I want to repair my credit?
About two years ago I had about $1500.00 in debts I was young and stupid so I stopped paying the cards I had a total of 3 cards under my name. The thing is now I am financially stable and I was to fix up my credit it’s stupid to do bankruptcy because I can pay it off now. What are some options I may have? I work at a law firm but I just dont feel comfortable talking to one of my fellow co-workers about my situation.
August 29th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Find a reputable credit counselor who will help determine the best course of action to repair your record.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:22 pm
There are starter credit cards that you can find online. They usually ask for some kind of deposit and have small credit limits, but credit cards are the fastest and easiest way to build credit.. You don’t even have to have a balance on them and they count as ontime payments every month.. I would open 1 or 2 of these cards and within 6 months to a year your score will start going up.. Co-signers can get you credit approvals also.
September 5th, 2009 at 2:35 am
Actually, credit counselors can’t really do anything you can’t do yourself. First, make sure to run a credit check on yourself (can be done for free once per year at annualcreditreport.com), so that you know what you’re dealing with.
The best way to fix your credit is to pay off those debts that haven’t been paid (gradually or not), and get yourself in a place where you have a lot of credit available to you that you aren’t using (ex: have a couple of credit cards that you use occassionally and pay off regularly; keep the balance on them low). Then you just have to wait.
No matter what you do; whether you pay it off all at once or whether you pay it off gradually over time, it will take time to repair your credit. Once your cards are all being paid on again (when they’re not counting as bad marks against you), your credit will immediately start to improve. Remember that any time you miss a payment, it will decline again, so make sure to make your payments on time. As you continue to make regular on-time payments (sometimes easiest to set up these bills as automatic withrawl to prevent late fees, etc), your credit will continue to improve. Be aware, though, that sometimes it can take years of regular payments to get your credit to where you want it to be.
September 7th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Negotiate with your creditors. Do what is known as a “Pay For Delete”. In other words, you will pay amount “X” for deletion of the negative trade lines on your credit report. Get it all in writing of course before you send them a dime. Don’t let them tell you that they cannot do a pay for delete. It’s BULL$#%@!! For more information go to “debtorboards.com”. You will find a TON of information on how to get your good name and good credit back. “BudHibbs.com” has some good info on Junk Debt Buyers. Navigate those two sites beofre you do anything.
Fight back!!
September 10th, 2009 at 2:35 am
we have all been there at one point in our life -
I do not believe you have enough debt to consider bankruptcy
Consider cards from Capital One, Orchard, First Premier or Washington mutual to build back up
If the debts were credit cards that were sold to a collection agency you need to dispute the original creditor - as they are reporting negative as well as the collection agency -
As someone said earlier, it will take time but your score will come back with on time payments - keep in mind a paid collection will not be removed from your credit file - it reports the same as if it were not paid just indicated “paid”
You may consider if the debts are in the hands of a collection agency settling for less provided they agree to remove the account upon receipt of your payment - should they agree get it in writing on their letterhead and forward it to all three reporting agencies so that they can remove it for you.
I am currently employed with one of the three credit reporting agencies and if the documentation is accepted, we will remove it vs investigating it.
Again it will take time