Okay i'm going to make a lonnnng story short. I'm 21, almost 22, and i'm pretty sure i have the worst credit score available lol
The story behind that is, at 18, just graduated high school, was going to school full-time, and working part-time, on very little wages, with no help from the parents because of their own financial problems. Therefore in order to pay for school, food, gas, clothes, everything else I needed since I depended on myself, I kept getting credit cards. Then my parent's situation got worse, they went through foreclosure, and depended on me to help contribute to bills, 5 credit cards worth of debt later, with a car about to die, i'm trying to gain control back, so when I move out I won't have a black cloud for credit hanging over my head, at least i'm hoping..
In January, I got my transunion report, therefore I can't get it free again for another year, currently I have my Experian available but am not able to see my "score" but like I said i'm sure it's not so pretty.
My credit report shows 1 positive, my student loan, and 6 negatives, of which 5 are credit cards, and 1 collection agency for 1 out of the 5 credit cards.
I have recently paid off one of the credit cards (HSBC) with a settlement and it is listed as "Paid in settlement/Past due 90 days"
The other 5 negatives are as followed:
CAP ONE
Account charged off/Past due 150 days. $999 written off. $1,041 past due as of Feb 2009.
CITI
Account charged off/Past due 150 days. $1,054 written off. $1,165 past due as of Feb 2009.
CITI
Account charged off/Past due 150 days. $1,234 written off. $793 past due as of Feb 2009.
LVNV FUNDING (collection for sears)
Collection account. $527 past due as of Feb 2009.
SEARS/CBSD
Transferred,closed/Account charged off. $522 written off.
Okay now here where i have mannnnnny questions...I have no one to really talk to about this so I figured you guys might be able to help.
1)Is the settlement offer i took hurting me as bad as the charge-offs? I figured paying it as a settlement was better than not paying at all, and it's still as a negative on my report but at least they would see that I had paid on it and not ignored it. Does it still stay for 7 1/2 years like the chargeoffs?
2)I recently (as in this past week) paid $515.57 to the Sears credit card via their website which is what my account balance was said to be. Now that it says my account balance is ZERO does that mean my debt has been paid in full? OR do I still owe the $522 they said to be written off as well as what the collection company says I owe... along with this question. Because I paid the OC the amount owed and NOT the CA, can the CA still come after me even though the debt as been paid? Unknowingly of how to handle everything I thought because the OC allowed me on the website and pay it I thought I could, I disputed with Experian about the CA and I hope I didn't hurt myself instead of what i thought was helping.
3)What should my offers to pay the debt be? Should I add together the past due and the written off to get my real debt total? Or is the past due balance to way to go? I have enough saved up to pay the past dues for the 3 cc left.
4)I'm thinking of sending Pay For Delete letters, to the 3 credit cards left unpaid which would be Citi and Capital One, in the offer amounts of $1050.00, $1200.00, and $800.00, to try and get them off my report since I live in Florida, not sure on the SOL, and since i'm trying to eventually move out, and get a new car, the sooner I clean up my credit the better. I DO have the funds to back up those offers, but I know it can be tough getting creditors to agree to the PFD. I figured at least offering the past due will show that I am interested in fixing these problems, and it doesn't hurt to ask?
5)None of the credit cards I have are available for use, once I get these debts paid, what should my course of action be to try and gain credit back? I've heard of secured credit cards, but the annual fees and charges are through the roof and pointless to me. I've learned my lesson on how to manage a credit card and I am at a better job, making more money, so my abilities to handle myself financially are way better, in 4 months I have saved up close to $4000, which i'm using to pay off those debts, however with my credit being like it is i'm not sure an unsecured credit card would be granted to me. Not to mention I am afraid that if I apply for a credit card i'll be turned down which will hurt my score for being an inquiry.
6)If I am successful with getting some of the charge-offs removed, will that increase my score as well?
Being as young as I am, I am afraid that my credit is shot for life, I really want to fix my situation, and I know it won't happen overnight, but would like to see my credit score improve as much as I can in the next year. I plan on trying again for another student loan for the summer/fall terms and hoping that it will help boost my score a bit. My parents are still out of the question, their financial situation makes me look like I have a perfect score, so I really am on my own for all of this. It sucks because they were partially a cause of the problem, without being able to help, but I do take full responsibility and trying to clear it up.
Basically, knowing bits of my situation, what do you think I should do in terms of paying the debt, not paying the debt, asking for PFD, and how to deal with Sears card/CA situation?
Thanks to anyone who can give some input!
:)
xx, What you really need to do before paying any old debts is to call and ask the company for a pay for delete. This is where they agree (make sure this is in writing) if you pay the debt off they will delte it from your credit report. It seems most of your debts are with the original creditors so this is the time to pay them and get the pay for deletes in writing. Once they go to a collection agency you can still get a pay for delete but only the collection agency will be able to delete their marks on your credit and not the OC which will remain for 7 years.
