I have disputed all negative entries with all 3 CRA, have done this twice so far. I got some deletions, but it really didn't improve my score. I just typed up validation letters to send to the CA. My Mother added me to two of her credit cards as an authorized user. I called them up today and asked if they report to the CRA and they said yes. I did ask how they could do that since I didn't provide my ss#, but they said they are able to do it without me providing it. I have only 1 active credit card in my name only and the credit limit is low, but the balance is at about 90%. I am going to make a payment tonight to bring it down to only 50% used. How does that sound so far? Is there anything else I can do or do I just wait another 30 days to see what happens?
well first off could you give a little more explanation about the neg's that are still on your report. Secondly having one open positive tradeline on your cr's wont help a huge ammount but it still will help alot. How long has the account been opened?. Once the accnt ages around 24 months ive heard of a jump in scores. Try to keep your utilization down on your card too. As far as the AU's go they should help a little bit. But the biggest thing that will help you is TIME . Fight those negs, pay all your bills on time , try to keep the inqs low and in time your scores will go up. Remember one thing fico scores you on your overall reposibility with credit. If your gonna re-build just be patient. One more thing . If you can it will help your scores alot to have an installment account on your files. Such as an auto loan. I dont know your financial situation but its something to think about. good luck...joe
Thanks Joe. Right now I have 3 judgements showing on each one, one that is satisfied and another will be paid off in the summer. I had a bk7 discharged in 1998), but disputed and had it removed from all but transunion. I have 2 collection accounts on equifax and experian - transunion is showing 4. I think it is the collections that are hurting me? 1 credit card $300 limit, though I am not at the limit on that. I also have 1 revolving account that states it is open, but I haven't used it since 1991(didn't even know it was still open). Have another installment loan that is closed - but it has no negative history. I have WSFS Credit from car lease - on equifax it shows as paid/zero balance, but transunion shows it was charged off as a bad debt. That is where one of the judgements came from - we paid the lease no problem, owed when we turned it in for mileage. Oh - the credit card is only 8 months old. I am hoping to get a car loan with a co-signer, shall see what happens there after all my disputes and validations are done. What is really frustrating to me is that all the collections and judgements are from my husband. He was SUPPOSED to take care of those bills, and I didn't know he wasn't. I never used to open mail addressed to just him, but the past month I have been. I have found a letter from a collection agency wanting $18 for a medical bill that he ignored. So, I am trying to stay on top of him and watch all the mail that comes in the house now. I would say about 50%, if not more, will fall off in 2004 - 2006. Anyway, I have been able to get quite a few deletions the past 2 months. Total accounts on equifax was 22 - now 15, experian was 18 - now 15, and transunion had 23 - now 19. My hope now is that the collections can't validate, and if they can my plan is to settle with the agreement that they will take it off my credit report. Did that help to explain the financial situation any better? Here are my scores as of yesterday: Experian: 521 Transunion: 509 Equifax: 575
Good job so far. Getting a few deletions won't help a whole lot as long as there are still some negs. You get the most boost in score when the last neg comes off. Keep disputing. Don't be too quick to settle accounts because, like I said, a few deletions won't make a big difference as long as there are still some negs there.
Re: Re: My progress - did I miss anything? Thanks. When I first started, I thought getting some deletions would help - found out otherwise!
Re: Re: My progress - did I miss anything? That's the big misconception that 1 deletion makes a difference. If you have 10 negs and get 1 deletion you now have 9 negs. Not gonna impress too many lenders. However, you need to start somewhere and one at a time will eventually clean things up. I suggest not paying for deletions until it's gonna make enough of a difference on your score and report. Keep up the good work.
Re: Re: My progress - did I miss anything? Thanks bigmon. I was just talking to my husband about this today. He is such a pessimist - doesn't know why I bother since I didn't get much of a change in my score yet. I told him that I would rather a prospective lender see just a few negatives instead of alot! Even if it doesn't change my score much yet, I already feel better knowing I have made some progress. Total deletions so far: Equifax: 8, plus the bk7 Experian: 4 Transunion: 5
Re: Re: My progress - did I miss anything? That is good progress. Once you get your letters on a template on a computer it's pretty easy to mass produce dispute letters. I just change the name of the OC/CA and hit print. I like to do online disputes with the CRA because it's quick and easy. It's when you have to always write a custom letter and research case law that it takes a lot of time. If a lender does a manual review it's easier to convince them that a few negs are not yours or being inaccurately reported vs having them see 15-20 negs.
Re: Re: Re: My progress - did I miss anything? I do have the letters all saved in a file on the computer. It has made things so much easier. Of course, I have run out of ink so I can't use them right now! I did hand write a quick letter last night just to keep things moving, but I am going to sit back for a week and wait to see what happens with what I am disputing and validating right now. I am going to take some time to read, understand and evaluate right now.
