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hi, i have a 468 score and can't get even a secured card to begin rebuilding credit. i have student loans and old collections that keep getting renewed. where do i start?
FIRSt begin with grabbing your credit reports.
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
Second, detirmine what has been paid and what has not....
If anything has not been paid, then i would start sending PFD's (Pay-for-Delete) if you have the funds to pay them.
If not, i would start with little ones trying to get some of those knocked off...
These are just a few first steps, but this is what i have learned from the people here.
I am sure others are going to post on here as well, but its a good starter
VERY much appreciated! is there a standard PFD format i could find somewhere? Also, if i pay off things, won't that make my score go down initially? should i pay off the most recent first? thanks.
There are alot of roads you can go down right now, if your oldest account is a collection, then i would wait to pay that once, but paying thing off (and getting them deleted) should make your score go up..... just paying them off vs leaving a balance (and it staying on your report either way) will show no improvement to your score...
There's really no "standard" form for Pay for Deletion letter. You should write your letter so that it reflects your personal situation and pleading in a sympathetic way.
There are a samples here on the forum, you can look at those to have some idea: PFD Example Letter and here's a straight forward one: Settlement letter
Hope it helps
To clarify what someone else posted here: If you pay a collection, it still remains on your credit report and I believe that a paid collection does NOT improve your score over an UNPAID one. Be sure you get a PFD agreement BEFORE you pay anything.
Also, you may be able to qualify for a secured loan with your local bank or CU. (Probably not a big bank, like BofA or Wells Fargo, etc., but a *small* local bank or credit union.)
A secured loan is easier to get because it's not revolving. You just need to be sure that they will report it to the CRAs each month. Also, it doesn't affect your cash flow because, let's say you deposit $1000. They will usually keep 10%, so you would be able to "borrow" $900. So your cash flow is only affected by $100 (unlike with a secured credit card). Then you just make monthly payments. The interest is usually *very* low, too, so it's an inexpensive way to begin rebuilding positive credit.
Hi and Welcome to the forums,
When you pull your Free CR's, check for mistakes.
Make sure all the items on your CR's are yours, and not someone elses.
Oh and btw, What do you mean by "old collections that keep getting renewed"?
How many collections do you have? and how old are they?
And what state do you live in?
Credit repairing and rebuilding does take time to do, but it can be done. There is alot of reading to do.
Also you can make friends along the way. Start with reading Credit Scoring 101 , Freq Requested Threads.
And check out the stickys at the top of the board, loaded with wonderful info
Isnt lightnin just wonderful?!?! theres a reson they are community leader!!!
O.H...