Please help me begin this process. I need some help.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
My question is: how does one go about improving their credit score when it seems that paying on collections damages the score and most CA won't take a PFD request easily? I would like to also try to get a secured credit card but I am not sure how they approve on those. I've heard of people getting them with a 550 and others not with a 610. My current scores are 593 Equifax and 602 TransUnion.

I have saved about $3000 for a new car for work and school. I am very afraid to be rejected for a loan at Volkswagen and hurt my credit score further.

I have tried about a year ago to do a PFD with a collections bill that was rejected. I owe about 2k to various credit agencies. I am now in a stronger position to pay, no longer homeless, and want to do this right but don't want to hurt my credit in the long run doing so. I am in my 20's and don't fully understand all of the intricate details of credit building.

Thank you for your help.

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Collections suck and I totally forgot that they don't really help the score. I am only paying one because I need my transcript to prove I really did graduate from college. I also gave up on doing PFD and anything else which is hands on with collections because of the rudeness. 

Try for a secure loan (savings/ssl), I used Self Lender. I don't know what my score was at the time because I didn't have access to any FICO score until last month. According to CreditKarma I was sitting at 398 last year at the time of applying.

I was approved for a DISCO secured card last month and my scores were much lower than yours. Right now my EQ sits at 534. I learned the hard way that creditkarma scores are fake. FAKO TU was 532 and FAKE EQ was 533. 

I'm also in my 20's you're in the right place, you will learn a lot. The only way you will learn is by applying. There are pre qualifying sites to see if you're likely to be approved before going through with a credit card application. 

I wish you much luck in your credit journey, good luck!

P.S. Even though opensky reports to all 3 CB and doesn't pull your credit score, I don't recommend it simply because it will never upgrade and they're slow to show your updated balance (when a payment has been made). 

[Anonymous]

"I wouldn’t pay the collection accounts until you verify that the collector has the legal right to collect and that they have accurate information about you. Most of the time they don’t have good data." - Lovelymimi

How would I go about checking they have the correct information? Would I call? Email? Speak with the reporting agencies? I don't wish to reset the clock of the debts by mistaking the proper steps.

[Anonymous]

I did a bunch of research on Self-Lender and consumers were not happy. It's a CD the company opens for you to pay towards and they receive your interest earned at the end for opening the account on your behalf.

I reached to my local credit union to discuss the shared secured loans, protocols, and reporting features...it turns out no one knew the shared secured loans ARE reported to the CRA. Even the CU credit reporting department was unaware (I'm curious if others who've used that service checked).

Check with your credit union first because you may get a better deal. I opened a small loan with my own funds($2k) and will only pay 5% on it for 18 months. About $100 for self-repair...I earn interest on the account and I'm using this installment loan to rebuild my credit, relationship with my CU, and set myself up for signature loans by the time I finish gardening in 2021.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
"I wouldn’t pay the collection accounts until you verify that the collector has the legal right to collect and that they have accurate information about you. Most of the time they don’t have good data." - Lovelymimi

How would I go about checking they have the correct information? Would I call? Email? Speak with the reporting agencies? I don't wish to reset the clock of the debts by mistaking the proper steps.

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You won't reset the clock by inquring about the debt. Send a letter , a debt validation letter to the collection agencies by certified mail.