Hi everyone, I am new here, and I am looking for some advice. I was divorced (happily) a few years ago, and really screwed up my credit. Now, I am trying to get things back in order. My problem seems to be mostly that I have no credit score at all! I live in the Midwest, and TU is mostly used here, from what I understand. I checked my report a few months ago for the first time in a few years, because I had been scared to before. My score then was 568, I believe? I found 3 mistakes on the report, and disputed them. There was one account in good standing, but it is a new account. The disputed items were removed with no problems. I also paid off one account that was in collections, and the agency removed it completely without my asking them too (yippee!) My score as of 7/02 is now 601. I have the one good account, I am paying it off more quickly than required (installment account). but they are only showing the first 3 months so far. I also have one public record against me (court ordered ex to pay, he refuses) but that will be gone as of 8/02. That leaves two medical bills, one of which I just paid, but it probably will not show that until next month. They are both at the same collection agency and they will not remove them, just mark them as paid. They will be on for a few more years. Experian and Equifax - both show a score of 0. Neither of them show my good account. They both show one collection from AT&T, recently paid, but not reported as paid yet. One of the two (can't remember right off hand) shows a check that bounced in 1997. I paid it immediately, and it never showed up on my report until 6/02. That is really irritating! but it was my fault, and it will be gone soon. I would really like to get things in order as soon as I can. My goal is to have the last unpaid collection (the other medical bill) paid off by Thanksgiving, and I do not think that will be a problem. What other steps can I take (obviously, keep in good standing with the installment loan) to build my credit? I would like to buy a house within the next two years or so, but if I still have a 0, or no credit, how can I go about getting good credit, now that I am almost done with the bad? One friend suggested getting a credit card with a low limit that I pay in full every month (maybe put gas or groceries on it, and send the check in there rather than write a check at the store.) But I do not have any credit cards, and when I applied for a few (I think Target and Capital One) they both checked Equifax and Experian and said that I had insufficient credit history. Now I have the inquiries on my report as well. Is there any way I can build the two scores, and also find out which bureau someplace will check, or what the score they will require will be? Thanks in advance for all your help!
I guess I should also mention that I have no bankruptcies. If there is any other information that I need to give for good advice, just let me know!
Thought of one more thing! The AT&T bill, as I was reading the boards, I noticed another thread that relates to this. The collection agency that placed this on my credit report never notified me that they were going to do this, or even that they had the account. I knew nothing about them having the account until it was on my report. Can I dispute this based on that? I called AT&T directly and paid the balance in full. It cleared my account on 6/21. Would this help my chances to get it removed? Also, I will meet my goal of having the other medical debt paid off. My last payment will be 11/15! What steps should I take to get these removed, or do I just have to wait it out? Thanks!
Hi Novalee, welcome to the board. I'm not an expert at building new credit, but I can give you some info on removing those baddies. To start off, I'm going to tell you that it doesn't matter if it is a paid collection or an unpaid collection. A collection is still a collection and is a baddie no matter how you look at it. The goal is to get those collections off. The one that you just paid will be harder than the one that isn't paid. They still have something to lose on the unpaid one where they don't on the paid collection because it's already paid. I would go to the Newbie link at the top of the page and do some research into removing a paid collection. There are testimonies, links to letters etc that tell more about the Nutcase letter, goodwill letter etc. How do you know that they won't remove them? Did you ask them. Did you ask them on the phone? Rule number 1: Get it in writing. It doesn't exist if it isn't in writing. For the collection that you are still paying on, you may want to do a search on settlement offers (ie money for deletion) or Accord and Satisfaction (still money for deletion) Dispute that bounced check with the CRA. Why wait until it will be gone soon. They are reporting you to punish you further. Make it stop. Dispute. Tell the CRA it is inaccurate. Really try to get that unpaid collection as un-reported. It will hurt you in the end. Check the newbie section. There's a link to a website where you plug in the company and then it will tell you what CRA's they check. Don't think I really helped your situation that much, but there a ton of experts on this board who can give you more advice and also help you to build your credit.
