For the utility collections, call the companies and see if you can pay them directly. Either through one time payments or payment plans. If they accept payment the collection companies don’t have a case. I paid Comcast this way just last week. They told me they would recall the collection. For the ones that have sold the debt off to a ca, contact the ca and see if they will do a pfd. Some do and some don’t. You can search in the forums for a list of ca that will pfd. Cap One is one of the most forgiving banks around. You can apply for their secured card and probably get it. Just know that they hp all three bureaus and the card doesn’t graduate. If you’re ok with that I would say go for it. Also , when you did the Disco prequal, did it not even offer you the secured card?
Goal Scores: 700 across all three
People here often joke about how Cap One will be in the process of suing you and still extend new credit. I think I burned them on a secured card back in 2007, I have a secured card from them in my wallet right now.
@Anonymous wrote:I have the Discover login that allows me to check my credit score through them. It had a place to do the Prequal and it did not offer me even the secured card, declined me and said they would mail something, at least there was no hard pull. I have a suspicion that the Chexsystems entry is going to be a big hindrance and that is on my list to deal with after utility collections get removed. If i walk into a utility office and want to literally hand them money, i dont think ill have a problem getting those taken care of.
For yhe Capital One, i still owe them from the judgment against me. Will the extend credit before i pay that?
@Anonymous wrote:Ok so my credit sucks. We'll start there. But I’ve seen worse on this board so I feel a little more optimistic. I’ve been lurking around the forum since earlier this year , that’s how I found out about the Open Sky card. I’ve already got my fako scores up to 570 CK and 600 EXP. It was lower, but I got a 50 point jump this month because my brand new Open Sky secure card ($300 limit) just started reporting.
I have 2 student loans (Navient federal loans) started in 2016 ($2500 + $1000 left). Unfortunately I have between the two loans 24 missed payments (12 and 12) from 2017-2018. This hurts because I know payment history is 35% of the score. Unfortunately Navient doesnt remove lates.
5 collections accounts
Original: Speedycash (I think Sept 2016)
Reporting as: National Credit Adjusters Dec 2019
Amount $315
Original: ATT (sometime in 2017)
Reporting as: Credence Resource Management Oct 2019
Amount $333
Original: Comcast/xfinity (term ended March 2018)
Reporting as: Enhanced Recovery Company Aug 2019
Amount $152
Original: Pacific Gas and Electric (march 2018?)
Reporting as: Contract Callers Inc Oct 2019
Amount $1322
Original: a private storage facility (end of 2017)
Reporting as: Acclaim Credit Technology March 2019
Amount $560
I also have a judgment against me from Capital One that is more than 10 years old that has aged off my report (and yes I know it doesn’t report anymore anyway) but I do owe that and its not going away. This also eliminates Capital one cards as a possibility (right?). I have debt to Tmobile also in 2017 not on report and an ancient Verizon from 2008.
I owe Union Bank (2017 or 18) because they screwed me for the third time and OD my account. So I am in Chexsystems.
So what else can I do to not screw my credit up more? My Open Sky card already is set to take a $21 charge and then autopay. So that is a 7% utilization and a PIF every month. FICO doesnt look at util as in how mych you charge on a card. Its what is reported come statement date that matters. My student loans are good until September. I can try to contact some of the original creditors and pay them directly (in theory then nothing would appear on report right?).Not really. The CA's you have listed are not known to PFD. Any better ideas? Are the mismatched dates anything I can use to my advantage? 3 of the collections are Utility accounts and most rentals automatically deny you for that.
I do not prequal for Discover It. Have a judgment from Capital One. What else can I or should I get? I don’t think a Self Lender would help because its just another installment loan like my current Student Loans. I am considering Fingerhut but I really don’t need to buy more junk.
My goal is to get my scores good enough by the end of the year to qualify for any non predatory car loan on my own. As well as move into a better place.
Do all you can to try and get the OC's to take payment. AT&T & Comcast arent known to PFD and recall debts. Kinda stuck. Pay off or settle with the CA's so they quit reporting each month and can die off. Theres also Merrick Bank secured. The lates on the SL's, the judgement which creditors can see even though it isnt on your reports is going to be your crutch for a while. Basically pay off the debts. Till then not much more you can do but secured cards.
Cap one no longer graduates. You can do a version of AZEO with just two cards. Just let one report zero and the other report small balances around 9%. You can even rotate between the two. I wouldn’t suggest getting a third secured card right now. Money that you are using for security deposits, could go towards paying off a smaller collection. It will look better to new lenders if you tackle some of your outstanding debts before seeking more new credit. Work on the baddies, nurture what you have right now, and see where you stand in about 6 months. By then you may qualify for an unsecured card.