For a brief history, I'm 27 and basically was an idiot in my early twenties when it came to my credit. I've gotten my credit to right around 600, but just can't seem to get it to budge. I've been doing this by simply paying off credit cards and paying everything else on time. From looking around this forum, there seems to be some great information on getting some of the old negatives removed as well as errors on my credit report. Unfortunately, I'm a bit confused on what to do and what not to do as I've read conflicting information.
So here's the rundown (mind you I'm pulling thes from myfico.com, not sure if that means all the data isn't correct):
Judgement - This was Discover Card. I paid off the judgement in full about a year ago. This shows up on my credit reports, however it doesn't report the Court of Law, Status, Plaintiff, or Defendent. Just an amount and case number. If I pull up the public records on the case online, after I paid the judgement, it shows a "VACATE JUDGMENT/DISMISSAL - ALLOWED". I'm assuming this is a good thing and wondering if this means I can get that removed from my credit report. Would simply imforming the credit agencies that the judgment was vacated be sufficient? Would I need to get some proof from the court? Or would simply posting the case number in a letter be ok?
Collection Agency 1 - This has been paid in full back in 2006 however is marked as unpaid on my credit reports. They haven't reported since 2006. Is it worth getting this updated to paid? Is there a way to get this taken off my credit report completely since it is paid?
Collection Agency 2 - This is a paid collection that is marked as paid on my credit report. Is there any way to get this removed? Is this hurting me in any way?
Collection Agency 3 - This is a $48 collection that I had no idea I had out there. I believe it was for a gas card that I had simply forgotten about back in the day. They are apparently still actively reporting this on my credit (November 2007 to be exact) which I'm guessing can't be good. Is it worth paying this off since it is still being reported monthly? Should I try for a "pay for delete" with the collection agency? Or just leave it be?
Aside from those, there is only one small issue I have on one of the credit reports. It's on an account that was marked "charged off". It shows a balance when in fact I had paid that off (after it was charged off). While I'm assuming the charge off did its damage, I'm wondering if getting that balance removed might help. There are some other closed/charged off accounts that show up, but they have $0 balance listed.
I have one credit card with a $1000 limit that I rarely use and pay off every month. Would it be worth looking into a secured credit card where I could put $10,000+ into it? I'm unsure if that helps at all. I also have $25,000 in installment loans on my report (student loans) which I pay on-time every month. Would paying those down signifigantly improve my credit or will just paying on-time be fine?
So I throw myself at the mercy of the forum and ask for any advice that you may have for a guy who is trying to clean up his mistakes. I want to buy a home soon, but dont' want to get killed on interest rates. Getting my score up even 50 points would be a great help. I'm interested in learning what I can and can't dispute, but at the same time am scared that I'd get blacklisted by the credit agencies for disputing too much.
Thank you in advance.
Hi Niwrad,
First and foremost this is a dependable forum and the advice you will get comes from people who have been through similar situation. Therefore you need not worry.
One thing you need to know, you cannot be blacklisted if you are disputing too much. Just make sure the gap between the letters are not something like what happens with the spam mails. Write effective letters.
Here i am trying to solve few queries.
Collection Agency 1 - This has been paid in full back in 2006 however is marked as unpaid on my credit reports. They haven't reported since 2006. Is it worth getting this updated to paid? Is there a way to get this taken off my credit report completely since it is paid?
Well this is a mistake or lack of information provided to the bureau. Go ahead and dispute the item. If you have proof that the account has been paid off attach a photocopy of all the proofs with the letter. I am sure the item will drop off soon.
Collection Agency 2 - This is a paid collection that is marked as paid on my credit report. Is there any way to get this removed? Is this hurting me in any way?
If this is a positive remark then it is rather doing good to your credit rating. It will take sometime to drop off on its own. Try to keep positive remarks on your report as they dont hurt.
Collection Agency 3 - This is a $48 collection that I had no idea I had out there. I believe it was for a gas card that I had simply forgotten about back in the day. They are apparently still actively reporting this on my credit (November 2007 to be exact) which I'm guessing can't be good. Is it worth paying this off since it is still being reported monthly? Should I try for a "pay for delete" with the collection agency? Or just leave it be?
Well first check the Statute of Limitation. If you have not crossed it which is the possibility then go ahead and make your payments. Non payment of account will affect your credit score more than anything. Mark the drop in your score each month. You can either pay off the debt or go for a pay for delete. This will depend on whether your creditor will agree on the terms or not.
