Starting my Rebuild ** Updated My Progress Thread

Anonymous · ‎02-18-2018

Hello Everyone,

I've been a long time lurker, and finally decided to join and officially share my re-build story with you all. Hopefully you guys can point me out in my journey as I go along and I can share with all of you the bits and pieces of knowledge that I have gained as I've done some things on my own, and from reading different resources online.

Just a little bit of background, 32 years old, have struggled with credit since I was 18 and was dumb enough to fall for the campus credit cards offers. Never really had a healthy relationship with credit cards, nor was it ever taught at home, or had a viable modl of how I should handle my credit, as my parents were always of the philosophy charge and enjoy now, worry about the bills later, leading them to now in their 60s file for Chapter 7 (more on this later).

As of today, 2/19 my Fico8 stores from CCT are 547 EX 547 TU & 559 EQ. When I initially started in October my scores were in the 480s across the board, but I was able to get a boost by disputing some accounts that were on my report where I was just an authorized signer on my parents cards from like 10+ years ago. I decided to rebuild because I need a new car, and want to buy a place (I realize I need to put this off for at least 24 months, if not longer). I have a great job and earn close to $100k a year, but still struggle to manage and stick to a budget, when it's just so much more fun to go out with friends and enjoy all that my hometown of NYC has to offer :-/. I have $0.00 in the bank other than 401k's/retirement accounts as a result. I'm working on correcting my behaviors, and just spent the last few hours creating a framework of a budget and setting up part of my direct deposit to go into accounts that I don't readily have access to a debit card/transfer funds for impulse purchases.

I've included below a snapshot of my accounts as they show on my reports, as I would love your feedback on how to best proceed with this re-build. I have some accounts that I need to dispute as they belong to my father (we have the same exact name, lived at the same address for many many years, obviously, and our SS# are off by a digit, as we came to the US together and the numbers were issued at the same time way back, before they started randomizing SS#'s, so even his CH7 is on my EQ file). I could easily tackle the amounts that I owe in two to three months and have set aside some $$ on the budgets that I created, so I just really need help on figuring out the best way. I'm going to be sending PFD letters to the collection agencies, once I have the funds ready to go in the bank (should be after the 1st, when my commission check hits).

Experian and TU both show exactly the same accts:

Creditor Status Balance Reported Credit Limit Utilization

HSBC BANK CLOSED/CO $ 1,772.00 $ 1,200.00 148%

NAVY FEDERAL CU PAID $ 3,501.00 $ 2,900.00 121%

CAPITAL ONE CLOSED/CO $ 2,040.00 $ 1,800.00 113%

DISCOVER FIN SVCS LLC (secured DiscoverIT) PAID $ 36.00 $ 200.00 18%

ACS/BANK OF AMERICA PAID $ - $ - 0%

CAPITAL ONE CLOSED/CO $ - $ - 0%

CITIBANK NA (STULOAN) CLOSED $ - $ - 0%

CREDIT ONE BANK NA CLOSED/CO $ - $ - 0%

FEDLOAN SERV CLOSED $ - $ - 0%

FEDLOAN SERV PAID $ 44,658.00 $ 44,658.00 0%

FIRST PREMIER BANK PAID/CLOSED $ - $ - 0%

LVNV FUNDING CLOSED/CO $ 941.00 $ - 0%

MANHATTAN MINI STORAGE $ 1,000.00 $ - 0%

MACYS/DSNB PAID $ - $ 100.00 0%

MIDLAND FUNDING CLOSED/CO $ 949.00 $ - 0%

MUNICIPAL CREDIT UNION CLOSED/CO $ 865.00 $ - 0%

STUDENT LOAN CORP (DISCOVER) PAID $ 7,453.00 $ 5,100.00 0%

STUDENT LOAN CORP (DISCOVER) PAID $ 10,788.00 $ 5,562.00 0%

SYNCB/AMER EAGLE CLOSED $ - $ - 0%

SYNCB/PAYPAL SMART CON CLOSED/CO $ - $ - 0%

USAA AMEX CLOSED $ - $ - 0%

USAA AMEX CLOSED $ - $ 300.00 0%

VERIZON WIRELESS CLOSED/CO $ 892.00 $ - 0%

My EQ file, I'm not even going to post because I'm 100% certain has been merged with my father's file. It's showing me all of his accounts that were inculded in his CH7 (which is still pending discharge in a few weeks), his DOB is showing as mine and even his CH 7 filing is showing under Public Record. Surprisingly, this is my highest score, probably because the AAoA is substantially higher than on my own true file.

Capital One also just approved me for $500 a few weeks ago and that's nowhere on my reports yet. First statement was received already so it should be reporting soon.

