new need help

[Anonymous]

Can anyone help me please! I am trying to improve my credit score asap.Transunion 532,experian 492,equ539. I have serious delinquancy on an auto loan 3 90 days late. That is the only thing on my credit. I plan to pay the balance off in full by Feburary. I would like to have a score of 580 or more to be approved for an fha loan.

[cobaltnv]

Welcome to the forums! 

In order to provide any useful feedback more information is needed. Is the auto loan really the only thing on your credit report or the only "negative" thing? Do you have any credit cards. What negatives are listed on your credit reports? Positives?

[Anonymous]

I have a cell phone bill for341 in collection and a medical bill in collection for 197. I have no credit cards ever. These are the only things on my credit. The 30 day late payment is as recent as September. I plan to use my tax return to pay the auto loan off. Everything else will be paid in full by feburary. I have three children and I am 26. This is my first step into fixing my credit to be able to purchase a home for us.Please help me and thank you for your time and support.

[cobaltnv]

You might want to search these forums for information on pfd (pay for delete) on your collections. There is a lot a great information on here about collections. THe key, from my understanding, is that you want to have an agreement in advance that the OC (or ca) will delete the collection from your account if you pay in full.

As far as increasing your credit score I would suggest getting a credit card. With you collections you will probably have to start with a secured card. The BofA secured card is popular in here because it will graduate to an unsecured card in a year or so and does not charge huge fees like some other cards.

Paying off your auto loan will likely not increase your credit score.  In fact there are reports on here that paying off your only installment loan will decrease a score. Is the auto loan at a high interest rate? If not you MIGHT be better off putting your income tax refund into a savings account for a downpayment. 

[Anonymous]

May I ask how were you able to obtain an auto loan? It seems from what I'm hearing is the only thing on your report is collection accounts and the auto loan. Part of having good credit is having variety of accounts and showing good payment history and low balances. But there are some things we can do which will take time and persistence.

For your cellphone bill, I would see if you can pay the original cell phone company and have the collection account recalled from the CA. If they sold the account, then you might want to negotiate for a PFD. May I also ask, how old is the phone bill? The SOL might be in your favor. 

For your medical bill, please do a forum search here and type HIPAA and follow the directions for the HIPAA process.

For the 30 day late, trying sending out a good will letter. Also do a forum search and type in GW for examples. 

The last is building credit. I would recommend applying for a secured card with your bank. That or obtaining a card from a credit union or department stores. Not only will a CC be a good mix to your credit, but you will be able to demonstrate good payment history and how you able to manage debt. I recommend spending no more than 10% of the credit limit. Or you can treat your CC as a debit card and PIF the balance. Hope that helps and keep us updated! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

the problem is that june 2009 should be my last payment. I pay 343 a month if you add that up it's a little over two thousand. However in my credit report it says I owe 8575. I wanted to pay five thousand toward it I dont know if this is a good idea. I believe i owe that much because of late payments.I got the loan cause i had a co signer adn also because i found two years later that the dealer did a social swap with mine and my co singner. I cant get any credit cards not even from my bank.

[Anonymous]

As mentioned, send GW letters for your late payments. See the link in my signature titled "Freq Requested Threads" and you will find a GW example letter.

As for the collections.......are they beyond SOL or can you PIF?

If the answer to either or both of those questions is yes, then I would DV the cell phone collection and if they properly validate, offer a PFD. SOL on cell phones is 2 years from last payment.

On the medical, please see the link titled "medical collections" in my signature and follow the HIPAA process.

A secured card would likely help your score, however I would attempt to deal with those two collections before going for any type of card.

And just to clarify, those scores were purchased on this site?

ETA: What is the DOFD on the collections or the removal date listed(on EX and TU reports)?

DOFD= date of first delinquency

You'll need your reports directly from the CRA to get this information. If you are eligible, get your free annual reports.

Message Edited by sidewinder on 12-21-2008 07:57 PM

[WannaHouse]

The recent 90 day lates are going to really hurt you. FHA wants to see a good payment history as well as 580 minimum scores.

I think I would start by getting a secured card. You can get one at Orchard Bank. You send in a deposit, and you get that much credit. I would send $200-500.00. Use it regularly, but pay it immediately. Start showing you can pay bills responsibly. 

As far as paying off the car, I don't have any good solid advice. It's good to have an active tradeline, but with all the lates, it MAY be better to pay it off. I'll leave that one to more knowledgible people.

The last thing is you should find a bank or broker; someone that can pull your credit report, sit down and show you exactly what you need to do to get approved for a house.

Good luck!!