Aside from those, there is only one small issue I have on one of the credit reports. It's on an account that was marked "charged off". It shows a balance when in fact I had paid that off (after it was charged off). While I'm assuming the charge off did its damage, I'm wondering if getting that balance removed might help. There are some other closed/charged off accounts that show up, but they have $0 balance listed.
Go ahead and dispute all these items.
Judgement - This was Discover Card. I paid off the judgement in full about a year ago. This shows up on my credit reports, however it doesn't report the Court of Law, Status, Plaintiff, or Defendent. Just an amount and case number. If I pull up the public records on the case online, after I paid the judgement, it shows a "VACATE JUDGMENT/DISMISSAL - ALLOWED". I'm assuming this is a good thing and wondering if this means I can get that removed from my credit report. Would simply imforming the credit agencies that the judgment was vacated be sufficient? Would I need to get some proof from the court? Or would simply posting the case number in a letter be ok?
I am not sure about this but i think you can dispute it with valid proof of the pay off. Some one might give you a better suggestion. :)
Apart from all these keep your payments on time.
Hello Young Man,
Welcome here.
Any item can be disputed that you feel is inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable, including:
* Late Payment
* Collection
* Charge Off
* Bankruptcy
* Judgment
* Settlement
* Repossession
* Foreclosure
Hi Niwrad,
Check this site http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre21.shtm
Hope this helps to some extent.
Thank you so much for your feedback. When you are disputing a discrepency in something, does it just update it or does it end up in it getting removed? I'm not disputing the legitimacy of the claims on my credit, just the status of them.
If this is a positive remark then it is rather doing good to your credit rating. It will take sometime to drop off on its own. Try to keep positive remarks on your report as they dont hurt.
My issue with it is that it's still showing up in the "Collections" portion of my credit report. Is that normal? I'd love to see all the collections in that portion just go away? :-)
Thats the same Niwrad,
You are disputing a mistaken information. You have proof its good then send it with your dispute letter otherwise just dispute it. The bureaus investigate and within 30 days of the receiving the dispute letter. If they find it true then the remark would be gone :)
credit inquires and one 30 late mortgage payment fico 569
i was in the mid 600's and now down to 569!! i cannot believe it. yes, credit inquiries (about six for mortage and one credit card) and one 30 days late on second mortage.
If the mortgage inquiries happened within several weeks of one another, they are treated as a single inquiry for FICO scoring. They will disappear after two years, but after six months to a year, they have a minimal, affect on your score. The 30 day late is what has caused the greatest damage to your score. Perhaps you can try writing a goodwill letter and have it removed. As long as you continue making on time payments, your score will eventually rise.
Collection Item from a Bank
I have a bank account that I closed in good standing in 2004. The bank sent $63 to collection on that account. I was not aware of this until i received letters from the collection agency. I tried disputing with the collection company but they just started harassing me once i contacted them.
I also tried going back to the bank to find out what the charges were for. The couldn't pull their records up that far back to tell me what the actual charges were. They said that it was likely insufficient funds charges because my automatic payments came through on the account after it was closed. They did not pay those automatic payments, but they charged me bank fee's even though the account was closed.
I feel that this was invalidly sent to collection, is there any way to dispute this? I tried through the credit bureaus and instead of removing, they just updated that the information was accurate. I feel that this is so unfair that i was charged money on a closed bank account.
Also, when i closed the account, they told me to just withdraw all the money to close it. It sounded odd to me that there was no paperwork etc. to close the account, but the teller assured me that this is how they close bank accounts.
I'm looking for a home now, and this is the only ding i have on my credit report at the moment. I'm afraid to try calling the collector to negotiate payment for deletion as they refused the last time i contacted them. I'm afraid that if i contact them know, the last updated date will move to 2008 and affect my fico score (the last updated date was 2006).
Right now, my credit score is sitting at 677 with transunion, 766 with Equifax, and 767 with Experian. I just want to get it bumped up, i don't want to make my score go down any for a good mortgate rate.
Any Advice?
Any advice on how to deal with this situation?
Hi RPR
If you think that you do not owe any debt, you simply send a debt validation letter to the collection agency. If the collection agency cannot validate the debt within 30 days, you send a dispute letter to the credit bureaus telling them that you do not agree with the listing. The credit bureaus will verify it with the creditors and will get it removed from your credit report.
jugdement
hi Niwrad, the same with me, the judgement thing did not show up on my credit report. once i paid it off, than it showed up on my report...how can that happen?