My Progress

I haven't posted in a while, but wanted first to thank everyone for the advice offered here.

I began about 3 years ago to try and repair my damaged credit. I have pursued this goal on and off over the years, often getting discouraged for my lack of progress.

As encouragement to those that are new here and may become frustrated in this pursuit I wanted to offer a report on my progress:

Equifax - began with 23 negatives in various forms - as of last month 2 remain.

Experian - began with 17 negatives in various forms - as of last month 3 remain.

Trans Union - began with 19 negatives in various forms - as of last month 1 remains.

This does not count "inquiries" which I have not really pursued removing and this is my next task. My score has improved from the low 400's to 650 the last time I checked. All of the negatives removed were within the 7 year reporting period.

Keep plugging on, you can be successful in this effort.

 

All my negatives were charge offs and late pays. Most reported by both the original creditor and one or more collection agencies.

I began by sending certified letters to dispute the accounts to the reporting agencies, with a modicum of success - with most accounts this required multiple disputes over several months but eventually with success.

I also fired my guns in the opposite direction at the same time sending validation letters to each of the individual creditors as well as the collection agencies. In the case of the colleciton agencies the first agency reporting often removed the report within 60 days. The original creditor worked in most cases as well, although a few that keep good records didn't hesitate to send me copies of my original application and a copy of every monthly statement (Target, Mervyns). With these accounts I eventually negotiated with the current collection agency to pay in exchange for deletion and got the agreement in writing before payment. Once paid I then disputed again with the reporting agency in regard to the original creditor and the account was removed.

I want to point out that with the exception of the Target and Mervyns accounts all the debts had been paid as they were indeed mine and I have a personal belief about doing so. They had been reported as paid charge offs and I think that eventually the collection agencies and creditors just tired of responding to my disputes and simply did not verify so the items were removed.

In regard to the Target and Mervyns accounts, these were accounts on which I was a coapplicant with my ex wife. After our divorce she stopped paying and I did have a problem paying these. As I was "contractually" obligated I eventually saw no choice but to pay, and did so only in exchange for deletion.

I used the sample letters here in all cases and modified them to a more "personal but furious" tone which seemed to be effective.

My current negatives are one account AAFES/Military Star which charged off, however it is still with AAFES and I have reached a payment agreement with them that is no interest or fees. It also has reported late pays. As I am retired military and they could potentially offeset my pension for payment I was not argumentative on the reporting for this debt. I also have a few old lates (auto loan and two Cap One accts with two 30 day lates) and an old Providian account which they refuse to respond to my inquiries or request for validation. I retained Lexington to work on these for me recently and will update as any progress occurs.

 

In January I was able to get a Capital One Secured card. I paid an application fee of $99.00 and got a credit line of $500.00. I have charged a small amount each month and paid the full balance. My intent is to hold this card for a year before applying for another card so I can establish a good payment history. I also have a Chevron credit builder card that I pay in full each month.

The last thing I want to do is have a lot of unsecured revolving credit. My initial goal is to end up with one unsecured card with a credit line of 2500.00, the gas card and a store card. I also have an auto loan with a good payment history that has aged one year this month.

My secondary goal will be a home purchase but I want to go into this with a good down payment. I have managed to save $100.00 a month over the last year by having it deducted automatically from my pay and deposited into savings. At this point I don't even miss it and hope to keep this up.

 

I initially disputed as "not mine" and in the instances that did not work switched tactics and used inaccurate or other reasons. I had a modicum of success with online disputes.

In the case of the account you indicated you have I would take the collection agency on begining with a validation letter.

 

You can't actually apply directly for the Chevron Credit Builder card. Go to the website and apply for their standard card - if declined you will likely receive an offer in the mail to apply for the Credit Builder. You will have to call to apply, they verify your name, address, social security number, ask for home and employment telephone numbers and name of employer and years employed there. The representative told me they require a residence of two years in the same location and at least 6 months at the current employer.

The offer I received was a $300.00 credit limit (it is revolving but I never use over $100.00 in gas so I pay in full monthly) and I had to send a $50.00 annual fee in advance. They report to all three agencies, have online payment and will review the account in one year and determine if you are eligible for an increase and may waive the annual fees at that time.