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Well. Monday, August 14th, 2023. Perhaps it time to start a running credit thread. Probably infrequent updates.. thought this would be a good place to start it: My FICO score (not a FAKO. This is a FICO score, as per a credit denial letter from Chase for Amazon.com Visa Signature) is 602 calculated as of 8/9/2023.

Hello Everyone, I will get straight to the point, due to some mistakes I made years ago my credit score is very low. My FICO SCORE 8 is 482 on Experian. I've started an online business that's making me money and as of recent I need a new Payment Processor. Without one I cannot do business online. The problem is my credit score is currently holding me back from acquiring one. My total debt is $67,380, I am thinking about buying a seasoned tradeline, with a 20K+ credit limit or higher with an age of 4+ years to offset my utilization and bring my credit score up. This will cost me about $570, my credit score needs to be a minimum of 500 to get a payment processing account, I'm only doing this because time is not on my side, and e-commerce is how I make my living, and take care of my family. Any opinions, advice, or experience you would like to share? Thank you!

Newbie here, just found out about this site tonight, hoping for some advice. Two years ago my brother took his own life. He had just retired from the military, gone into police work, moved to the state he had been dreaming of since he was a kid and bought a house. PTSD clouds all the good in your life. The reason I give this backstory is to give insight of why I am where I am now. He was my older brother, only sibling, and I tried desperately to hold onto his dream house. The mortgage was crippling to me, I had my own rent and bills (in another state where my job is)and wound up burning through my savings and then living off my credit cards. Finally, I had no choice, the house had to go. I felt like a failure. All said and done I walked away with only a lousy $20k and I owe $40k in credit cards. Here’s my issue my credit score has tanked (to put it lightly). I was at 760 before this, last month I hit 560. No late payments at all, no collections or other negatives. Just high utilization on 12/14 credit cards (maxed out). Here’s my question. I need to move for my job next May. I also need savings. I’m putting $10k in savings and going to pay the other $10k on debt. I need to bring my credit score up to rent a decent place. Do I… 1. Pay down the balances so they are not maxed out or 2. Pay off the smaller cards (I could pay 5 in full) and keep paying minimum on others. balances are approx. a. 800 b. 1200.00 c. 1900.00 d. 2500.00 e. 3000.00 f. 3000.00 g. 5000.00 h. 5000.00 i. 5000.00 j. 5000.00 k. 9000.00 All but 2 are maxed out. Of course they raised my interest rates. All but 2 are 28% or higher. 4 are over 30%. I need the biggest bang for my buck. I need to save on the minimum payments which are crushing me (I was turned down for bankruptcy by 2 different attorneys, I can’t meet the means test). I also need, as I said, to increase my score so I can rent a place. I’m working 3 jobs and doing all I can. I realize I messed up. I let emotion and grief cloud my judgement and I’m here showing my stupidity to the world. If you’ve read this far I appreciate it. Any advice?

Hi all, so I’m new here and haven’t really been sure where to turn for advice and questions on this topic so sorry if I’m posting this in the wrong spot. I work as a mechanic right now and I bought a toolbox and some tools for about 4k through the leasing option that was offered. I didn’t ask much questions since I didn’t know what I know now about credit and lease/loan options, and the seller didn’t explain them to me just told me to sign. But I’m stuck paying 230$ a month for another 3 years (been paying for about a year before I started getting info on the lease) the early buyout amount is the same as if I kept paying monthly (about 9k). There is no interest according the the company but they have a fixed price and term length. Basically what I want to know is can I get out of this? If I were to do like a voluntary repossession since it’s an equipment lease that I don’t see on my credit report while the repo hurt my credit? If I do have them repossess it and they sell it to cover the amount I still owe, will it come off the original 4k that I financed or my 9k buyout? Should I get a lawyer to look over the contract and see if there is a way out? Clicklease is an absolute scam of a company. They have refused to cooperate with me. For the first 5 months of my lease (when they offer an early buyout at the purchase cost) they never answered any of my calls or emails. And even as of late they give me no options to help me and minimal information unless I ask for very specific things. Clicklease has already had several lawsuits filed against them and 100s of bad reviews. But they still have a 4/5 rating with the BBB because of 100s of fake reviews.

