Im so new to improving credit - please help

[Anonymous]

As mention there has been a lot of good advice given.  I would also like to add, I believe you may have some good results paying the charge offs even though they have not committed to a delete letter.  Many members have reported paying and seeing the status change in a favorable way.

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@Tryinghardtoimprove wrote:

Hi. I've been working on improving my credit. I obtained a new Nov 7/19 that pays better and has allowed me to pay some things down. 

My credit utilization never goes above 7%. 

Credit:

Discover It 1500 limit 49 balance

Milestone 300 limit 10 balance

Fingerhut 1100 limit 0 balance

Credit builder loan through Credit Union 800 for 6 months. Made one payment so far. 600 balance

Car payment - recently paid off one car and traded it in on a new on . Have made 3 payments on the new car so far.

Student loans 110,000 all paid time not late in the last 24 months. On covid forbearance but still making payments to reduce balance. 

All my payments are on time except one 30 days delinquent in April 2020. I traded the car in the day before the state shut down due to coronavirus. My purchase and trade deal sat in a desk and they failed to pay my old car loan off and I was reported. I disputed it but the car company wont take it off. The new car dealer did pay my first payment but my score took a 36 point hit. 

My scores are

Discover 590 - due to update on the 11th. They sent my 200 security deposit back and increase limit to 1500 in May 2020 after 1 year.  

Fico 8 Trans Union Discover It 590

Fico 8 Experian Fingerhut 605

CapitalOne Creditwise 585

TransUnion 9, my Credit union was 572 went down to 541 not sure why. Every other score went up but they only update every 3 months. I think because the new auto loan.

My bankruptcy is 5 years old

I need to know if I should pay for rent reporters to boost my Fico 9? My rent has never been late in the last 5 years

Should I pay collections for Credit One and Capital One, Khols and boscovs, even though they wont provide me with a letter saying they will delete the negative reporting? The balances for these are very low and only Credit One shows up on my credit reports. 

I am financially in a position to pay old collections and to pay for secure or unsecure credit cards

Should a try to open at least one more credit card and if so with my low scores who should I go through? I already had capital one, credit one within the last 5 years. I had premier about 8 years ago. 

I hope this is enough info. My score increase from a 514 in Dec 2019 so its better but I believe ther could be alot more I could be doing. 

I would like to purchase a home on some acres in a year. 

Thank you all in advance for your wisdom 

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[Anonymous]

Actually they already have Discover that slipped my mind. Even if it was just a secured card from BBVA that later graduated, that would be awesome because they need one more card and then stop getting cards and just continue to accumulate positive payment history. But, they may not even be in the BBVA footprint. And you’re right with the score they may not be approved, but even a secured like I said would be great.

True enough they could wait, but the sooner they get it, the sooner it starts the aging. That’s why I say as soon as possible, score permitting. They should get some points back at six months, 12 months and 24 months for the 30 day late.

@Anonymous, do you know where the threshold is where it goes from recent PR card to mature PR card? Isn’t there a bump somewhere around five years?

Now @Tryinghardtoimprove, you did great getting the Navy card. Congratulations I’m proud of you! Forgive me, I may have forgotten but when did the 30 day late happen? How far are you from it being 6 months or 12 months old? Because you may need to wait for that time, so you get a few points back before you grab the next card. Are you in BBVA’s footprint? If not, you need to do the search for a card you can target that doesn’t have an AF.

Let’s talk about these collections. First off paying a collection doesn’t get you any points. That is, unless it is removed from your CR. Now here’s the question, do the CA’s own the debt? Were they sold to the CA? Or were they just assigned? Because from a scoring perspective, paying a collection does not benefit you in anyway, only removing a collection does. And depending on on your answers to the above questions, maybe you can get it removed.

[Tryinghardtoimprove]

Thanks. I started paying one so far. 

[Anonymous]

@Tryinghardtoimprove You started paying a collection? You can reset the SOL for them to sue like that, careful. (I don’t know if you were still in SOL.)

Have they agreed to deletion after payoff?

[Tryinghardtoimprove]

Credit One collection was removed without me even disputing it. I called them in June told them I wasn't confirming the debt but I would pay it just to get it paid. I made arrangements to pay $170 a month. Balance was only $864. I made 1 payment then they sent me a letter stating based on my request they were investigating but in the meantime they are deleting it from all 3 Credit Bureaus. My score went up 27 points. My question is should I pay this debt since it was deleted and what are the chances they will put it back on my credit report after they are done investigating? 

Much Thanks

[AllZero]

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@Tryinghardtoimprove wrote:

Credit One collection was removed without me even disputing it. I called them in June told them I wasn't confirming the debt but I would pay it just to get it paid. I made arrangements to pay $170 a month. Balance was only $864. I made 1 payment then they sent me a letter stating based on my request they were investigating but in the meantime they are deleting it from all 3 Credit Bureaus. My score went up 27 points. My question is should I pay this debt since it was deleted and what are the chances they will put it back on my credit report after they are done investigating? 

Much Thanks

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@Tryinghardtoimprove   Not knowing the full details, I would honor that contract and pay as agreed.

[Tryinghardtoimprove]

Thanks. I was thinking the same thing

[AllZero]

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@Tryinghardtoimprove wrote:

Thanks. I was thinking the same thing

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Wise choice. If you follow the forums, you will read that Credit One has been amicable with removing derogatories.

Personally, I would not want to jeopardize my score gain and credit report.