Rebuild- Fastest Way There

[Anonymous]

Hello all! 

I found this forum and joined MyFICO because the information people have here seems so incredibly robust!  Here is my story.  I filed for bankruptcy in October 2006 and it was discharged March 2007 (per my credit report it states it will be removed October 2016).  I was obviously still too young to file bankruptcy (my mom encouraged it but that doesn't matter now) so I made 3 errors of letting collections appear on my report on or around 2008. 

I am now 31 and trying to get back on track to buy a house. 

November 2012 I was finally approved for my first credit cards (all unsecured) Capital One Platinum $300 start (just raised my limit to $500) current balance $275; Lane Bryant $150 current balance $0; Macy's $800 current balance $520 and Care Credit $7,000 current balance $4,900.  

Here are my questions:

1) How long with these cards and limits/percent of credit used will it take to theoretically improve my score by 100 or more points?

2) Should I still pay the collection account (one I already am paying and should have paid off in September) even though they are scheduled for deletion in 2 years?  Will that make my score jump drastically?

3) Does disputing items that are inaccurate really increase your score?  And is it true that if the company does not respond to the "investigation" that the credit bureaus have to delete it off your record?

4) How can you get your credit scores for the other bureaus without hurting your score as a pull? (I am not sure if it does or not)

Thanks in advance

TranUnion Score 04/19/2013: 589

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello all! 

I found this forum and joined MyFICO because the information people have here seems so incredibly robust!  Here is my story.  I filed for bankruptcy in October 2006 and it was discharged March 2007 (per my credit report it states it will be removed October 2016).  I was obviously still too young to file bankruptcy (my mom encouraged it but that doesn't matter now) so I made 3 errors of letting collections appear on my report on or around 2008. 

I am now 31 and trying to get back on track to buy a house. 

November 2012 I was finally approved for my first credit cards (all unsecured) Capital One Platinum $300 start (just raised my limit to $500) current balance $275; Lane Bryant $150 current balance $0; Macy's $800 current balance $520 and Care Credit $7,000 current balance $4,900.  

Here are my questions:

1) How long with these cards and limits/percent of credit used will it take to theoretically improve my score by 100 or more points?  By making your payments on time for 6 months to a year your score willgo go up.  Over the years those cards will help your score.

2) Should I still pay the collection account (one I already am paying and should have paid off in September) even though they are scheduled for deletion in 2 years?  Will that make my score jump drastically? Paying off a collection will not make your score go up, removing the TL will.  I would offer them, when you can, a pay for delete for the remaining balance.

3) Does disputing items that are inaccurate really increase your score?  And is it true that if the company does not respond to the "investigation" that the credit bureaus have to delete it off your record? No.  What happens is if you dispute an OC account certain aspects of that TL are removed from scoring.  Once the dispute is resolved, your score may go up, down or what it was before the dispute.  It depends on the outcome of the dispute.  CA and PR and not removed during a dispute.

4) How can you get your credit scores for the other bureaus without hurting your score as a pull? (I am not sure if it does or not) Getting your own CR will not hurt your score.  You can only get a TU and EQ score, EX no longer sells their FICO score to the consumer since Feb 2009.  You can get a TU and EQ score here on myFICO.  The scores you get from the CRAs are not FICO scores.

Thanks in advance

TranUnion Score 04/19/2013: 589

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[InvincibleSummer3]

Hello Nae! Welcome to the forums.

1) There's no real hard & fast rule as to how fast your score goes up. Pay on time, every month, and you should see some good gains in 6-12 months. Will it be 100 points? Hard to say. But good history and time cures all. Paying down your utilization will help a great deal. If you want the best bang for your buck, utilization-wise, pay all accounts except one down to zero, and let the last one report with less than 9%. You will likely see a pretty big jump. It's not necessary, really, unless you're applying for something - your score's basically a snapshot of where you are. It doesn't carry over month-to-month.

2) Paying a collection will not increase not decrease your score. But if you're looking to get a mortgage or something down the road, it's better to have paid it. You can try for a PFD (pay for delete) or sometimes it works to pay in full and then send goodwill letters to see if you can get things removed.

3) Not necessarily. It's better to send a debt validation letter (DV) to the creditor rather than disputing it with the credit reporting agencies. For a variety of reasons.

4) Pulling your own credit will not hurt your score. You can do that without fearing you'll hurt yourself.

This might help: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/What-Steps-Do-I-Take-Do-I-DV-PFD/td-p/337142

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

You are awesome!  So I am sorry to play the newbie and ask but could you break down the acronym for me?

CA: Collections Account

PR: Public Records

what is TL?

Also, on the one collections account I am already paying is it too late to ask for a pay for delete?  Can I request it be deleted after the fact?  It is with Portfolio.  I am not sure how good they are with their word.  I did ask when I set up the payment plan if they would remove it from my CR but the guy said he was not sure they would etc.  I don't want to waste time if they are not very good to work with.

On here I have seen from people's tag lines that their scores increased 100+ points in just about a years time.  That is incredible and hopefully what I can accomplish.

Thanks for the info on the CA's score being different than the FICO, I didn't know that.  So the score I see on a denial letter from a company, is that the FICO?  I got a denial from BofA recently.

Other than paying what I have on time, any other tips to help me gain?

Does the percentage of credit used greatly effect the FICO score? (I see from the second re-poster it likely does)

I am looking for the 700 club in 2 years, at least that is my goal

TranUnion FICO Score 04/19/2013: 589

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[InvincibleSummer3]

TL means Tradeline.

It never hurts to ask for a deletion. You're already paying, and the worst they can say is no. Sometimes they are willing, sometimes it works better to try paying & then ask them to remove in a really nice & polite fashion.

YES utilization is a big chunk of your FICO score. More on this here:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/Your-Guide-to-Credit-Scoring/m-p/718550#U7185...

You can do this - you're on the right track!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You are awesome!  So I am sorry to play the newbie and ask but could you break down the acronym for me?

CA: Collections Account

PR: Public Records

what is TL?

Also, on the one collections account I am already paying is it too late to ask for a pay for delete?  Can I request it be deleted after the fact?  It is with Portfolio.  I am not sure how good they are with their word.  I did ask when I set up the payment plan if they would remove it from my CR but the guy said he was not sure they would etc.  I don't want to waste time if they are not very good to work with. Any time is a good time to ask.You can also pay it if they say no and send GW (good will) letters asking for removal.

On here I have seen from people's tag lines that their scores increased 100+ points in just about a years time.  That is incredible and hopefully what I can accomplish.

Thanks for the info on the CA's score being different than the FICO, I didn't know that.  So the score I see on a denial letter from a company, is that the FICO?  I got a denial from BofA recently.

Other than paying what I have on time, any other tips to help me gain?

Does the percentage of credit used greatly effect the FICO score? (I see from the second re-poster it likely does)  Yes, utilization is a huge factor. By letting all but one card report 0 and the other at 9% or below will bring your score up the fastest.

I am looking for the 700 club in 2 years, at least that is my goal

Read some of the stickies in my signature for abbreviations, ect.  Lots of good information there.

TranUnion FICO Score 04/19/2013: 589

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