My apologies for the crazy long message, but I just need to get this all out of my head and somewhere to try to make sense of the road ahead.

So, my action plan, and your feedback is needed and appreciated:

File EQ dispute to remove incorrect information. Should I reference in my dispute letter that the accounts belong to my father, or just dispute and state that they are simply not my accounts?
Finalize my budget. My income fluctuates (sometimes wildly) due to the bulk of it being commissions. On average, though, I take home about $6k a month and the next two months commission payouts look horrible due to my performance not being the best during those months being paid out (my commission is on a 90 day lag).
Build Emergency Fund of at least 1 month's worth of income.
Once # 3 is accomplished, send out PFD letters to the collection agencies listed on my reports. I no longer get phone calls or letters from any of them, so not sure if I should call the numbers on my reports and get the mailing addresses for such letters or just send them CMRRR to the address on the report.
Looks like some of the balances on the HSBC card and Capital one card are still with them as they are showing a balance on my reports, and not showing any collection agency tradelines, should I contact the OC to set up payment arrangements on those? Once I get over the next 2 months of low commissions my next few months are very good, so I should be able to clear those quickly.
My DiscoverIT card was opened in October, so it hits 7 months in May. I want to deposit at least $1,300 more in there so that if it graduates in April I can have a decent CL. Thoughts?
My NFCU card is getting paid to under the limit this week. I had an issue with a returned payment (changed banks and didn't pay attention to where I was paying from) when I paid them approximately $1500 in December and subsequently ran up the card again with Christmas gifts before I realized what had transpired. I ended up using the $1500 that were supposed to go to that on emergency repairs to my aging car, but after those repairs various people, including family members that are mechanics are telling me the car can hold for another 30,000 miles at least (it's a trusty 2008 Honda Accord, so not too many problems with those, but already at 110,000 miles)
I wasted a pull on re-opening an USAA Secured card, I don't even know why, since I know that card doesn't graduate, but I guess I just wanted to feel good about carrying an Amex back in my wallet again (burned them for like $3,000 when I was in college 10+years ago, and I know I'm not on the blacklist beacause I applied like 3 years ago before the s**t hit the fan and put me back down in the credit mess I'm in now with a job loss and they pulled TU).

that's all for now, thanks for making it through my novel of a post. I look forward to sharing my journey with all of you and reading your thoughts on how I should proceed!

Remedios · ‎02-19-2018

@Anonymouswrote:
Hello Everyone,

I've been a long time lurker, and finally decided to join and officially share my re-build story with you all. Hopefully you guys can point me out in my journey as I go along and I can share with all of you the bits and pieces of knowledge that I have gained as I've done some things on my own, and from reading different resources online.

Just a little bit of background, 32 years old, have struggled with credit since I was 18 and was dumb enough to fall for the campus credit cards offers. Never really had a healthy relationship with credit cards, nor was it ever taught at home, or had a viable modl of how I should handle my credit, as my parents were always of the philosophy charge and enjoy now, worry about the bills later, leading them to now in their 60s file for Chapter 7 (more on this later).

As of today, 2/19 my Fico8 stores from CCT are 547 EX 547 TU & 559 EQ. When I initially started in October my scores were in the 480s across the board, but I was able to get a boost by disputing some accounts that were on my report where I was just an authorized signer on my parents cards from like 10+ years ago. I decided to rebuild because I need a new car, and want to buy a place (I realize I need to put this off for at least 24 months, if not longer). I have a great job and earn close to $100k a year, but still struggle to manage and stick to a budget, when it's just so much more fun to go out with friends and enjoy all that my hometown of NYC has to offer :-/. I have $0.00 in the bank other than 401k's/retirement accounts as a result. I'm working on correcting my behaviors, and just spent the last few hours creating a framework of a budget and setting up part of my direct deposit to go into accounts that I don't readily have access to a debit card/transfer funds for impulse purchases.

I've included below a snapshot of my accounts as they show on my reports, as I would love your feedback on how to best proceed with this re-build. I have some accounts that I need to dispute as they belong to my father (we have the same exact name, lived at the same address for many many years, obviously, and our SS# are off by a digit, as we came to the US together and the numbers were issued at the same time way back, before they started randomizing SS#'s, so even his CH7 is on my EQ file). I could easily tackle the amounts that I owe in two to three months and have set aside some $$ on the budgets that I created, so I just really need help on figuring out the best way. I'm going to be sending PFD letters to the collection agencies, once I have the funds ready to go in the bank (should be after the 1st, when my commission check hits).

