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I am new to this, so I do not know how to create my own threads yet,, but I was wondering when doing PFD on accounts in collections or Charge offs, which ones are the ones worth removing? I have some from 2009-2010, but I was told from a friend that those will actually lower my credit score.. she told me to only focus on paying down my debt first.. sounds smart but I just want to know where to start.
OP, I split your post to form a new one here. I had to edit the title, but changed nothing else. If you'd like to change the title, click "Options" and then "Edit Message". In the future, if ever wanting to start a new thread, go to the board you want to post in (e.g. Understanding FICO Scoring, Credit Cards, etc.) and click "New Message".
To answer your question on score impact, the answer is YMMV (your mileage may vary). In almost every case, getting a collection agency (CA) to delete will raise your FICO scores. There is no benefit in having a CA report. Charge-offs can be different. They still factor into your length of history. From personal experience and from the experience of others in here, sometimes the age of the account helps your credit more than the baddie of that charge-off hurts. If the account is older than your AAoA or among your oldest accounts, then removing it could negatively impact your score. If the CO is younger and/or the baddie is newer, then removing it would help. It all depends on the age and hot it reports, especially in the relation to the rest of your credit.
Paying off revolving debt is the fastest way to improve a FICO score. If you look within your FICO report and if utilization is listed in the #1 or #2 slot, then you can see some significant gains just by paying off CC debt.
Ok I see.. What happened to me was I was not told how credit works, and what would happen if I close credit cards (which I closed 3 cause I had lost my job and knew I would no longer be able to pay on time). I did not know doing this will lower my credit score. I am only 22 and was getting credit card offers by 18 and a half. I remember by 2009 I had a score of 697 and now it is down to 515. All I have opened is a car loan and a furniture store credit line which I've had for a year now and have never made a late payment. I heard you need 3 lines of credit to start rebuilding, so would a secured credit card be my best option? Thank you for answering my first question I really appreciate it, btw.
Welcome to the forum!
You need to read the rebuilding credit forums. This post should probably been posted there to begin with.
To raise your scores you need to have any and all negative information removed from your report. To do this you will have to learn how to do PFD (Pay For Delete ) and GW (Good Will) letters. It really isn't too difficult to do and will greatly improve your scores.
Adding new credit now will not do much to improve your scores and with your current scores you will have a VERY difficult time being approved for new credit.
You can do this!
Go to the REBUILDING CREDIT FORUM and start reading about PFDs and GWs.