I have 2 Cap1 credit cards. One has a balance of $8,700. I will soon have to default on that card. The other is a Cap1 Walmart card. Its balance is $125. After I default on the larger balance, will they go ahead and cancel my Walmart card also? Answer Follow Request

Hello, My mother recently sold her house and I am trying to help her figure out what debts to pay off, which to try and settle for less, and which to not bother with now or at all. She is looking to get another property (maybe a 15yr fixed mortgage?) and so far has a credit rating of 716, but according to the report I see the bank payoffs after the sale of the house have not been reported. These payoffs came out to about 95K. Her husband died and much of the debt is under his name, however I think due to the state she lives in, the debt is considered hers as well? The debt under his name does not show up on her report. After the sale, she has about 115K to work with, but with these remaining debts: a private loan for 10K, no interest ~4000K owed to plumbing company for repairs credit cards: ~11K in her name on 3 cards, ~1500K in husband's ~1200K owed to hospital All of the above was her now passed husband's except the 3 credit cards mentioned. In order for her to successfully purchase a new home, get rid of as much debt as possible, but still try and have something saved for emergencies or to use otherwise, what would you suggest? Is it worth seeking paid professional advice? Is there a better place to post this? Thanks for any and all help. L.

When does synchrony bank send out their 1099 tax forms?

Hi all. Hope everyone is gearing up for a good new year. This year I'm really hoping to dig myself out of the hole I'm in. For a little bit of background - I have chronic kidney disease and had to make the decision to leave my job in public school administration about five years ago. For the first three years, I did very well working from home as a virtual tutor and educational transcriptionist. When COVID hit, things were initially okay because students were learning from home, but soon families were having to cut all nonessential expenses which often meant me. My income was reduced by about 75% in 2020. I racked up quite a bit of credit card debt to cover living expenses with the expectation that things would improve quickly and I would be able to pay off the debt. As we now know, that simply hasn't happened. I owe about 15K across a number of different cards and a personal loan. As of now, everything is current, but I cannot continue at this rate. I want to pay my creditors, but I cannot afford the current minimums. I'm considering contacting the credit card companies individually and asking about hardship plans, but I know they are often unwilling to help until you are behind. My creditors are: Capital One, Discover, Dell, Ollo, Opportun, Credit One, Aspire, Merrick Bank, Target, PayPal, and Upstart loan. I live in South Carolina. The debt collection laws here are rather consumer friendly. I do not have the any property other than about $45,000 equity in my primary residence. I'm really trying to determine what the best course of action is. I know not paying the cards in hopes of qualifying for hardship programs involves a risk of suit, but even if there was a suit, I don't believe there's much they could take. I also know there's the option of debt consolidation, but I know that would be yet another bill that I don't need and I might be able to accomplish the same thing myself. Does anyone have any experience with this process? What is your opinion/advice? Thanks so much.

Hello , I am in debt about 80k i was offered a debt relief program but iam skepitcal... Can i call and negotiate myself the small debt then the big ones ?? Please help

I need advice on how to get out debt. I'm struggling with piled up mortgage fees right now since I lost my work in this pandemic. Thankfully, I got hired again recently, but am now dealing with a load of debt to pay off. The total mortgage that I need to pay of is roughly $50,000 with late bills which is roughly about $15,000. I came across a website and learned a bit about debt consolidation but I still am struggling on where to start... Any suggestions and recommendations will certainly be helpful in my situations. Thank you in advance.

Any advice is much appreciated! I graduated with my masters in Aug 2020 and havent had a full time job since Dec 2019. My mom was laid off because of covid in March 2020 and I stopped making payments to credit cards after graduating from my masters (Sept 2020) because my student loans stopped coming and my mom could barely make her own mortgage payments. Since Sept 2020, Ive severely damaged my credit and am now in over $27k cc debt. I've since moved to Europe and don't plan to come back to the US, at least not for several years, to pursue lower cost education here. I don't know how to proceed with my cc debt because I've been told since my credit is already tanked that it wouldnt matter if I pay off my debt, attempt to lower my 23-25% interest rates on my 9 credit cards, or try to negotiate a lower payoff. I work part time remotely for a client in the US but the work is random and not guaranteed. The most I've made since I started with her in Dec 2020 was $1100 a month. I contacted a debt consolidation law firm in the US but they want to charge me a $750 retainer and then $600 a month for 36 months to pay off my cards. Im waiting to hear if they guarantee these cards will be paid. No idea how to proceed and feeling overwhelmed because I want to do the right thing but Im drowning in interest rates and have called two banks to talk with them only to be yelled at and shamed. Do you have any advice for me?

