Transunion Credit Report - Plan of Attack

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by kev0153, Jul 19, 2016.

  1. kev0153

    kev0153 Member

    We've had some trouble over the last couple of years with staying up on bills due to some medical issues my son has, we had to output a bunch of money for some specialists and as a result had to let some things slip over the years. Now they are catching up to me.

    I pulled my transunion report and here is what I found and after a bit of reasearch I have a plan of attack and would welcome feedback. All three are bad but I want to try Transunion first.


    Capital One Bank Credit Card - Pay Status Current Paid or Paying as Agreed.
    The only thing hurting me on this is some late paymens at the end of 2015 - I was thinking of sending a letter of goodwill asking to have those removed or should I dispute. I honestly don't know if the payments are late or not.

    Two car loans with Chase. Same as above reporting on time but some late payments. Same question letter of goodwill or dispute.

    Chase/Bank One Card - Charge Off Date Opend 06/27/16, Date Updated 2-6-14, Last Payment Made 09/13/2012 (amount $0). Past Due 4,351. Date Close 10-7-12. Not sure what to do with this one. Having that 0$ payment amount on there seems weird. Should I dispute it?

    Comenity Bank/Victoria Secret - Current Paid or Paying, some late dates. We've asked them to close this a few times and they won't. My wife opened this account but is associated with me as well (we are still married). I feel like I dispute this one. It was updated 3-26-16, last payment recived on 2-8-16 of 0$ (seems weird to have a 0$ payment when we paid it off)

    Credit One Bank. Current card Current but some late payments in the past. Thinking of letter of goodwill. Has a high balance, we are paying it down.

    Wife's Credit One Bank. Same as above.

    Wife's Discover Card - Same as above, couple of late payments, paying it down. All of these cards we've had for a few years now.

    Discover Card - An old card I had to let go becuase we couldn't afford to pay on it. Current Status is 60 Days past due. Date Opend 1999, Date Updated 08/27/14, Last payment made 05-20-14 (of 0$). I know I didn't make a payment of 0$ on this. Dispute that payment?


    First Premier Bank - Charge Off. This was a credit card my wife opened which I had a card for. It says closed Date Updated 4-9-16, Last Payement of 0$ on 8-7-15. Not sure what do with this one, I didn't open it, can I use this to my advantage?

    Jared Jewelrs - Was a charge of now listed as paid in full (we did pay it). Letter of Goodwill to remove. My wife opened this.

    Kay Jewelers - Same as above.

    Walmart Card - Some late payments - Letter of goodwill

    Berks Credit and Collection, Time Warner, Sate Collections - I (stupidly?) paid these with out making any arragments to have it removed from my credit, they were all for the most part 100 dollars or less. It shows as paid but is still on my credit. I was thinking letter of good will.

    These next two are old credit card debt that is getting resold I think

    Portfoliio Recovery. Loan Type says Debt Collector. Placed in collection for 3-29-2013. Updated 6-8-16. Status In collection. I feel like I can send a letter of validation on this. I honestly can't remember what credit card this was for. Will drop off 11/2018 - should I ride it out?

    Portfilio recover. Old Credit Card same as above, resold to a Debt byer, placed in collection 3-29-2013, will drop off 11/2018 - should I ride it out?

    So yeah I'm a mess and I know it but I'm ready to take this on. I'll take whatever lumps I deserve but I'd like to get this thing up to about 600 if I can. I'm at 550 right now.

    Thanks
     
  2. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    Welcome to Creditnet Kev, and I hope you'll find the guidance you're looking for here as you begin to tackle your credit reports. I'm sorry to hear about the medical issues your son had...I'm sure that was rough both emotionally and financially.

    It looks like you have a long road ahead of you too, but don't give up! With a little time and effort, I'm certain you'll begin to experience some small wins resulting in the increases in your credit scores that you're seeking.

    In general, legit late pays are real credit score killers. It sounds as though your credit reports have quite a few of them, so unless you're fortunate enough to get them removed via a Goodwill letter, you're most likely going to have to wait them out and let time age them off.

    Before I get into addressing some of your other concerns, I'm curious what you're doing to build your credit and add positive payment history to your credit reports at this time. Cleaning up your credit reports is certainly important, but it's also important to not forget about how you can add positive marks to your credit reports in order to begin overshadowing all the bad stuff.

    Do you have any credit cards or loans that are open and in good standing with no negative marks attached the tradeline?
     
  3. kev0153

    kev0153 Member

    Yes thank you. We have two car loans that we are staying current on. We have 3 open credit cards that we are paying down and making payments on time. That is some of the postive things we are doing.
     
  4. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    So here are my thoughts.

    1) You seem to have a good opportunity for goodwill requests based on what you said. There's no guarantee, but all you can do is ask.
    2) For the accounts that you say are your wife's, I would use the Johnson v. MBNA dispute. "NOT MINE, ONLY AN AUTHORIZED USER". Using Johnson as the framework for these, you have a pre-made template if you would want to get more aggressive to clear them from your report.
    3) Collection agencies; my first step would always be to demand validation for the accounts.
     
  5. kev0153

    kev0153 Member

    Goodwill letters are drafted and I plan on sending those out.

    I'll look into Johnson vs. MBNA. That sounds interesting.

    I asked the question in a related thread about validation. That doesn't start the clock ticking again does it? I'm fairly close to reaching the SOL on these and they will drop off in 2018 so I'd hate to screw that up.

    Thanks
     
  6. jam237

    jam237 Well-Known Member

    If the default was 2012, and the SOL is 6 years, the SOL would expire in 2018, the fall-off date would be 2019.
     
  7. kev0153

    kev0153 Member

    Just an update on this. I have 6 letters of goodwill sent hopefully to clear up some late payments. Our amount of debt is slowly dropping on our current cards but I haven't seen an impact yet. All open accounts are in good standing.

    I've decided not to touch some of the really old debt that is going to drop off in the next 2 to 3 years. Rather not waking the sleeping dragon so to speak.

    I've disputed a collection charge on my Transunion report that states still in collection. I have paid that and would like it changed to paid. Knowing it will stay on the report but it hoping a paid collection looks better then one just hanging out there.
     
  8. JoshuaHeckathorn

    JoshuaHeckathorn Administrator

    Best of luck with the goodwill letters...fingers crossed for you!

    Keep paying those car loans/credit cards on time and lowering your credit utilization ratios on the cards. The combination of the two will certainly move your FICO scores in the right direction. You should see the impact soon.

    Regarding the collection, a "paid" collection certainly looks better to a lender than an unpaid collection. And if you're looking at FICO 9 Credit Scores, the scoring model will actually disregard the collection entirely if it's listed as paid. Let us know how the dispute with TU goes!
     

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