Hi Everyone!
This is my first post, so please grant me grace as I learn how the posts work. 
My current FICO8 score with Transunion is 620, and I need 680 to qualify for no down payment on a particular car lease; I'll still be approved if I can get to 640, I'd just have to make a down payment in that case. They specifically tell me they pull Transunion FICO8.
On the good side:
I have 9 open revolving accounts and they are all in good standing.
My utilization is 4%.
I have 2 personal loans in good standing, never late ($400 & $40 balances, so those are almost paid off).
The bad (all the result of an income decrease during covid):
- I have 4 collections on my report, but they've all agreed to PFD, which I'm doing.
- 6 Nordstrom lates (30/60/120/120/90, from Sept. 2020-Feb. 2021) - goodwill covid letter didn't work
- 2 Capital One accounts have a late (one incident each card, 30, both Nov. 2020) - goodwill covid letter didn't work
- 8 charge-offs from 2020 (Ugh!). 3 of those show a balance. 2 of them showing a balance are First Premier, which I've heard doesn't do PFD. The other showing a balance is Citi. I'm going to pay them regardless of whether it helps me, I owe the money.
- I have 8 inquiries.
- My credit history is short, averaging only 1 year and 7 months. That's because I opened several accounts simultaneously to start building my positive history back when my income level came back up.
With lates and charge-offs remaining, what are the chances I could expect a 60-point boost when all 4 of my collections are removed? If removing all of my collections wouldn't warrant a 60-point boost, what is the likelihood of a 20-point boost so I still qualify for the lease? Haha. I know many people don't see an increase when collections come off if they still have other derogs in their file, and I also know that no one can say with certainty - but people in these forums have a lot of experience and can perhaps give me an idea, or advice on other things I can do to improve my score (if anything).
Also, can anyone explain how charge-off's are scored? Is it based on how many lates the tradeline contains, or on the remark/category (charge-off), or both of those? Something else? Does the fact that 3 of mine show a balance impact my score in any way?
Thanks so much in advance for any insight you can offer me!
@Steelers1972 wrote:Hi Everyone!
This is my first post, so please grant me grace as I learn how the posts work.
My current FICO8 score with Transunion is 620, and I need 680 to qualify for no down payment on a particular car lease; I'll still be approved if I can get to 640, I'd just have to make a down payment in that case. They specifically tell me they pull Transunion FICO8.
On the good side:
I have 9 open revolving accounts and they are all in good standing.
My utilization is 4%.
I have 2 personal loans in good standing, never late ($400 & $40 balances, so those are almost paid off).
The bad (all the result of an income decrease during covid):
- I have 4 collections on my report, but they've all agreed to PFD, which I'm doing.
- 6 Nordstrom lates (30/60/120/120/90, from Sept. 2020-Feb. 2021) - goodwill covid letter didn't work
- 2 Capital One accounts have a late (one incident each card, 30, both Nov. 2020) - goodwill covid letter didn't work
- 8 charge-offs from 2020 (Ugh!). 3 of those show a balance. 2 of them showing a balance are First Premier, which I've heard doesn't do PFD. The other showing a balance is Citi. I'm going to pay them regardless of whether it helps me, I owe the money.
- I have 8 inquiries.
- My credit history is short, averaging only 1 year and 7 months. That's because I opened several accounts simultaneously to start building my positive history back when my income level came back up.
With lates and charge-offs remaining, what are the chances I could expect a 60-point boost when all 4 of my collections are removed? If removing all of my collections wouldn't warrant a 60-point boost, what is the likelihood of a 20-point boost so I still qualify for the lease? Haha. I know many people don't see an increase when collections come off if they still have other derogs in their file, and I also know that no one can say with certainty - but people in these forums have a lot of experience and can perhaps give me an idea, or advice on other things I can do to improve my score (if anything).
Also, can anyone explain how charge-off's are scored? Is it based on how many lates the tradeline contains, or on the remark/category (charge-off), or both of those? Something else? Does the fact that 3 of mine show a balance impact my score in any way?
Thanks so much in advance for any insight you can offer me!
removing the collections might very slightly improve your score
Paying off the balances on the charged off accounts might also slightly improve your score. The balances do impact your score, and paying them/settling them down to 0 will help slightly.
your score will probably decrease if both of your loans are paid off in full, be aware/ready for that.
You aren't going to get 60 points with multiple lates/charge-offs still on your file.
But by getting all of your past-due balances down to 0, removing those collections and ensuring one of those loans remains open is your best chance to hit 640.
@Steelers1972 wrote:Hi Everyone!
This is my first post, so please grant me grace as I learn how the posts work.
My current FICO8 score with Transunion is 620, and I need 680 to qualify for no down payment on a particular car lease; I'll still be approved if I can get to 640, I'd just have to make a down payment in that case. They specifically tell me they pull Transunion FICO8.
On the good side:
I have 9 open revolving accounts and they are all in good standing.
My utilization is 4%.
I have 2 personal loans in good standing, never late ($400 & $40 balances, so those are almost paid off).
The bad (all the result of an income decrease during covid):
- I have 4 collections on my report, but they've all agreed to PFD, which I'm doing.