Experian and TU both show exactly the same accts:
Creditor Status Balance Reported Credit Limit Utilization
HSBC BANK CLOSED/CO $           1,772.00 $           1,200.00 148%
NAVY FEDERAL CU PAID $           3,501.00 $           2,900.00 121%
CAPITAL ONE CLOSED/CO $           2,040.00 $           1,800.00 113%
DISCOVER FIN SVCS LLC (secured DiscoverIT) PAID $                36.00 $              200.00 18%
ACS/BANK OF AMERICA PAID $                      -   $                      -   0%
ACS/BANK OF AMERICA PAID $                      -   $                      -   0%
CAPITAL ONE CLOSED/CO $                      -   $                      -   0%
CITIBANK NA (STULOAN) CLOSED $                      -   $                      -   0%
CREDIT ONE BANK NA CLOSED/CO $                      -   $                      -   0%
FEDLOAN SERV CLOSED $                      -   $                      -   0%
FEDLOAN SERV CLOSED $                      -   $                      -   0%
FEDLOAN SERV CLOSED $                      -   $                      -   0%
FEDLOAN SERV CLOSED $                      -   $                      -   0%
FEDLOAN SERV PAID $         44,658.00 $         44,658.00 0%
FIRST PREMIER BANK PAID/CLOSED $                      -   $                      -   0%
FIRST PREMIER BANK PAID/CLOSED $                      -   $                      -   0%
LVNV FUNDING CLOSED/CO $              941.00 $                      -   0%
MANHATTAN MINI STORAGE $           1,000.00 $                      -   0%
MACYS/DSNB PAID $                      -   $              100.00 0%
MIDLAND FUNDING CLOSED/CO $              949.00 $                      -   0%
MUNICIPAL CREDIT UNION CLOSED/CO $              865.00 $                      -   0%
STUDENT LOAN CORP (DISCOVER) PAID $           7,453.00 $           5,100.00 0%
STUDENT LOAN CORP (DISCOVER) PAID $         10,788.00 $           5,562.00 0%
SYNCB/AMER EAGLE CLOSED $                      -   $                      -   0%
SYNCB/PAYPAL SMART CON CLOSED/CO $                      -   $                      -   0%
USAA AMEX CLOSED $                      -   $                      -   0%
USAA AMEX CLOSED $                      -   $              300.00 0%
VERIZON WIRELESS CLOSED/CO $              892.00 $                      -   0%

My EQ file, I'm not even going to post because I'm 100% certain has been merged with my father's file. It's showing me all of his accounts that were inculded in his CH7 (which is still pending discharge in a few weeks), his DOB is showing as mine and even his CH 7 filing is showing under Public Record. Surprisingly, this is my highest score, probably because the AAoA is substantially higher than on my own true file.

Capital One also just approved me for $500 a few weeks ago and that's nowhere on my reports yet. First statement was received already so it should be reporting soon.

My apologies for the crazy long message, but I just need to get this all out of my head and somewhere to try to make sense of the road ahead.

So, my action plan, and your feedback is needed and appreciated:
File EQ dispute to remove incorrect information. Should I reference in my dispute letter that the accounts belong to my father, or just dispute and state that they are simply not my accounts?
Finalize my budget. My income fluctuates (sometimes wildly) due to the bulk of it being commissions. On average, though, I take home about $6k a month and the next two months commission payouts look horrible due to my performance not being the best during those months being paid out (my commission is on a 90 day lag).
Build Emergency Fund of at least 1 month's worth of income.
Once # 3 is accomplished, send out PFD letters to the collection agencies listed on my reports. I no longer get phone calls or letters from any of them, so not sure if I should call the numbers on my reports and get the mailing addresses for such letters or just send them CMRRR to the address on the report.
Looks like some of the balances on the HSBC card and Capital one card are still with them as they are showing a balance on my reports, and not showing any collection agency tradelines, should I contact the OC to set up payment arrangements on those? Once I get over the next 2 months of low commissions my next few months are very good, so I should be able to clear those quickly.
My DiscoverIT card was opened in October, so it hits 7 months in May. I want to deposit at least $1,300 more in there so that if it graduates in April I can have a decent CL. Thoughts?
My NFCU card is getting paid to under the limit this week. I had an issue with a returned payment (changed banks and didn't pay attention to where I was paying from) when I paid them approximately $1500 in December and subsequently ran up the card again with Christmas gifts before I realized what had transpired. I ended up using the $1500 that were supposed to go to that on emergency repairs to my aging car, but after those repairs various people, including family members that are mechanics are telling me the car can hold for another 30,000 miles at least (it's a trusty 2008 Honda Accord, so not too many problems with those, but already at 110,000 miles)
I wasted a pull on re-opening an USAA Secured card, I don't even know why, since I know that card doesn't graduate, but I guess I just wanted to feel good about carrying an Amex back in my wallet again (burned them for like $3,000 when I was in college 10+years ago, and I know I'm not on the blacklist beacause I applied like 3 years ago before the s**t hit the fan and put me back down in the credit mess I'm in now with a job loss and they pulled TU).
that's all for now, thanks for making it through my novel of a post. I look forward to sharing my journey with all of you and reading your thoughts on how I should proceed!

