Quote:
Originally Posted by DirtyDanza
about 15 but it seems a bunch is listed twice like at one creditor and one at another... so is best to just call each one and "make a deal to pay off in full" for a certian amount? then what say I do em all that really don't give you a better credit score does it it will just take bad shit off so the good shit can acutually pmprove your score?
im confused about credit and all that shit.....
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Listing the same debt more than once on your report is ILLEGAL and you can sue for $1,000 for every time this happened under FACTA. File a complaint with the FTC about this and contact any of the many consumer credit law attorneys, they will usually file this type of suit for free (on contingency) if the company is still in business.
1. The first thing you need to do is order all of your credit reports. When you get them, look and see when the last time each debt was reported. This is not the date of collection, it should say reported or updated or something like that.
2. Stuff that is getting ready to fall off your report or that hasn't been reported to your report for years (i.e. it is reaching the 7 year point) should never be paid off. Just wait and let them fall off. It dosen't factor into your score that much and paying it wont help your score much, if at all.
3. Debts that are very recent (within the last 2 years) or are getting updated frequently or have been updated recently ARE dragging your score down. These are the ones to work on.
4. One of the biggest myths is that paying the debt means that once it is marked as paid it is no longer counted in your score. This is a big fat lie. Never pay debts that are in collections unless you are getting something out of the deal. Make sure you are not wasting your money (see below).
5. You don't want to pay debts and get nothing in return. Call the person or company you owe (NOT THE COLLECTION AGENCY) and tell them you are willing to pay the full amount immediately if they will send you a latter stating that if you agree to pay that amount, they will report the debt for deletion upon receipt of the payment. Then do it. Make sure that the letter they send you mentions deletion AND removal from your credit report. If it doesn't, call them back. These places sometimes use tricky wording that you cant later use to remove the debt if they don't do it on their own. I say to call your creditor directly because collection agency people hear this all the time and they always say no. Your creditor wants his money more than anything else, so he'll be inclined to say yes.
6. Part of your score is based on the amount of credit you have available to you vs. what you have used up. Credit cards are a big part of this. Experts say the ideal credit use ratio is 30% to 40%. If you are maxed out on all of your credit cards, that is not good. Pay them down but don't close the accounts (cause then they don't count for you, cause they are not in your available credit).
7. Get more credit cards with big limits and do not use them. If no one will give you credit due to the shape your credit is in, there are a couple of credit cards that will show up as normal credit cards (not secured) and help you in this regards, but you do have to put down a deposit equal to your credit limit, max of $5K each and you do earn interest on the deposit.
8. There are no quick fixes to debt problems. All of the people and companies out there that promote to the contrary are full of shit. Do not send them money or you become another sucker. There are smart ways to fix your credit. Negotiating for deletion (#5) is one of those.