Hey all! My name is Mike, I've been working on repairing my credit and this seems like a great forum so far. Here is where I currently am: In the past year I've taken my credit score from 580ish to 647 (Equifax). That's mostly been through some old accounts coming off of my credit report and establishing some good credit history with a secured credit card, a retail card, and just recently an unsecured card (obviously paying all on time regularly). Obviously as I keep these accounts in good standing, my score is going to improve, but I do have a couple things hurting me. I have a medical bill that is in collections b/c of disputed practices (they told me to come in and said they had called and verified my step dad's insurance for dental work. It turns out the insurance was no longer good). It is in collections and is scheduled to come off in 2013. I also have 3 paid-off/charged-off that are on my report until 2012/2013. Finally I have 2 collections for student loans: 1 that was consolidated but I had never seen the bill because it was sent to an old address and 1 that said I was delinquent during the consolidation process (they failed to recognize the consolidation for several months, even though I was paying Sallie Mae for that amount). I've been reading through the forum, and will continue to do so, but any links to good articles/posts or advice is welcome and greatly appreciated! Thanks and I look forward to talking with you all on the boards.
Try goodwill letters to the creditors which you paid off defaulted accounts. We have good success with Discover, GE Money, and a few others and you may as well.
