I thought I would put my situation out there for people to PLEASE respond to... I made the typical mistake senior year of college and put all the utilities in my name for a place five people rented. I left to go into the Peace Corps and came back to two things in collection (and some ended friendships!) I have since paid them, but am really worried about my credit. My current score is a 603 and I am desperate to figure out a way to raise it. I am able to pay all my bills on time, but want to know how to best/quickly increase my credit score. I need advice on the following issues: 1. I have a high interest car loan with Credit Acceptance Corporation and want to know if this is helping my score or not. Does anyone know how to get out of these loans early since the amount financed is usually above the value of the car! 2. Do student loans lower your score? 3. One creditor is willing to remove the collection from my account. Who do I contact in order to have it reflect on my credit report? 4. Is it better to have my credit card closed or opened? I pay it regularly, but carry a balance. 5. Should I request to have my employment information put on my credit report? What about putting a statement on my account about being out of the country with the Peace Corps? Thanks so much for your time - I am really at a loss as to where to go from here. Thank God I found this site though.
I don't have all the answers but here goes. 2. I don't think student loans hurt your credit, unless they are late of course. 3.If the creditor is willing to remove this contact them and tell them you are going to dispute this entry, then tell them not to verify it, this should remove it. 4.NEVER close any account with a balance. It is best to keep a few cards open, your oldest ones helps the most, also try to keep your ratios under 30%. 5. I would not bother with a statement it does not help and most creditors don't even see or read it. You can have them update your employment, most of the time you can do this by phone.
Because this can appear negative to potential creditors. It may appear you couldn't handle your bills you closed the account and now are trying to pay it off. Not to mention your balance will be counted towards your debt, HOWEVER your limits will not be included on a closed account. Big No No
Re: any advice? Author: Momof3 (---.proxy.aol.com) Date: 04-04-01 11:23 Because this can appear negative to potential creditors. It may appear you couldn't handle your bills you closed the account and now are trying to pay it off. Not to mention your balance will be counted towards your debt, HOWEVER your limits will not be included on a closed account. Big No No=========== ======================= Reply To Message == Makes Sense Thanks for your speedy reply!
Re: any advice? Author: Momof3 (---.proxy.aol.com) Date: 04-04-01 11:23 Because this can appear negative to potential creditors. It may appear you couldn't handle your bills you closed the account and now are trying to pay it off. Not to mention your balance will be counted towards your debt, HOWEVER your limits will not be included on a closed account. ================================== Comment == I've heard it said that up to 70% of credit reports are in error: It also seems to me that creditors miss read just about 100% of all of the of the reports they look at. Between the two we have a 100% error margin: Hain't it great we have such an effecient billing,reporting and collections system? HA!
Thanks for the advice! I will keep my Discover Card open and just pay down the balance to your recommended 30% - Should I ask them for a decrease in APR (currently 22%) and if so, can anyone suggest what I should say! My payment history with them has been perfect for the past six months, but before that there are two 30 days late and 1 60 days late (I know, I know). Also - can anyone suggest anything in regards to this car loan - is it helping or hurting? Thanks so much everybody!
The finance company rating does hurt, but not worse than having a "paid as agreed" installment helps you. But in terms of refinancing, there are two ways to do it: 1. Pay WAY, WAY more than the minimum payment for however long it takes to eliminate the negative equity in the car (i.e you owe 9K but the car is worth 6K, you have to pay enough extra to eat up 3K). Once you owe what the car is worth, then you can refinance at a real bank. 2. Unsecure the negative equity by putting it on a credit card (i.e pay 3K in the above example by credit card) and then refinance the car through a bank. I know how you feel. I have a lot of negative equity in my car and I don't want to unsecure it, so I'm stuck with refinancing with other finance companies for the meantime. I know it hurts my FICO - but as a rebuilder - it doesn't hurt as much as having the paid off installment helps. Marci