Hi everyone. I just have a question on deciding if I should pay this in full or over the next few month. I had to file chapter 13 in 2015. I’ve been rebuilding since discharged in June 2019. I’ve done really good with CC’s since then. I was approved for 3k with PayPal credit. I only use it for purchases over 100 so I can get 0% for 6 months. I owe $1300 on it now. (Christmas) It will be interest free until June. I needed a an installment loan so I got $3600 via Upstart. I refused more because I just need the trade line. My question is do I just pay $350 over the next few months and put the money in savings or go ahead and just pay it in full? The total credit lines for Credit cards including the PayPal is $8750 I owe less than $1400 total. I’m going to let them draft the payment for the loan monthly and then just pay it in full at 13 months. That’s my plan and it makes sense in my head. I just don’t know what to do about the Paypal account. Pay in full now or wait and get the extra interest from savings account. any advice? I over think everything.

Trying to help a friend and thought I'd pose the question to the board as I do research here on best course of action. I'm having a little trouble deciding on the best advice to give here... Backstory: Financial hardship going back years. Besides making some poor choices, extenuating circumstances exist... ~3.5 years ago, 2 things converged - debtor decided to take highest balance and highest APR CC, and get Cap1 to zero-out the APR via 60-90 day late (thought that was the only way to get the offer). Right before that ball rolled, Cap1 sold the account to a theretofore unknown CC Co. Debtor decided to stick with the plan and on day 80-whatever, got the financial hardship, closed account 0% APR with the new CC Co. Balance was $7K. Fast-forward 3 years, this company supposedly sent 2 letters saying the financial hardship plan was expiring. Debtor received no communication from them in the mail. Received no email. Company is claiming they sent them. Company is saying the payment plan the account is under is no longer available and they've reinstated the original APR but did not reopen the account (at least to the debtor's knowledge they have not). Debtor will not be able to manage under the reinstated APR (26%), balance is now ~$5K. Debtor was under the impression that the payment plan was there until the account was paid to 0, as they closed the card - does not recall receiving any written confirmation of the payment plan terms, and it will take some time to dig through files (if they did provide something in writing, it is saved somewhere in a file). Calling the company was bush league - seemingly no financial hardship department, agents who didn't seem to understand what options were available for financial hardship, could not answer whether the account was currently open or still closed, request to speak with a supervisor has so far gone unheeded - no returned phone call. What I'm trying to determine firstly is - what rights does the debtor have here if any? Is there any recourse for not receiving notification of this expiration? Currently there is no option to transfer the balance. I'm unsure whether to advise for a flat "withhold payment and settle." But perhaps it has come to this. By all accounts there are no professionals to speak with via phone for this CC Co. Maybe this is just a strategy of "best of bad options to dump this creditor and move on." Appreciate help in brainstorming...

Hi All - I am new here. We are looking for help on how we can move our high APR CCs to 0% with a BT to new cards. We have the following CCs with CL info. We are looking to do BTs to 0%. We opened a couple cards but got low CL, asked for a higher CL but were denied. We opened up US Bank cards to do BTs but got CL of $500 - 600. I tried asking US Bank to increase our CL to no avail. I thought we can leverage our open CL's on other CC, meaning I can lower the CL on a Citi card with 0% util and they would give me more but the CCC said it would not help. One thing I noticed, we had been saying we earn $45k but we did not realize we earn $80k... We are not sure what to do next. I assume we should move around some CL or balances to bring the CS back up, then open a new card or raise the balance on a card with a BT offer, and do the BT. I will look into getting the CR's to review if anything is not supposed to be there. Meanwhile, these are the cards for me and DW. ME, FICO 726 owe CL CL utiliz. APR % rate until Notes FICO 726 (was 750 in Nov) Bank of A 0 17200 0% Chase Freedom 9550 13000 73% 15.24 Citi AA MileUp 0 13200 0% Citi Double Cash 3600 3900 92% 0 6/16/2022 New DW - FICO 689 Bank of A 4030 6900 58% 18.99 Bank of A 4200 6000 70% 22.99 0% until Feb 15, 2021 Citi Double Cash 2430 2500 97% 0 7/3/2022 New (Citi AA MileUp 0 19700 0% Closed) What can I make more clear? TIA for all advice!

