What should I do?

Question

Im trying to rebuild my credit and get a new car. I have about 5 collection accounts, 1 charge off, and a high balance student loan in payment. I know the secured and macys card won't help much, so I need something else to boost my scores. I don't know what to apply for..I'm in the state of Georgia. My local bank if BOFA for 3 years, my scores are not high enough for their card and I hear their secured doesn't report. I'm scared to apply for auto financing through them. What should I apply for?



chervon: still waiting
crown jeweler: still waiting
creditone:denied
orchard secured: $200
macys: $100 (new as of this week)

Experian :596
transuion:592
equifax:579

Answer 1

As others have said, DON'T apply for any new credit. You will not only not get approved, but every inquiry will start to harm your score more. What you do need to do is pay off your collection accounts. Until you do nothing else you do can help your score as much.

But before you even think about paying the collection accounts you need to look at a couple of things. The first is the age of these collections. Negative Information can only be reported for 7 years from the date of the last delinquency. So if these are near the 7 year mark, if you can wait for them to fall of naturally let them.

The other thing you have to be aware of is the Statute of Limitations. This is the period of time creditors have to file a suit against you. Depending on the type of debt for GA this is between 4-6 years from the date of your last delinquency. If you are past the SOL you can usually get them to settle for less. However, the ideal thing to do is have them to agree to remove the collection account once you pay it in full. Just remember to not send them any money until you have an agreement from the collection agency in writting that they will do that.

Then on your current credit cards. Do not go over 30% of your limit so for macy's that means 30$ and Orchard $60. The farther above the 30% mark you go the more harm it will do to your score. Then be sure to pay those bills on-time every month.

Answer 2

Stop applying for more credit accounts. You are dinging your score with every application -- a pretty big ding with so many in a short period.

The way to fix your credit is to pay off those items in default. Your credit score will suck till those come off your report. Start with the newest item and work backward to the oldest.

Depending on how old those debts are, you can make settlement offers of 75% to 50%. Lump sum payments get the best deals. Payment plans will have to be over short periods. Get any settlement agreement in writing and don't give them access to your bank account.

When you get the old stuff paid off, your score will start to recover. But whatever you do, don't run up balances on all those new accounts. Only charge what you can afford to pay in full every month. You can at least start building an on time payment history.

Answer 3

If you have a lot of spare cash, you could write the collection agencies who are reporting the collection accounts/charge-offs. Request that they remove their listings from your credit report in exchange for payment. Offer them 33%-50% of what they are demanding. They may agree to this, as most of what they collect is profit. Get the agreement from them in writing before sending any money.

You should also stop applying for new credit. Every time you apply for a credit card, an inquiry will appear on your credit report, and will lower your credit score slightly. Applying for a bunch of credit cards at once will hurt quite a bit, and may raise a red flag with a potential lender. Inquires appear on your credit report for 2 years, but only affect your credit score for 1 year, and are less damaging the older they get.

Answer 4

You should get your credit repaired and under control first by going to this website and suscribing to the RSS feed. It is under developement and new information is being added all the time! Most people have no idea how or why credit and scoring works and even though it's called Easy Credit Repair, there is something here for everyone!

Answer 5

You need to work on paying off your delinquent accounts but Orchard and Capitol One are good places to start but remember you will be paying very high interest rates and a yearly fee to have the card. Waiting until the delinquencies "drop off" will not work because the debt will be sold to someone else and then just be reported again.

Answer 6

go to rewards660.com and apply for a card u should get it , pay ur new credit on time for 3 months and try to kp ur balances low , will see a boost soon but not overnight

Answer 7

If you think you can actually afford a new car, go to the dealer of choice, many can get you financed, although the interest rates will be astronomical 13 -16%