Credit score is very low. Need to improve it.

[bobdole369]

I actually called and said the price was too much per month and they greatly reduced it down. We are both paying around $60/year to get the reports and scores at any time. I have seen the paper reports and used them when getting a home loan, but the difference is not worth it for me. Are you saying that back when you used the online version, it used to combine everything into one report? The current process is three individual reports laid out much like the paper ones.

If it is worth it to you, then more power to ya, I really don't think they actually intend to screw people anymore. Yup, just about every horror story I hear from there is from some time ago, they absolutely used to be 3-in-1 reports (where each creditor was listed, with the combined info from all 3 bureaus).


OK so back to the OP and away from the FCR.com bashing -

Do you have any actual revolving credit? (store card, low limit credit card, gas card, jewelry store, anything at all positive?) This would be based on getting actual reports I would think that the answer would not come for several days until you get a real report, less'n ye know about that Target card you have.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: bobdole369

Time to start making some calls and giving them my new address.

Thats easily the worst thing you can do.
.

This is why I said to READ thoroughly on creditboards before doing anything.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: bobdole369
And an FYI to all ATOTers.

www.annualcreditreport.com is the site run by the government set up to give you your "free report from each of the three reporting companies each year"

Not only are you entitled to 1 freebie per year (which you don't even have to use that website to receive BTW) - you are also entitled to a freebie everytime you are "unemployed", or experience "adverse action based on information from that bureau".



Hint: The credit bureaus have no way of checking whether you are employed - so unless you are writing every week for a free one due to "unemployment" - you can pull it off easily 6 times a year.

Also they have no detailed log of what action is taken by a creditor based on info from that bureau, so you can cite any creditor reporting to that bureau. The adverse action could have been something like an interest rate or terms change that the bureau would never ever see.

i think you get dinged for checking too often. that gets u flagged as a credit risk

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
i think you get dinged for checking too often. that gets u flagged as a credit risk

No. There are services which allow you to check every day if you want, and many people do for various reasons. It does not harm you in any way when you check your own report.

 

[bobdole369]

i think you get dinged for checking too often. that gets u flagged as a credit risk

You think right, but not in this instance. Pulling your own credit file using the aforementioned methods, or the secret experian website that lets you check on the web, or in response to an investigation having made changes, or via a company you already do business with - are generally "soft" pulls, which do not appear to creditors. Hard pulls (such as when you make a bona fide application for credit), are seen by creditors and evaluated.

I've got hundreds of soft pulls and only like 4 hard ones over the past 3 years.

 

[Synomenon]

It's always good to pay up, but isn't there a SOL on debt collection?

 

[Krynj]

I'm going to do some homework before I decide what to do for sure. One of the adverse accounts on my record will actually come off in April of next year, but part of me would like to pay it off and get it off my report. Would that be bad for my credit report? It's a bill for $172 that the agency is willing to take $69 for. All the others won't come off until about 2012 and 2014, so they're not really old enough to disregard.

I'll definitely seek the help of some more seasoned credit experts. Thanks a lot for all your replies though.

 

[Baked]

*giggles @ 520*

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: FetusCakeMix
I'm going to do some homework before I decide what to do for sure. One of the adverse accounts on my record will actually come off in April of next year, but part of me would like to pay it off and get it off my report. Would that be bad for my credit report? It's a bill for $172 that the agency is willing to take $69 for. All the others won't come off until about 2012 and 2014, so they're not really old enough to disregard.

I'll definitely seek the help of some more seasoned credit experts. Thanks a lot for all your replies though.

I would be very careful of paying, in some cases (such as if you paid the original creditor since they are legally the only ones who can) a payment will reset the clock and it'll be on your report for another 7years (ie 2016).

A quick rule I've seen some people use is anything older than 2years, just wait it out. And always get payment-for-erasing-negatives in writing from the collection agency.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: FetusCakeMix
So when I was 18, I failed to realize or understand just how important it would be to have a good credit score later on in life. And now, I'm paying for it. While I was in college, I wasn't working enough to pay some of the bills I had, so, there are a few things that went to different collections agencies. I kept telling myself that I'd take care of it once I'm done school and have a decent paying job. Now that time has come and I want to get it taken care of ASAP. I looked at my credit report on www.freecreditreport.com, and I was happy to see that I only had about $1,200 in delinquent bills that needed to be paid off. I thought it was going to be a lot more than that, so $1,200 is definitely a manageable balance. That, and the fact that there's little to no history on my credit report of me actually consistently paying any bills. I mean, I pay rent, cellphone, and utilities each month, but none of them are in my name. That will soon change though, since my girlfriend and I have just moved, and the electricity and internet are now in my name, and that will help establish some payment history.

My credit score is quite low, and I when I say low, I mean about 520 or so, which makes it impossible to get a car from any real dealership. There are of course those dealerships that don't do any sort of credit check, but then you pay 18% interest on a car. No thanks. Not that I need to buy a new car right now anyway, but, the car I have now is a '95 Saturn with 198k miles on it. It runs OK now, but, it might need a few repairs in November when its inspection expires, and who knows what that will cost (luckily my dad does all my repairs, I just have to pay for parts). So even though I don't need a new car right now, I have a feeling I will before too much longer. And during that time I'd like to improve my credit score, making it possible for me to get a new car when the Saturn dies.

