Okay, I've been browsing the forums for the past day or two, pulled up my credit reports, credit scores, all that. Here's where I am right now: TU: 707 (2 derog student loans) Eq: 651 (6->1 CA, 5 student loans) Exp: 649 (7->1 CA, 1 Citibank write off of $418 from 11-98, only shows on Exp, 5 student loans) They're not horrible scores, in fact, I've already started being approved for things I would've been denied a year or two ago (instant online approval for a car lease, cell phone, etc). My biggest concern is that I want to buy a house and there's a $74 collection account from AT&T Wireless for a pager I had back in 1997. I sent AT&T a letter to close the account back in 97 but then I moved and didn't give it another thought since I figured it was already closed. Turned out that they continued charging me and then sent it to collections in 1998. The CA shows on Exp and Eq only, which is my guess why it's so much lower for those two. In the past, I've gotten my TransUnion report which never showed the CA. I submitted an online dispute through Experian with a similar reason to the above. I plan on doing the same with Equifax though I haven't yet. Experian also showed three student loans as being past due, with a total amount past due of $930. However, the status was last updated in 1998 and all 3 accounts have been current for at least the past 5 years. I've also put these into investigation. Hopefully those will be resolved quickly. I have no amount past due at all! Haven't had any for the past 5 years either... The last Experian anomaly is the Citibank write off. It actually is what happened (I paid the amount owed minus the interest, that's the offer they gave me), but the other two CRAs show it as being closed in good standing. Is there anyway to get Experian to show it as closed in good standing too? Across all three, I have one student loan which shows as derog but that I've already paid in full. Is there any way to have this removed, through a good will letter or something? Do I send this to the loan company? I'm already doing one thing which I have complete control over: paying off my credit card debt. That should only take 4-6 months and should help out my score pretty significantly. I would like to get a new credit card now though. I've got a Providian Gold Premiere, which actually isn't bad but I'd still like to get a new card and transfer the balance to a 0% BT card and save some money, even though I plan on paying the balance in the next 6 months. Should I wait until after I buy a house (I'm hoping to do this around Oct/Nov), or can I do it now and not have it affect my score significantly? I do plan on keeping the Prov account open as it is one of my oldest accounts, I've had it since 1997 and never been late. Thanks for listening. Any tips for dealing with the CA would be greatly appreciated! What happens if they validate the debt? Do I pay it, not pay it, or even send a letter to AT&T offering to pay it if they remove it as a derog? Thanks again!