Hello everyone, I've been a member here for years and this site has helped me immensely!! This is the first time I have posted a question because I wasn't able to find an answer in the search. I am trying to refi my property but my credit scores are too low because of high balances on my credit cards. Score is 603 and all payments have been made on time and never missed (need to raise my credit score close to 700 for refi). Most of my cards are close to limit. I just received a personal loan of $44,000 to pay down my cc's but now I'm wondering which route to take: Do I pay off a few CC's or do I pay down the balances of multiple credit cards? I need to raise my credit score as quickly as possible and I'm not sure which way would help raise my credit scores the fastest? I'm trying to do this in the next week or two and do a rapid score at the end of the month. Thanks in advance for any advice! $14,000 Limit - Balance $13,549 $8,300 - Balance $8170 $1400 - Balance $1583 $15,190 - Balance $14,883 $16,700 - Balance $16,810 $6000 - Balance $9613 $7126 - Balance $6740 $5000 - Balance $5000 $32,000 - Balance $31,720

I finally decided to attack my credit issue rather than pretend they don't exist. Here is the situation Here is my CreditKarma information... TransUnion and Equifax (both show the same items Credit Cards $0 I have a $500 secured Discover IT card that I used for YouTube TV payment and that is it. Between 10% and 30% utilization opened May 2020. My mother added me as an authorized user to her Costco Capital One card that has perfect payment history, 8 years open and a $15,000 limit. Collections $5,317 Armada Corp Total Accounts 6 (medical) Oldest age of account 2019 $3,193 Puget Sound Collections Total Accounts 2 (medical) Oldest age of account 2019 $1,814 Solverity Total Accounts 1 (medical) Oldest age of account 2019 $310 Student Loans $0 Accounts Were Garnished from my paycheck and paid Closed Accounts 4 Dept of Education/NELNET (Closed 4/2016) Dept of Education/NELNET (Closed 4/2016) US Department of Education (Closed) Opened 09/2012 US Department of Education (Closed) Opened 09/2012 I have sent debt validation letters to all three credit bureaus and this is what was verified. Where do I go from here. I was added as an authorized user to my mothers credit card (Capital One Costco) about a month ago. I hope this helps my score improve but it hasn't reported yet. I saw a 25+ point boost from my secured discover card but it hasn't helped since then. Can anyone offer some guidance as to a path for a better credit score? Thanks, BFee

Living in Texas and law firm has Texas address. Was contacted by Rausch Sturm law firm who say they are representing portfolio recovery associates. They list the original owner of debt as Barclays credit card so I know it’s real. I want to pay the debt. It isn’t past the 4 year statute in Texas because original debt is from 2016. However, They do not indicate an offer. They just indicate I can contact them via phone or mail to discuss options. Should I wait till they make an offer? Should I call them or write a letter? I’ve seen websites discussing advantages of both calling and mailing so I’m not sure. I can afford to pay as much as 2000 of the listed 10k. Or can I do some kind of hardship payment plan? The law firm haven’t offered either option. Portfolio Recovery did, but I guess these guys have the debt now, so should I make a first offer or wait?

Anyone have experience pulling medical collections back from the credit agency and start a payment plan with your HC provider? Or negotiating with a HC provider for items already in collections and paying the HC a negotiated monthly amount or a one time negotiated payment then doing WhyChats system if the items are not removed from collections? The reason I ask is I have over 9 open accounts with Armada Corp (CA) totally over $15,000 and I am looking for the most efficient way to get this removed from my credit report. Thanks, BFee

It's official!!! Ally Financial Approved my loan. I picked up my new car May 10 didn't want to post anything until I knew for sure the contract/loan had been funded. Account is now showing on my Ally online profile. Loan amount: $39,200 APR: 8.34% 72 payments No Docs Required I paid sale taxes out of pocket and I also did a trade. Was this snart? I plan to have this baby paid off in 24 payments. Ally principal payments structuring is a bit confusing. My payments are $697 a month if I pay my loan up for the remainder of this year, will I avoid finance charges for said month? I was also told that if I make a payment that I want applied to the principal I would need to call and request that it be reallocated to principal balance.

I'm starting to work toward settling old debt. Only Chase has sent me decent settlement offers around 30-40%. I feel like I keep seeing things about people settling around 20-30%. How? For the ones that are still calling me, they say "the lowest I can go is [70% of balance]." The SOL will be up on most of this debt in a few months. I've mentioned discussing BK7 with an attorney. Was that a bad idea? What am I doing wrong? What magic words do I need to say in order to get them to consider a settlement less than 40%? Please help.

