Hi there. I have been reading this board for awhile now and have posted a couple of times, but never really received any responses. What I need to know really is where to begin in the quest to fix my credit. Right now I guess it is pretty bad because I canâ??t even get a Cap One card. I have received my credit reports from all three bureaus, as well as my husbandâ??s, and now want to start repairing them so that someday I can buy a house. Hubby was able to get a Cap One card with a $200 limit, then raised to $700 via Mr. Miller, other than this we have no other cards. I would like to start with Equifax because that is the one that most places here pull. The reason mine is so bad I think is because I have 2 student loans in default (in rehab right now) so of course I have 4 lines for that, 2 for the original loans and 2 for the govâ??t assuming them. They will be out of default in Feb. Other than that, I have 2 judgements, both paid, 4 collections (unpaid) that arenâ??t mine, a 1 ½ yr old car loan with no lates, an old closed credit card with no lates but stating closed by credit grantor. I have disputed the collection accounts and am waiting for a response. One sent me a letter and I requested validation over 2 months ago and have heard nothing, the other 3 I have not ever gotten a letter from, problem is I am afraid to request validation because I can not afford to pay them if I need to right nowâ?¦2 are medical and are about $300 total. There is so much more info I could give, but I will not bore you all and will wait to see if I get any responses. Thanks Larissa
Hi Larissa, I hope some of this can be useful to you. >I would like to start with Equifax because that is the one that most places here pull. It sounds as if you may need a card secured by a deposit to begin rebuilding your credit. Try FCNB secured, Target, First Premier, Providian/Getsmart, or Household Bank. Alternatively, re-apply for a Cap One unsecured, and if you are denied, write Mr. Miller via PFB and request a reconsideration. >The reason mine is so bad I think is because I have 2 student loans in default (in rehab right now) so of course I have 4 lines for that, 2 for the original loans and 2 for the govâ??t assuming them. They will be out of default in Feb. The gov't assumed ones will be deleted, but you may have to fight to get the original ones deleted. Stay on top of this with the CRAs and make sure they all disappear in Feb/March. Familiarize yourself with the Higher Education Act. >Other than that, I have 2 judgements, both paid, Well, if they weren't served or processed correctly - you may be able to have them vacated (I think) and removed from your reports. Others on this board know more about that than I do. >4 collections (unpaid) that arenâ??t mine, Continue disputing these, and sue if needed. >a 1 ½ yr old car loan with no lates, Good. Keep paying on time. If you have negative equity, try to pay more than your minimum if you can so that you can refinance. >an old closed credit card with no lates but stating closed by credit grantor. This doesn't hurt you wrt your credit score, though it may catch a loan officer's attention. Don't worry about it. > I have disputed the collection accounts and am waiting for a response. One sent me a letter and I requested validation over 2 months ago and have heard nothing, the other 3 I have not ever gotten a letter from, problem is I am afraid to request validation because I can not afford to pay them if I need to right nowâ?¦2 are medical and are about $300 total. Why would you even think about paying them if they are not yours???? If they truly are not your accounts - DON"T PAY THEM. Dispute and threaten with lawsuits. Do not pay. Period. Keep sending the validation letters. 30 days after the 2cd validation letter, send a third with an "intent to sue" and mean it. Sue them. >There is so much more info I could give, but I will not bore you all and will wait to see if I get any responses. Keep reading the board and asking questions. It seems that in 6 months, you will have: 2 satisfied judgements one car installment loan installment student loans with a new servicer one closed credit card account. This profile is bad, but it is certainly not horrific or insurmountable. You can get credit. Again, try for the FCNB secured or Cap One unsecured with Mr. Miller. Also Providian may approve you. I had everything you did (minus the judgements) and got Providian and Capital One. When you get approved for a credit card - only pay in full each month. In a year, you will be well on your way to credit recovery. Good luck,
Thank you for your response marci! It appears to me that defaulted student loans may be the worst thing you can do to yourself, because my husband has the same two judgements, way more collections (paid of course) a chargeoff (unpaid), 2 car loans with multiple 2 year old late pays (1 of them has 21 30 day lates) and he was able to get Cap One. I recently applied for Cap One secured and got the "we need more time" response and have not yet got anything in the mail. The judgements were filed correctly and all, I wish that I had read this board before I started paying on the collection accounts associated with these and bargained for deletion, they are not showing on mine but are showing on hubbys. Should I be disputing the original student loans since they are now with the govt? I guess this leads to another question...Equifax is actually my best report because I have a chargeoff from 98 showing on the other two and for some reason it has disappeared from eq. The thing is, on both others, there is the original accoun(charged off) and then a collection account for the same account as well...can they do this? I disputed the collection account with Trans and the new report came back with the note "new info below" but nothing has changed. So what I am asking essentially is...can you have the original account and the collection account on your report at the same time? Doesn't this make it look twice as bad? I am sorry this is so long, but after reading all of the posts here for the past month or so I am encouraged by all of your successes and am ready to get going! Thanks again Larissa
I would wait until the rehabilitation is completed before disputing the original loans. Read the HEA and make sure that you understand and communicate to the CRAs and the original servicer that the Rehab section applies to all entries of a rehabilitated loan, including the original entries. The Dept. of Education's Ombudsman's Office can help in this regard, too. If you have trouble, call them and get a case specialist assigned to help you. The truth is: Yes, it does look twice as bad, and I don't know that it is necessarily inaccurate wrt to the FCRA. I believe people on this board have successfully disputed situations like this as "duplicate accounts", but it was my understanding that both tradelines were valid under the FCRA. I hope that I am wrong on this issue, so I suggest you ask this question again in a new thread and get answers from people here who have had that situation happen to them.
Thanks again marci! Do you have a link to the HEA? I will ask the other question in a new thread like you suggested!
Here are two very helpful sites wrt the HEA: http://carreonandassociates.com/sl1.htm (has section on HEA and rehabilitation - a good read) http://www.ed.gov/ (do a search for the HEA and you'll get some PDF hits). The HEA was written in 1965 and most recently amended in 1998.
