying $42 a month but it allows me to see all 3 FICO scores and once a month I get ONE consolidated report from all 3 bureaus ("3B Report") and I personally find this motivating and worth the money. I check my score daily and I just started restoring my credit February 2019. Already my one of my scores is up almost 100 pts in ONE month! I disputed all incorrect info and I paid off ALL my collections. I negotiated with the creditors directly where I could. I wasn't able to negotiate any pay for deletes though BUT one of the collection agencies doesn't even report the negative. To rebuild my credit, I opened $300 Fingerhut and spent 1/3 so I can establish a good payment history on a revolving account. I also opened one $500 secured card with Bank of America and for my third I opened an account with Self Lender for $1K which is a certificate of deposit that reports monthly (I pay $89/mo and at the end of the year I have $1K + interest saved).

I did consult with a credit clean up club and I've had success on a path forward using their 15 minute monthly 1/1 call with 850 Credit club (you can watch their You Tube videos). I personally found them helpful! PM me if you have any specific questions about the club.

And, every morning I read, read, read this forum! Great information shared here

Best wishes!