- 6 Nordstrom lates (30/60/120/120/90, from Sept. 2020-Feb. 2021) - goodwill covid letter didn't work
- 2 Capital One accounts have a late (one incident each card, 30, both Nov. 2020) - goodwill covid letter didn't work
- 8 charge-offs from 2020 (Ugh!). 3 of those show a balance. 2 of them showing a balance are First Premier, which I've heard doesn't do PFD. The other showing a balance is Citi. I'm going to pay them regardless of whether it helps me, I owe the money.
- I have 8 inquiries.
- My credit history is short, averaging only 1 year and 7 months. That's because I opened several accounts simultaneously to start building my positive history back when my income level came back up.
With lates and charge-offs remaining, what are the chances I could expect a 60-point boost when all 4 of my collections are removed? If removing all of my collections wouldn't warrant a 60-point boost, what is the likelihood of a 20-point boost so I still qualify for the lease? Haha. I know many people don't see an increase when collections come off if they still have other derogs in their file, and I also know that no one can say with certainty - but people in these forums have a lot of experience and can perhaps give me an idea, or advice on other things I can do to improve my score (if anything).
Also, can anyone explain how charge-off's are scored? Is it based on how many lates the tradeline contains, or on the remark/category (charge-off), or both of those? Something else? Does the fact that 3 of mine show a balance impact my score in any way?
Thanks so much in advance for any insight you can offer me!
Unlikely.
A file with only collections (otherwise clean) would likely see a 60 point rise by their removal. Unfortunately, the recent lates, their severity and charge offs will hold your score down. If your lates were all older than 24 months and only 60 day/30 day then you might see a 20 point rise.
Twenty four months is an important aging milestone for reducing the impact of lates on score. Also, getting credit history above 2 years will help. You need time.
@Steelers1972 wrote:Hi Everyone!
This is my first post, so please grant me grace as I learn how the posts work.
My current FICO8 score with Transunion is 620, and I need 680 to qualify for no down payment on a particular car lease; I'll still be approved if I can get to 640, I'd just have to make a down payment in that case. They specifically tell me they pull Transunion FICO8.
On the good side:
I have 9 open revolving accounts and they are all in good standing.
My utilization is 4%.
I have 2 personal loans in good standing, never late ($400 & $40 balances, so those are almost paid off).
The bad (all the result of an income decrease during covid):
- I have 4 collections on my report, but they've all agreed to PFD, which I'm doing.
- 6 Nordstrom lates (30/60/120/120/90, from Sept. 2020-Feb. 2021) - goodwill covid letter didn't work
- 2 Capital One accounts have a late (one incident each card, 30, both Nov. 2020) - goodwill covid letter didn't work
- 8 charge-offs from 2020 (Ugh!). 3 of those show a balance. 2 of them showing a balance are First Premier, which I've heard doesn't do PFD. The other showing a balance is Citi. I'm going to pay them regardless of whether it helps me, I owe the money.
- I have 8 inquiries.
- My credit history is short, averaging only 1 year and 7 months. That's because I opened several accounts simultaneously to start building my positive history back when my income level came back up.
With lates and charge-offs remaining, what are the chances I could expect a 60-point boost when all 4 of my collections are removed? If removing all of my collections wouldn't warrant a 60-point boost, what is the likelihood of a 20-point boost so I still qualify for the lease? Haha. I know many people don't see an increase when collections come off if they still have other derogs in their file, and I also know that no one can say with certainty - but people in these forums have a lot of experience and can perhaps give me an idea, or advice on other things I can do to improve my score (if anything).
Also, can anyone explain how charge-off's are scored? Is it based on how many lates the tradeline contains, or on the remark/category (charge-off), or both of those? Something else? Does the fact that 3 of mine show a balance impact my score in any way?
Thanks so much in advance for any insight you can offer me!
1. Welcome to the forum.
2. Congratulations on the work you are doing to rebuild. Be patient. You're on the right track.
3, I agree with everything @Thomas_Thumb and @GZG have said. It's going to take some time.
It looks like your most recent late will age past 24 months this March - so that's good.
P.S.
Unpaid charge offs are viewed more negatively than collections. As part of paying a charge off, contact the creditor directly and try to negotiate a written pay for delete to agreement - prior to paying so the charge off is removed from your CRA reports. If they won't budge about deleting it, payoff is still viewed favorably on manual review. Do not try negotiating with a 3rd party as they can not delete a charge off.
The below was from a mortgage lender 8 or 9 years ago.
@Steelers1972 wrote:@Thomas_Thumb that's all extremely helpful, thank you!
My 3 unpaid charge offs are $886 and $668 (both First Premier) and $198 (Citi). I've already budgeted to pay those off this month.
I've read on these forums that First Premier will not agree to delete for payment, I haven't seen anything about Citi. But I'll try, and I'm going to pay them either way.
Almost all of my negative items (late payments, charge offs, collections) are over 2 years old, and the remainder of them will be over 2 years old next month.
So within the next month I'll have paid the remainder of my charge offs, my 4 collections will be paid for removal per agreement, and all of my negative items will be over 2 years old.
So there will be derogatory items remaining that will no doubt still keep me down, but I'm hoping as you said that they'll become less impactful as time goes on. I'll also obviously keep paying my accounts on time and keep my utilization low.
I appreciate the information you've helped me with!
I think once you accomplish all of this and let the dust settle, you *may* hit 640. Fingers crossed for you, and please do come back and update us.
Also, welcome to the forums!
