I currently have a lot of credit issues and I am just starting to get them resolved. I had a few questions and I was hoping that someone would be able to answer them for me. My current profile is rather bleak. Currently I have 1 old paid charge off, 2 old collections that are each under $100, and a bunch of defaulted student loans. I am working with the Dept of Ed under their rehab program to get the student loans taken care of. The only questions I have regard the collections. The first is from an old credit card I had in college. The balance has been paid for a few years now, but it still reporting to TRW. Is it possible to get this removed? I have seen info about using the FCRA to my advantage and writing letters, but in this case, unfortunately, the information is accurate. Can that still be removed. The small collections are both from items I did not pay when I moved from one state to another. This was back in 1994. Since that time a collection agency had them but I was unaware of their existence until this week. The collection agency never contacted me. They claim that they were sending info to my old address. I don't dispute the validity of the collections and I am willing to pay them off, but I am worried about them remaining on my report. Can something be done about this? My final questions involve the rebuilding of positive credit. I have looked into secured cards and currently am awaiting the applications. I would like to go with a established company like Citi or Chase, but I have read that people get declined for those. Since I have no current positive credit and all that negative info, is it possible to be declined for SECURED cards? If so, could I be completely out of luck? Also, with my current situation, would it be impossible for me to secure auto financing. I will need a car loan in August. I have plenty of money to put down, so the LTV would be low, but with no good lines, will anyone take me seriously? I kwno this is a lot of stuff, but any help for someone just getting started on this process would be great. Thanks.
Regarding the paid charge-off, you can dispute that with the CRA's as "not mine." There's a good chance the bank won't verify it. Regarding the collections, don't pay them, don't negotiate them. Since they are from 1994 they will fall off your report sometime this year because they will be hitting the 7 year period. Since they are so old they are only hurting your score a little. You can qualify for a car loan, but you'll pay a high interest rate. What you need to do is to establish some positive credit like you said. Apply for the Capital One card. You will not get denied. Especially for their secured card. Most secured cards rarely if ever decline anyone, although some do for those with recent bankruptcy. The prime lenders are more likely to decline (Chase, BOA, etc.) So try for Cap One, Providian and First Consumers National Bank. They are very lenient and some offer a credit limit more than what your deposit is.