I am looking for some advice. I am able to make all of my payments, but I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and getting nowhere. At the end of the month, I have approx. $290 leftover as "discretionary income", but this goes towards gas, groceries, etc. Any extra cash I get, I throw at my debt, but that means I have $0 to add to my savings. Since I have $0 savings, anytime I have an emergency (like a medical issue), I end up having to put it on a credit card, pushing me futher into debt. I would like to avoid bankruptcy, because I don't want to lose my car or house. With $16k in credit card debit alone, I'm wondering if that's my best option though? I know my federal student loans will keep haunting me for life regardless, so I'm honestly just paying the bare minimum to avoid harrasment/garnishments. I'm also practically underwater on my car. . . I was quoted it's worth at $6,900. CC 1 CC 2 CC 3 CC 4 Car Loan Personal Loan Federal Student Loans Mortgage Total Debt Balance $8,462 $4,673 $2,267 $1,230 $7,508 $8,099 $59,850 $101,358 $193,447 Interest Rates 18.00% 0.00% 23.15% 23.99% Payments per Month $150 $100 $70 $40 $295 $328 $217 $730 $1,930.00 Utilities, etc. per Month $580.00 Bring Home $$ per Month $2,800.00 Leftover $290.00

Hi, this is my first post here as I'm kind of stuck in a situation and need help. After moving out from my previous apartment in Indiana, I forgot to pay the electric bill (Duke Energy) for the final month which I did not realize until 4 days ago when I saw a collections record on my credit report. Now I did not receive any communication from the CA or OC regarding the debt until I saw the CR. I have not yet talked to either the CA or OC, but I’m more than willing to pay the whole debt amount ASAP, but would like to get the collections record removed from my CR. I’m a foreign national and do not know much about such processes, but I don’t want a near $100 debt stain my credit score for years to come. I have read some of the discussions in this forum on this topic, and understand that I should first talk to the OC and get the debt settled. What I'm not clear about is what steps I should undertake after that. I would highly appreciate if someone could guide me with this or share their personal experiences in such situations. Thanks for helping out!

Hello everyone, Its time to man up and not being too proud to ask for help so thank you again in advance. I have been building my credit since 2015 with an ultimate goal of 1) clearing the baddies (all gone except one late payment in 2016) and 2) buying a house (which I did last year (NOT with Navy Federal) with a very low FIXED Interest rate of 3.25% if you're wondering how low it is I said it once and i am saying it again; I could've NOT done that without the help of this Board and the experienced members who walked me thru it all. However, seems like I need your help again with my NFCU CC. I have $16k in CC debt with NFCU and the minimum payment is getting me to 2 place places 1) No where, and 2) to the point where I can't afford it anymore. My NFCU CC APR is 14% which results in roughly $190/month (interest alone). In the year 2019 alone, I paid $2300 (Interest Only). I heard about Settling Credit Card Debt with Navy Federal Credit Union but this option requires you to miss payments in order for you to settle with them which I do NOT want to pursue (I never missed a payment actually since I got their card years ago). also, I read about NFCU financial counseling, where you fill out a Personal Finance Information Sheet and a Financial Counselor contacts you to discuss your option. Now it might sound dumb but hear me out, I can get a loan from my retirement account (max $5,000 with an APR of 6.5%) to pay off SOME of this NFCU CC debt as lump sum and if done this retirement loan monthly payment will be deducted from my paycheck on a payment plan from 1 to 5 years (I choose the term). Can you help me with any of the above options if you think its worth it? Or should I let NFCU go?

Long story short, have an old judgement, that while it isn't showing on my credit reports, shows up as public record when the mortgage company pulled my credit. I have to get it paid/settled/removed in order for them to approve my mortgage loan. How can I best protect my assets while I try and settle with them? So far I have been able to fly under their radar as I am self employed, have a different bank account and don't have any auto loans. I know since the judgement they have tried to get information in court from companies I have done contract work for, so I know they are diligently trying to garnish wages from me. How can I protect my bank account while I am in contact with them to settle the judgement and get it taken care of?

I have 5 credit cards, ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 in credit limits. I'm currently using 88% of my available limit (according to Credit Karma). I recently got a loan from a relative in the amount of $10,000 to get my score a little higher while I apply for a mortgage. My total credit card debt is just over $20,000. What should I pay first? Should I pay off the lower balance cards, or get the higher balance cards closer to the suggested 30% balance? Thanks!