New Member, Looking for some guidance, So confusing!!!

[Anonymous]

Hello Forum!

I've been lurking around these forums for a long time and I've recently began to the process of getting back on my feet......I've never really taken credit before (nor did I care to have any).....Now, I'm a family man and would like to have credit when I need it.....I'm sorry in advance if my information is not up to the sites standards.....I read the FAQ and I think I should be fine.....

Anyways, here we go:

Experian: 542

Equifax: 595

Transunion: 595

Currently have 2 Credit Cards:

-Capital One Secured (235.00 Limit)  30% Utilization

-Credit One Bank (300.00 Limit) 5% Utilization

Have the ability to open Finger Hut "Fresh Start" account which graduates into a revolving account.

Now some stuff from my credit report:

3 Open Collections according to Trans Union:

$140.00 Medical last update 03/14 

$89.00 Medical 08/12 02/14 Update on report

$75.00 Medical 06/12 09/12 Update on report

"Closed Items"

$306.00 Cell Phone 11/13 08/14 Update

$1988 Car Loan (Fell Behind) but No Public Record or Civil Judgement 05/13

$314.00 Bank America Credit Card 01/13

$296.00 Daniel Jewelers 01/13 

17 Inquiries (95% from 2012 when I was shopping for cars)

So it seems like the 3 items in collections are hurting me the most.....Obviously, I cannot afford to "Undue" all of the damage I've done in the past but moving forward, I want to make sure I'm doing the things the right way........For just starting to care about my credit where do my scores stand?????

Any suggestions on where to go????

Sorry for the very long post.

[Anonymous]

Welcome. you have come to the right place for help. Sounds like you are on the right path. You need to do PFD's on all your CA's. Start with the open medical ones then work your way to the closed ones as you can afford PFD's. be persistant and good luck.

[Anonymous]

So "Pay for Deletion"....
This is where I negotiate a payment in order for them to delete it from my file?

I live in California, anything I should know......
How much should I offer.....

I only have those 3 things that are current.....How much of a score jump can I expect if I remove those.....

furthermore, how much are those old ones from 2 years ago affecting me......

If I don't remove those and just keep my 2 cards in good standing will my score increase.....

one of the "score planners" said my Exp should jump to 608 after 6 months of paying on time