rebuilding credit over the next 1.5 years needing tips

[galaxy_is_fat]

I am looking to rebuild my credit over the next 1.5 years. I have 4 accounts in collections and 4 accounts negative charge offs. 2 student loan accounts that are really high but they are current and 2 auto loans closed and paid off satisfactorily. 

as far as the negative  ones I am not sure if I should just pay these or let these fall off?  .. The total on these is less than 1500.00. I couldn't pay these off at once but if I made payment arrangements I could.  I am just scared if I call these collection companies they will sue me or want me to pay the amounts all at once. They are all set to fall off in 2017.  Will it look better if I pay them off or will it matter?

I have 0 credit card utilization and I just got a low limit unsecured card that I was going to start using monthly for normal things like gas etc...and keep it paid off or is it better to have a balance every month?

[Lechte]

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@galaxy_is_fat wrote:

I am looking to rebuild my credit over the next 1.5 years. I have 4 accounts in collections and 4 accounts negative charge offs. 2 student loan accounts that are really high but they are current and 2 auto loans closed and paid off satisfactorily. 

as far as the negative  ones I am not sure if I should just pay these or let these fall off?  .. The total on these is less than 1500.00. I couldn't pay these off at once but if I made payment arrangements I could.  I am just scared if I call these collection companies they will sue me or want me to pay the amounts all at once. They are all set to fall off in 2017.  Will it look better if I pay them off or will it matter?

I have 0 credit card utilization and I just got a low limit unsecured card that I was going to start using monthly for normal things like gas etc...and keep it paid off or is it better to have a balance every month?

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Are the 4 Collections related to the 4 Charge-off's?  

[galaxy_is_fat]

  I am sorry I meant 3 collections and 4 charge offs.

The 3 collections are 2 medical bills and one from somewhere called Cavalry Portfolio 

The charge offs are one for HSBC credit card one for Cap One Credit card and two for fingerhut (the fingerhut one is weird because it is listed twice same account number but one is metabank and one is webnk

Would it be adviseable to call HSBC and CAP one and offer payment arrangements since it will be awhile before they fall off (2017)? Will it change how it is reported if I make payment arrangements to pay off these balances? 

I don't know about the fingerhut because it is listed twice so not really sure what to do on that one. 

[Lechte]

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@galaxy_is_fat wrote:

  I am sorry I meant 3 collections and 4 charge offs.

The 3 collections are 2 medical bills and one from somewhere called Cavalry Portfolio 

The charge offs are one for HSBC credit card one for Cap One Credit card and two for fingerhut (the fingerhut one is weird because it is listed twice same account number but one is metabank and one is webnk

Would it be adviseable to call HSBC and CAP one and offer payment arrangements since it will be awhile before they fall off (2017)? Will it change how it is reported if I make payment arrangements to pay off these balances? 

I don't know about the fingerhut because it is listed twice so not really sure what to do on that one. 

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Cavalry is probably the CA that bought your HSBC debt.   Are any of your charged-off accounts showing a balance owed? 

 As for the Medical Collections...we are not allowed on this forum to talk about the details of it, but google HIPPA.   

[Lechte]

And also...paying a Charged-off account will not remove it from your CR.  Whether paid or unpaid..balance or $0 balance, it will still be a Charged-Off account.  To Lenders, a paid Charge-Off or a paid Collection looks better than unpaid.

[InControl32]

I personally wouldn't pay them.

(1) By the time you take a couple of years to establish good credit they will be close to coming off your credit report and items that old do not have than much of an effect on your credit score.

(2) If your account goes into good standing (you pay it off) some companies will try and reset the seven year period which something negative stays on your account.  IMO they should not be able to do this, but they have done it to me.  It doesn't really matter who is right because when there is a dispute about your credit report between you and a creditor than Transununion, Experian, etc. always sides with the creditor.  The bottom line is if you pay these accounts you are running the risk that the seven year time period will reset.  I would not take that risk if I were you.

[guiness56]

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@InControl32 wrote:

I personally wouldn't pay them.

(1) By the time you take a couple of years to establish good credit they will be close to coming off your credit report and items that old do not have than much of an effect on your credit score.

(2) If your account goes into good standing (you pay it off) some companies will try and reset the seven year period which something negative stays on your account.  IMO they should not be able to do this, but they have done it to me.  It doesn't really matter who is right because when there is a dispute about your credit report between you and a creditor than Transununion, Experian, etc. always sides with the creditor.  The bottom line is if you pay these accounts you are running the risk that the seven year time period will reset.  I would not take that risk if I were you.

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@InControl32 wrote:

I personally wouldn't pay them.

(1) By the time you take a couple of years to establish good credit they will be close to coming off your credit report and items that old do not have than much of an effect on your credit score.

(2) If your account goes into good standing (you pay it off) some companies will try and reset the seven year period which something negative stays on your account.  IMO they should not be able to do this, but they have done it to me.  It doesn't really matter who is right because when there is a dispute about your credit report between you and a creditor than Transununion, Experian, etc. always sides with the creditor.  The bottom line is if you pay these accounts you are running the risk that the seven year time period will reset.  I would not take that risk if I were you.

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Advising one not to pay their debts is extremely bad advice.   They may no longer impact your score when excluded from your credit report but they do not go away.  Unpaid debts can follow you around forever and keep you from getting a mortgage, a high paying job etc.

Paying bad debts does not restart the reporting time.

The CRAs do not always side with the creditors.

[InControl32]

I had a letter signed and dated from Sallie Mae proving they lieing about when I was first late on paying them and CRA still sided with Sallie Mae.

So if you don't care how long negative items stay on your credit report feel free to take the advise of the moderator.

Not taking into account how long something stays on your credit report is horrible advise.

[polno1234]

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@InControl32 wrote:

I had a letter signed and dated from Sallie Mae proving they lieing about when I was first late on paying them and CRA still sided with Sallie Mae.

So if you don't care how long negative items stay on your credit report feel free to take the advise of the moderator.

Not taking into account how long something stays on your credit report is horrible advise.

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wow man. if you have the proof then you can ask on here and people will walk you thru the process of getting sallie mae corrected. they are by and large one of the easiest to deal with. whether or not it is excluded from your report or is outside of the sol is also a moot point. the debt collectors can still keep reselling your debt and you could potentially get calls for the rest of your life.

now on to helping the OP. the 2 ca's that are reporting the same account you can either dv them both or dispute with cra's. only the oc and ca who actually has a right to collect because they now own the debt are allowed to report for one account. the medical bills have many ave's to approach them with. as far as cap one and hsbc, they are now the same company so you can just deal with cap one. as far as success with cap one deleting negative tl's this forum has alot of info on them. a few letters and phone calls may suprise you. as far as a lender is concerned it is always better to have paid after charge off on your report than just charge off. good luck on your journey and dont let an uniformed cc rep knock you down. sending good vibes