My story: -I opened 3 credit cards my freshman year in college. One was maxed out for my computer. Another was used to pay the MSN Internet deal needed to get that computer and one was for personal use. -These cards were opened and used w/ the advice of my parents (who have bad credit and who I now know not to go to for advice) -My parents claimed they would pay for the first two...but now it's in my hands as a college graduate...no problem...they're letting me stay at home until I pay it off (lol...that's kindof a tradeoff) -I have about $3500 ($1000 limit) on one, $2500 ($1000 limit) on another, and $1500 ($500 limit) on another. Of course about 60% of these balances are due to late fees and then over-the-limit fees -Upon trying to pay my bills down my Junior year, I tried to do cash advances from my bank (bad idea) and now I owe Well's Fargo about $800. -I also owe MSN about $150 -I also owe At&t about $90 even though I paid them almost $400 my Junior year to pay off the account (No, I never got anything in writing) My Plan -Def pull all of my credit reports -I heard that those credit counseling places tell you to DISPUTE EVERYTHING NEGATIVE on your report. -I plan to get back in contact w/ the collection agencies so that they can start offering me settlements again. -I'm hoping to only pay 50% of this debt (at least the big credit card ones) -I'll be staying w/ my parents until the end of this year in which I will save about $3200. I'm hoping this will cover everything. WHAT SHOULD I TACKLE FIRST?
I'm a newcomer too, but I can give one bit of advice... Don't negotiate or dispute anything until you've spent a week or more reading this forum, top to bottom. I tried to fix my CR on my own before I found this site. I missed a lot of opportunities and even made some stuff worse. Learn your options and take it slow. dsc
before you do anything pull your reports and post the results back here. have they been after you to pay? what was the date of last payment? what state are you in? what is your timeframe to have everything resolved?
Firstly, you're right dsc, I do need to take it slowly...there's just so much!!! lol before you do anything pull your reports and post the results back here. have they been after you to pay? Not since I've moved back to my hometown. I transferred alot of information to my collegetown and I haven't heard from them in a while. what was the date of last payment? Def over a year ago. Probably almost 2 years for everybody. what state are you in? Texas what is your timeframe to have everything resolved? Well, I'm staying w/ my parents until I clear my debt., so the sooner the better...lol. Preferably, no longer than a year.
Do you have a receipt for the At&T $400? Have your 3 CC been turned over to a CA? Looks like $8500 in debt. Your debt is probably owned by the collection Agency. They probably paid 0.25 cents on a hundred. Save up. Study and start keeping records. Keep us posted. Wizzard
