Hi, I just learned about this site YESTERDAY. I have always been concerned about my credit but had no idea how to go about fixing it. I recently graduated form college last December and found a full time job last month. I;m sure most college graduates here understand what it's liek when you stupidly apply for every credit card and then max them out and then you can't pay them.... that's ME. So now I feel I am able to do something about my credit. I plan to finance a new car and buy a townhouse in my near future but I'd like to know what I can do with my credit before I make any stupid moves. Here is the breakdown... First of all this is all going off of my report that I got from Experian. I am still waiting for my other reports from Equifax and Transunion in the mail (since I can get them for free). Which leads me to my first question.. how much different is each of their reporting? Anyway here is my CR in a nutshell... Allied Interstate, INC (Collections) Date Open: 1/1/2002 Balance: $61 as of 12/2001 Status: Seriously past due My note: it says the creditor charged off on it in 12/2001. the creditor is actually the long distance company I used while I was at college.. what do I do about this? Anderson Financial Network (collections) Date Open: 10/1/2003 Balance: $396.00 as of 11/2003 Status: Seriously past due My note: it says the creditor charged off on it on 11/2003. The creditor is Cingular Wireless....what do I do? Associate's/Citibank (Credit Card) Date Open: 1/1/1999 Balance: $2,468 as of 5/2004 Status: Charge-off as of 10/2001 Associate's/Citibank (Credit Card) Date Open: 4/1/1999 Balance: $1446 as of 4/2004 Status: Charge Off as of 9/2001 BP/Citibank (Gas Card) Date Open: 6/1/2000 Balance: $625 as of 3/2002 Status: Charge Off a sof 3/2002 Capital One Bank (Credit Card) Date Open: 1/1/2000 Balance: $904 as of 5/2004 Status: Charge-off as of 6/2001 Discover (Credit Card) Date Open: 3/1/2000 Balance: this is a confusing one... it says High Balance of $1922 but then it says $0 as of 12/2001 Status: Charge-off as of 12/2001 FNANB/CIRCUIT CITY (Dept Store Card) Date Open: 6/1/2000 Balance: High Balance: $687 Recent Balance: $0 as of 07/2002 (another confusing one) Status: Charge-off as of 10/2001 Hecht's (Store Card) Date Open: 6/1/2000 Balance: $631 as of 4/2004 Status: Charge-off as of 1/2002 Household Bank (hell if I know) Date Open: 5/1/2000 Balance: $1716 as of 5/2002 ($0 recent balance) Status: Charge-off as of 6/2002, Sold to another lender as of 5/2002 Macy's (Store Card) Date Open: 11/1999 Balance: $702 as of 8/2001 Status: Closed as of 8/2001 MBNA (Credit Card) Date Open: 2/1999 Balance: $1099/ $0 balance as of 2/2002 Status: Charge-off/sold to another lender as of 2/2002 S&P Capital Investment (Collections) Date Open: 7/2002 Balance: 1082 as of 1/2004 Status: Charge-off as of 11/2003, Collection as of 1/2004 (what does that mean?) Sherman Acquisition (Collections) Date Open: 6/2002 Balance: 1974 as of 4/2004 Status: Seriously Past Due Wachovia (Bank Account) Date Open: 9/2001 Balance: $430 as of 4/2002 Status: Charge-off as of 9/2003 I have a few positive accounts on there but those are all closed. Also I have no available credit :-( Also there are a lot of wrong addresses on here that were reported by Citibank. WHat good does that do for me. I've already reported them and Experian they would remove them. and to sum it up...the score is 529 :-( any help would be appreciated thanks!
Your credit report looks like mine. I had over 11 credit cards when I was in college. Max them all and havent paid since May 2002. No collection activity other than a letter ever here and there. I am contimplating filing for BK, but dont really want to. I know that I dont have the money to pay these off. I have undergad student loans in deferment now, and im currently in grad school. My fico on transunion is 463. I hate my financial situation and feel stuck between what I fear I might have to do and what I would prefer to do....
