I have just started rebuilding my credit. Within the past 90 days: I was approved for: $2500 credit line from peachdirect.com ($800 current Balance) . $7500 Platinum Visa ($900 Balance) 0%APR for 1 yr $500 Geico Mastercard ($400 Balance) 0%APR for 1 yr myFICO Credit Score is 681 Now the BAD: I have 3 Negatives First one on my credit is dating back to 4/2001 . Im told this will be removed from my credit report sometime around 3/2008. Is it better to negotiate with the company that holds the debt or just play the waiting game? The company has contacted me and told me they would accept $879 to pay it off in full. The second item dates back to 5/2007 .. Its a unpaid cell phone bill in collections. I had totally forgot about. The 3rd item is from 7/2005 .. $44 unpaid Gas Bill. I didnt even know bill existed I can pay the 2nd and the 3rd one off with no problem.. but not if they wont be removed from my Credit Report. Have people had success with the Paid to Remove Sample letter? Thank You
I don't think there is any advantage to waiting for it to drop off your reports before you pay, other than not having to see your score take a temporary hit b/c of the payment changing your DOLA. But if its past SOL for collections, that is even better. Is the OC or CA reporting it? Did they fail to send you a final bill to your new address? If they did, then they should be willing to PFD, since they dropped the ball, IMO.
The first thing from 4/2001 is now with LVNV Funding. How do I find out the SOL? I now live in Arizona but at the time of Debt I lived in Nevada. The Cellphone Bill is with A Collection Agency : Professional Collection Consultant out of Las Angeles I honestly don't think I ever recieved a final bill. but its been years.
Congratulations on your score! You might want to check it with all three bureaus, but over 670 is generally a very good sign. If the one from 2001 is a credit card debt, I'd personally just leave it alone. It's probably outside SOL, and unless they re-age it or sell it to someone, it's going to do you more harm than good to touch it. The other two I'd deal with. But I'd deal with the OCs. Get on the phone with the guys from the May bill and sweet-talk someone in their finance or collections dept into working with you. It's entirely possible that it's still with an in-house collection department. In that case, just be very apologetic and kiss their feet and see if they'll let you just pay it off and they'll remove the ding from your credit history. The one from 2005 is a puzzler. If you truly can't remember it, I'd dispute it with the CRAs simply saying, "This is not my account. I have no knowlege of it. I had no business dealings with the alleged creditor. I don't owe it. Delete it." There's a better-than-even chance it'll go away permanently. IMO, the best thing you can do is keep your debt-to-available-credit ratios under 50%, or even closer to 35%. If you do, they'll incrase your credit lines every 6 months or so automatically. Run the charges up and down; keep them active. And don't be late with anything.
Is there a place I can get all 3 credit scors in one place fairly cheap? Right now im using the myfico free trial
I recommend that you use only myfico.com, for your true FICO scores. You can usually save some money by Googling "FICO score discount codes" and finding some promotional codes to save 10%-20%.
I use TrueCredit.com to monitor my info regularly. They give scores and some analysis as well as your credit reports. They're run by TransUnion. It's $14.95/mo or less. The scores may not be "exact" but the truth is that many places use their own scoring systems (eg., mortgage companies, car dealers, banks, etc) so for most purposes it's useful as a good indicator. I found they agreed with the score my bank got when I last applied for something. But most places won't even tell you the score or anything -- you just get a letter with an excuse code if they deny you.
Remember that if you are denied credit based on the information obtained from a credit report, you are entitled to know which credit reporting agency they used and the address you can write to or call to get a free copy of the credit report used. The lender (or potential lender) doesn't have to provide the credit report, but you should be able to get it with a little leg-work.
Credit scores are not "obtained from your credit report". They're provided as a separate service by the CRAs to their subscribers.
A "promotional code" which gives a discount to the standard price for a FICO score. When you order on-line, it will ask if you have a promotional code to enter. Entering cppsavings in the promotional code box will save you $.