So what's the best way to dig myself out of this hole? I don't have all the bills and papers that are mailed to me by collections agencies. During college I was moving a lot, and never bothered to change my mailing address, so all the old bills I had were mailed to my parents' house, and by now they've been packed away, thrown out, or simply lost. How much do those debt consolidation companies help out? Will they be able to track down which collections agencies I owe money to?

I just pretty much need to know where to start fixing this. Any advice/help at all would be greatly appreciated.

And let this be a lesson to anybody that thinks that leaving bills unpaid is OK. Don't be careless and irresponsible with your credit, because you will pay for it eventually.

Many thanks in advance.

Buy a used car with cash, whenever you saturn expires.

 

[ebaycj]

Originally posted by: bobdole369
I've got hundreds of soft pulls and only like 4 hard ones over the past 3 years.

Lemme guess.. You're Married ?! *Rimshot* :laugh:

 

[classy]

I know a lot about credit. I had to rebuild mine and now I am high 700s, which ain't too bad. Believe it or not, slow credit (not paying bills on time) is worse than just being deliquent. The problem with slow credit is, it stays with you forever. It doesn't go away. So first step is pay whatever your suppose to pay on time. Even if its the minimum. Second to start rebuilding your credit, get a secured card. I started with a $500 secured card. It took me about 6 years to get out of the 600s. Its going to take time. Do well with a secured card and in about a year you'll get offers for unsecured. But now here is some advice, things I have learned, but sure to cause an uproar. You need to carry a balance :shocked:. Now most folks will say no way, pay it off every month. Now ask those same people how much there credit rating has moved? I can tell put near 0. Why? Credit worthiness is based on your ability to pay. If you don't excercise that ability your credit rating will not increase. This is true. About 3 years ago we decided to pay down our credit card debt. My wife had slow credit, thats how I know a lot about it, I had solid credit. We both were well into the 700s. But we paid all of my wife's credit cards off, because hers had higher interest rates. I kept some debt, so I paid as ususal. She did not use her credit or paid off the balance every month, her credit has not moved 5 points higher. But me, mine increased over 30 pts. Keep it manageable, but it will take a few years.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: classy
But now here is some advice, things I have learned, but sure to cause an uproar. You need to carry a balance :shocked:. Now most folks will say no way, pay it off every month. Now ask those same people how much there credit rating has moved? I can tell put near 0. Why? Credit worthiness is based on your ability to pay. If you don't excercise that ability your credit rating will not increase. This is true. .

I will absolutely disagree with this. There is no benefit to carrying a balance. In fact, your rating drops as the balances increase.

Your credit report doesn't know if you carry a balance or not. It only knows what your current balance is on the day your creditor reported your status to the credit bureau. Paying interest is unnecessary.

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: classy
But now here is some advice, things I have learned, but sure to cause an uproar. You need to carry a balance :shocked:. Now most folks will say no way, pay it off every month. Now ask those same people how much there credit rating has moved? I can tell put near 0. Why? Credit worthiness is based on your ability to pay. If you don't excercise that ability your credit rating will not increase. This is true. .

I will absolutely disagree with this. There is no benefit to carrying a balance. In fact, your rating drops as the balances increase.

Your credit report doesn't know if you carry a balance or not. It only knows what your current balance is on the day your creditor reported your status to the credit bureau. Paying interest is unnecessary.

Ahh you left out the part where I said

Keep it manageable, but it will take a few years.

I am not saying keep $5000 balance. I know what I said is controversial. But I speak from experience on building credit. Also your credit rating does not drop because you have a balance either. It drops when the credit bureaus determine you have crossed a certain credit to income threshold.

Does it improve my score to pay off my credit card balance every month?

Not necessarily. Points are given or taken away based on the amount of available credit used. Certainly, using the maximum amount on your credit card and paying only the minimum each month can lower your score. But, using a large percentage of your available credit each month, even when you pay the bills faithfully, can detract points if you are carrying a high balance at the time your credit history is scored.

Remember, the credit score is a snapshot of your credit report on any given day. Most credit card companies and other lenders report to the credit bureaus every 30 days. If your credit report is scored right before your monthly credit card bill is due and you've used a significant portion of your available credit, your score will go down.

Credit Fact Sheet

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: kranky
I will absolutely disagree with this. There is no benefit to carrying a balance. In fact, your rating drops as the balances increase.

Your credit report doesn't know if you carry a balance or not. It only knows what your current balance is on the day your creditor reported your status to the credit bureau. Paying interest is unnecessary.

Kranky is correct here. Your credit report doesn't mention if you carry a balance or if you pay it off. Thus, your credit score (which depends solely on the credit report) is unaffected if you leave a balance. Classy, you just have it 100% wrong in that aspect. You are right that your credit score doesn't drop with a balance (if the balance is reasonable). But, since your credit score isn't helped by carrying a balance, why pay interest for no reason at all?

Originally posted by: classy
She did not use her credit or paid off the balance every month, her credit has not moved 5 points higher. But me, mine increased over 30 pts.

The reason yours moved more is that you used your credit. Like you said, slow credit is bad (what your wife was doing by not using her cards). Paying interest isn't what helped your score.