You're in a bit of a spot, and I'm surprised your score is as high as it is. I would not even THINK about a new car or townhouse until you get your credit reports in better shape. Sorry to be so blunt, but whatever deals you might be able to work out, you'll regret shortly thereafter when you're paying ASTRONOMICAL interest rates. You definitely have your work cut out for you. Since you're new here, read the "sticky posts" at the top of the page (the first 4 or 5 threads). When you're finished reading, read them again. You have a lot of chargeoffs. This is NOT good. You MIGHT be able to work something out with the original creditors where if you pay them in full, they'll delete the negative tradeline. But honestly, that's a long shot. Your bigger problem is the age of the chargeoffs. You're still within SOL (statute of limitations - read the "sticky posts"!!!) on just about every one of them. This will require a very careful strategy when it comes to dealing with each tradeline, because you can be sued. My best advice is to read as much as you can here. Take it one tradeline at a time. Realize that you didn't get yourself here overnight, and you certainly won't clean up the mess overnight. And while your situation might seem overwhelming, MANY of us (myself included) have been there. The end results are worth it. But be prepared to wait things out for a few years! Good luck, and keep us posted!
The reason why it's as high is it is because two of my Associate's CCs (which were my first 2 CC's which I got in 1999 so they're the basis of my CH) were constantly lost and I had to keep closing the aco****s and getting reissued new cards. So the closed/lost accounts stayed on my report. Also there are 2 accounts on there that say "paid as agreed" which I paid off before it wnt to collections awhle ago.... but either way my credit still sucks lol
Don't feel bad b/c you are not alone. I too fell victim to the credit card in college. I believe credit card companies prey on college students b/c for one, they don't have money and credit cards are great for financial hardtimes. I had about 7 or 8 credit cards and didn't start having problems until my last year in college. I leased a car and my payment and insurance alone took up my check. I have been thru a long and hard struggle with my credit but I am learning and that is what is important. YOu learn not to make the same mistake twice and you can help someone else not make that same mistake. I have a way to go to get my credit together but I have learned so much and this website has helped me tremendously. So right now just take it one day at a time and be wise with the money you do have. It will get better it will just take some time.
I was in your exact situation about two years ago. I didn't have as many chargeoff's as you do, but my score was about a 510 on all 3 reports. I had 4 chargeoff's for about $3,000 and then I had about 8 accounts that were 30-120 days late. I even had one Bank One account showing 90 days late 32 times, 60 days 8 times. That one always made me laugh. To make a long story short, I started reparing my credit by disputing everything with all 3 bureaus. That got rid of some negatives, but I still had a lot of baddies on my reports. I decided to intesify my efforts by repeatedly faxing some companies until they finally gave in and removed the negative tradelines. This worked with First USA and Bank One, although I spent a great deal of time to get the results. I claimed the account were not mine and kept the pressure up. I had two chargeoff's from Cap One that they removed because I told them someone in my family had fraudulently opened the account without my knowledge and that was the reason I paid them off. I know it's dishonest, but it worked. While you are doing this, open some cards that are secured or easy to get, like Plains Commerce. The fees are high, but you don't have any choice at this point. When your scores go up, get better cards and you are on your way. I first got a Plains Commerce, then a Target Guest Card. From there I got a Target Visa card. All were low limits (around 1K). Then, I placed everything in dispute on Equifax and my score was a 707. I applied and received an AMEX BLUE (2k) and a GM Mastercard (2k). Then, I continued working on removing the few remaining negatives. When I only had a 30 day late showing on 2 reports, I applied for a Bank One United Mileage Plus Visa with a score of 690. They gave me a 11K limit, which I was VERY happy with. Today, I only have one 30 day late from 4 years ago showing on all 3 reports. My scores are as follows: 710 FICO equifax, 725 Experian and 730 Transunion. I just received a Chase Card with 5k limit and an MBNA with a 15k limit. I am pretty much done, but the journey was very hard. Dont expect to get any good cards until your score is at least in the high 600's, low 700's. The repair process takes a while and it can be discouraging at times. Just stick with it. The only 30 day late I have left is from Providian and they refuse to remove it despite every trick I could think of. I guess I'll just wait until it falls off in 3 years. Blitzing them with tons of faxes and numerous calls and letters to practically everyone in the company has not worked. The main thing is that I can get almost any card I want now and qualify for car loans, mortgages, etc. If you need any more advice, let me know. I've been there and know what it feels like. Eric
THEY PULLED EQUIFAX!!!!! WHY????????? I checked out the who pulls what and it said experian.... I live in Jersey
