My plan of attack, all input is welcome!

[Jabberwocky12]

Hey guys and gals of CB,

 

I have been lurking on the forums for a while reading things and making a plan of action on how to work on my credit. However, I think I’m a little overwhelmed at ALL the information here so I wanted to tell you a little bit about what I have done, where I am at, and what I plan to do.

 

I initially had a BUNCH of collections on my credit report as well as a charged off credit card and some late’s on a card that was closed. I was working 2 jobs (one of which was self-employed) and going through some personal issues and so I hired Lexington Law to work on my credit. They did a *decent* job but they didn’t remove everything and it took about 7 months where I got response letters saying the CRA’s and OC’s couldn’t even verify my identity and no responses back from the CA’s. I have decided, for consistency sake, to start ALL OVER from the bottom to the top of disputing and removing items from my CR. This means I can do things RIGHT and if, God forbid, something happens again in the future, I know how to triage my reports. I will eventually do something similar for my fiancé and mother who have a combination of health collections and older chargeoff items.

 

Fast-forward to now, I have a better job and am down to ONE position and so I would like to start getting these things resolved all on my own. I’m a 23 year old in NC that just accepted a nice insurance position and I want to have my personal issues done so I can start growing more professionally and personally as well while I start this next chapter in my life.

 

With some of the items removed from my credit report, I found my score went up by about 100 points. I crossed over the magical threshold numbers to be able to qualify to be a NC mortgage loan officer (600 credit score is basically a must according to some LO’s I talked to) when I thought about doing that kind of stuff. In March of this year I felt I needed to get some revolving credit going again in order to establish a consistent payment history. Sadly, I didn’t get much. I got a Walmart card with a $150 limit, a Capital One card with a $300 limit, a Care Credit card with a $500 limit, and a paypal line of credit for $300. This was BEFORE looking at the CB forums. I did establish an account with NFCU in November of last year with the intent of using their secured card but decided against it while I handled some other expenses to prevent them from going on my credit.

 

In the beginning of this process I have Opt’ed out of all solicitations. I am going to contact each CRA and remove all old addresses FIRST in order to increase the chances of removing these negative items. Is there anything else I should be doing in the very beginning in order to make the next moves more effective?

 

At this time, here are the items I have left on my credit reports:

1. Hunter-Warfield for a $1670 charge for an
   apartment that had trumped up charges for when I moved out. I plan on doing a 1-2 punch with a DV to the CRA and a letter to the CA for disputing as well. IF that doesn’t work, I figured my next choice would be to go to the apartment complex and ask them to take the debt back (as HW is ASSIGNED the debts rather than buying them) and pay off the OC in exchange for a delete. Thoughts on this? Am I jumping the gun on paying them? This items runs out of SOL (3 years in NC) in the middle of 2014.

 

1. A credit card with multiple lates (2x 30, 2x 60, 1x 90, 1x 120) from 5/3 bank. This card has a zero balance due to an error on 5/3s part so there is nothing to negotiate them with. The original limit was $500 and when it closed there was $5 which snowballed into ridiculous fees but when I confronted them they said their system had an issue around that time and no proof so they closed it down with zero dollars. The SOL has run out on this card in 2012. I figure I would write a GW letter asking for the lates to be removed and then dispute with the CRAs on the information with the card.

 

1. A charged off credit card from Coastal Federal Credit Union for 5k. This card runs out of SOL near the end of 2014 and is the last item from before I was able to get my act together. I am going to do a 1-2 punch here and if that doesn’t work then offer a PFD to remove the entire tradeline, despite it being a 4 year old card with some consistent payments for 3 of those years. I think that would be the best thing.

How does this sound in removing those 3 items?

 

In addition, after reading up on the CB for a bit I went and applied to some credit unions. I am a member of USAA (not a CU but important to mention), NFCU, PenFed and DCU, and intend to join Truliant which is a local CU in my neck of the woods in NC. I actually got approved THIS WEEKEND for 8500 split over two cards with NFCU, a 10k NavCheck, and then 5k in credit with DCU as well. I also managed to refinance my auto loan with NFCU down to 9.29% for 15k and refinanced my fiance’s auto loan for 15k down to 9.29% as well with me as a co-signer. I’m looking at DCU for a refi to a lower amount as well since they already have the inquiry for the initial loan. I now have the TU and EQ FICO score reports every month for free (huzzah!). I was declined for the CLI for my other cards, but it makes sense since there is some utilization on them since I am paying them in full on my next paycheck which is this Friday. With an extra 13.5k in CC and 10K in a PLOC I hope my utilization will be excellent and show to other companies that I can handle some larger cards. The only downside is that I now have a BUNCH of inquiries, so I might look into some B* sometime soon.

 

So this is my story in a nutshell. I’m basically cleaning up the remainders for Lexington Law but I’m starting from the ground up in order to help with some other people as well. I find this area of credit to be VERY FASCINATING and want to continue learning the tips and tricks to help myself and others.

 

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated on how to remove those items and inquiries, and any additional advice on how to continue growing my credit score. I won’t be offended if you treat me like I am dumb in the process or have constructive criticism- I deserve any positive and negative feedback for my actions and want to make things right. Any links for the theory behind your suggestions would also be greatly appreciated as well!

Cheers, and let me know if I can provide any additional clarification!

[Clydesmom]

You need to wait for the SOL for lawsuit to expire before attempting removal of #3. The 1-2 punch now could get you sued.

 

The first one I would dispute the charges, then settle. If they did not follow landlord tenant law for withholding deposits you have some leverage.

 

Keep in mind that some have a policy of NEVER doing PFD and if the debt is valid it will stay on your CR unless you get lucky.

[Jabberwocky12]

Thank you for the information. I'll wait on the SOL for the credit card then and try to go to the apartment complex first to recall the debt to in-house and then offer to settle once I get some information on the charges.

 

As for my credit card with the lates, is there anything else I can do other than write a GW letter? Can I do anything to remove the item altogether?

 

 

Finally, I have a bunch of inquiries on my Equifax and Transunion like 16EQ and 9TU and 9EX. Most of the things I want to do and apply for look at EQ and TU anyway so should I be at the point now where I start looking into B*? I have some falling off by October (like 3-4) but I'd like to get some of those EQ inquiries off...

[futurehomeowner?]

/TLDR.. sorry!

 

However one thing I noticed doesn't add up. You said that you are 23 and you have things falling off next year. How is that possible? Did you get the card the day you were 18 and never make a payment?

[Jabberwocky12]

The only things falling off next year are some inquiries, which have 2 year durations if I recall.

 

The other items in 2014 reach their SOL, which is 3 years in NC. I couldn't have anything falling off for 7 years unless I got cards at 16, which I assure you I didn't.

 

Sorry for it being long, I'm used to it being better to have MORE information than LESS information to make a decision.

 

Basically I have 3 items I'd like to remove and would like assistance, and wanted to see if I was ready for B* at this point. The rest is just telling what I did in case people feel it was incorrect.