I would call sears ASAP and see if they got the payment and ask about getting them to delete. They may do it even though you already paid.
Yeah, I already have made documents of PFD letters with my offers, I just need to print them out and mail them, I thought sending them certified is better than going through the phone? Would it be beneficial to send the letters AND call? Hoping that maybe whoever reads the letter will be nicer than whoever answers my call or vica versa?
A creditor generally writes off a debt if they think that it is a bad debt and they will not be able to recover it. Charged off / written off debts are generally sold to collection agencies. Since two of your debts have been sold to collection agencies, you can ask for debt validation and on getting a proper validation of the debt, go for pay for deletion agreement and pay it off in full. Negative information remains on your credit report for seven years and six months even if the debt is paid off. But if you do not pay off a debt, the creditor can bring judgment against you which may even lead to garnishment of your wage. Moreover although negative, "paid off" debt gives a positive image to your credit report.
Statute of Limitation is 4 years for credit card debts in Florida and it starts after 6 months from the date of your last payment towards the debt. If the SOL on the debt has expired, then you need not make any payment towards the debt, but if it has not expired then I think that you should pay off the 3 credit cards companies through repayment plans after getting the debts validated. This is because "charge off / write off" does not mean that your need not pay it off. Even if the account is charged off, you may be sued by the creditor for the recovery of the debt.
Hoping that maybe whoever reads the letter will be nicer than whoever answers my call or vica versa?
Better you send it by certified mail only as you will have some satisfaction that you have followed the best method.
Pay off the CC bills with those $ 4000 savings you have and make sure they give it in writing (both OC and CA ) so that you won't find any problem when it comes to removing the bad remark from your credit report. :arrow: :arrow:
Hello there,
1)Is the settlement offer you took should not hurt you anymore that your credit has been hurt already. You are taking steps at resolving debt. Be proud of that, Settlement will reflect as a debt paid off. typically if the creditor has offered this they have something in writing that was sent to you.
2)Your Sears card that was paid - now that you have paid it, you need to keep on them and request that the 3 bureaus change the status as being paid in full.
3)The best advice I can give in regards to debt letters, offer them, send them in writing, certified, everything that is sent to the bureaus as well. The clock is ticking on everything that is asked to be changed and altered on your credit report. Most of them will not respond to you, and have probably already sold the account off to a secondary or even a tertiary market collection agency.
4) The offers - I would handle 1 at a time, What you should get "in writing" their agreement and agree once you receive their letter that you will overnight the cashiers check to them. They creditor will be more enticed to get what they can and you are offering to essential give them cash the following day for that. REMEMBER - if they promise you over the phone or verbally and offer nothing to you in writing it didnt happen.
5) Honestly - stay away from it from the credit cards, I dont use them at all and havent for a few years now. You hear that you need them, but if you have the ability to save that amount of money, Why do you need credit? Your score will recoup over time is placed between you and your past as far as your credit history. Student loans if you had let that go bad and by chance defaulted you would have a longer road ahead of you. The fact that you have a "good-debt" with the school loan will allow you to show that you had some problems that everyone has, and that you are showing that you can handle the credit now. After a few months you will see the offers again. But i would at least wait 6mo's to 1 year to apply, and I would not rely on the credit for anything.
6)Interesting question- Takes a few moments to lower your credit score and time (months and years) to repair. It will, to answer you, by how much, not sure.
- School loans easier to obtain with a school that you are attending, is considered good, and they are usually subsidized, so a much better rate and you will not have to repay until you graduate. unsubsidized loans- might be a slight more challenging for you, but they look at school loans differently - meaning the banks figure you are going to better equipped to pay them back if you graudate and make more money they will get their money back as well.
Good luck!!!
Sears/CBSD
Sears has closed my account and says they wrote off the debt as a P & L writeoff, but I still show a balance due on my statement. I am trying to get a house loan and need to get this straightened out, but can't find a number to call them. I threw my card away and the number when they closed my account. Do you know how I can get in touch with the company or has it changed hands or what.
Sears phone #
1-800-917-7700
Sears agency a hoax?
I learned my account was charged off and didn't even know it. I had been paying minimum payments but the interest and late fees were making it impossible to pay. My husband had lost his job at the time and so I paid the best I could. When I didn't receive a statement the following month, I called Sears and that's when I was informed we were CO. I was given a number to a collection agency to call. I called and the number was no good. After several attempts to use the number given, I finally called Sears back and had them connect me to the agency. I did speak to a guy there who set me up on a plan and I requested a letter stating this payment plan. When I didn't receive the letter I called this agency again and asked about the letter. This time I got a very rude lady who informed me they sent a letter in the beginning. I informed her I had never received this letter and I was still waiting on the letter stating the payment plan. She took my number down to have someone call me and I have still not ever heard from this agency that is based out of Nevada. That was last April, 2009. I do want to pay off this acct. but don't want to go through that again. I figured it was someone trying to rip me off. I was warned to not send any money until I had that letter. So, I'm still waiting. Any suggestions.