1) Read this https://help.equifax.com/s/article/What-can-I-do-if-I-believe-that-I-have-a-mixed-file

2) If your income fluctuates, use the lowest expected value and budget with that. It makes no sense to budget for $9k if there is a possibility of getting $5k.

3) One month will do you no good. Three month should be the bare minimum, six preferable

4) Sounds like a plan but make sure you budget those payments also

5) Probably

6) That money could be put to a lot better use such as collections and accounts with 148%/128% utilization (or emergency fund)

7) See #3. With enough money in emergency fund, you'd avoid these situations

8)I think you're talking about co-branded card. The only way to find out if you're on Amex naughty list is to apply. If you did not pay them, chances are you are blacklisted

Good luck!

Anonymous · ‎07-25-2018

Just thought I'd check in with this post and update the community with my progress.

With the help of all of the topics on this board and doing a lot of research, I have made some great progress since my last post. My scores are up significantly. I have done pay for deletes, and disputes with most of the baddies on the list above, and have pretty much cleared most of the baddies from my record. As it stands right now, my FICO 8 from my 3B membership are as follows: EQ 610 TU 649 EX 639. I think I haven't hit the 700s because I'm at 94% utilization with my NFCU credit card about maxed out, but that will be getting paid off on Friday as soon as my paycheck hits my direct deposit. After paying down my NFCU I will have total balances of about 2300 on about 6,000 worth of credit owed to both Discover and Cap1, and those will be paid in full by their statement due dates, so by this time next month all of my credit cards should be at or very close to a $0.00 balance. I'm thinking of letting one of the cards report a small $50 balance or so just so that not everything is at zero given some of the advice that I have read on here.

In any case, I just wanted to stop by, thank all of you for all of your insights and helpul posts all over this board. There's no way I would have accomplished what I have accomplished already without your assistance. I will post again once all my cards report low utilization in the next 30 days and my scores update to reflect that. I'm hoping for a nice jump into the 700 club... pray for me lol.

Anonymous · ‎08-19-2018

Using this thread now to keep myself accountable with my progress. So just to share with everyone, latest scores look as follows. :
Eq 691
TU 721
Ex 669

Eq and Ex haven’t updated with all my balances at 0 as of yet. Should see some healthy jumps as they has cards at over 80% util showing.

I never thought I would be able to climb back into the 700 club with the help of everything ive learned here I have made it.

Now I’ve been in the garden for about 6-7 months, I want some prime cards. I’m at 3/24 right now so my first apps are going to be for a chase sapphire preferred and for a chase ink business card. Going to wait for experian to go up a little more as I’ve gathered that Chase likes to pull EX in NY.

Thank you all for your participation in this community as it has helped me tremendously.

Anonymous · ‎08-19-2018

That's awesome progress! Congrats and well done!

I love seeing posts like this! 😀

xaximus · ‎08-20-2018

Congrats - I have been watching your posts and rooting for ya! It feels good doesn't it? Getting back into 700's, good credit.

Just be careful now and be responsible. I'm from NY as well and know exactly what you mean when it comes to living and spending. Just budget well and stick to a good laid out plan. If you have it, spend it, if you don't, dont spend it. Self control is important.

Keep us posted!

Scores - All bureaus 770 +
TCL - Est. $410K

gdale6 · ‎08-24-2018

Good work here. I updated the title to include that its your progress this will keep it from being closed at the one year period as long as you update it a few times a year to keep it bumped up in the que.

Anonymous · ‎09-25-2018

Just to share some updates:

Scores are almost the same, have taken a few inquiries due to an unexpected move and a subsequent mini app-spree.

Was recently approved for BOFA Cash Rewards $3k SL and NFCU Amex More Rewards $20k SL. To think that a few months ago nobody would even look at me, and now I'm getting 5 digit approvals, it's insane!

Heading to the garden until April or so when I begin shopping for a new car.

Anonymous · ‎09-26-2018

This is insipring to see such improvements in the amount of time. Great Job, I am going to be starting a rebuild process as well may hit you up for further insight as to what you were able to do to accomplish such results!

Anonymous · ‎09-28-2018

By no means an expert here, but any insight I can provide feel free to reach out.

@Anonymous wrote:
This is insipring to see such improvements in the amount of time. Great Job, I am going to be starting a rebuild process as well may hit you up for further insight as to what you were able to do to accomplish such results!