As of July 3 my Equifax score jumped about 50 points to 720. My Ch. 13 fell off after the long awaited 7 years. I was able to walk into US Bank and get a low interest rate loan of 10% to consolidate some higher interest debt and to also get away from having multiple accounts with monthly payments. It felt good to walk in get what I needed with minimal questions asked and close within 24hrs. This hasn’t updated on my Experian or TU as of yet but I am sure when it does it will be just as nice. NO credit cards with balances. YIPPEE!

My Experian and Equifax are a few points shy of 700, currently focusing on getting TU up, that FICO is 625. I just paid off a CC balance of $900 and have gone down to just one credit card, I know the initial close of a few cards probaby has hurt my score a bit, but over all the debt-to-income ratios (with a good pay raise starting January 1) will start looking better and I hope to see my TU score up at least by March of 2014. My credit accounts going into 2014 will be Mortgage, Car Loan, Personal Loan, Barclay CC, Macys CC, and a Student Loan.

I didn’t see this credit card listed so I am posting this here, but new account Best Buy / Capital One (I think this is just the store card not a visa), 24 months zero interest on recent purchase, CL is $1800.00; which for Capital One I was surprised to see. Not sure of which Credit Bureau they pulled yet but more scores are ranging from 650 - 699 right now.

Good news and an update on my dispute with Trans Union...................

I was notified by email Trans Union had completed their investigation. ALL three of the collection notices for the paid parking tickets were removed from my report!

AWESOME, continued credit success!!!

@Ian:

Everyone's situation is unique and I am not sure for your reasoning of "not having credit"; if you are younger and just starting out maybe a family member can add you to one of their credit cards as an authorized user (not necessarily giving you a card but having you on there to start building a history). You may also look into getting a secured card at a major bank. Minimum security deposit is normally $300.00 and then after a year or so of on time payment you get that money back and the card can be converted to an unsecured credit card. Again it really all depends on your situation and the resources available to you. Good Luck

how do i builld up my credit becuse i dont have any credit need help

i try to reply for a american express card and i didnot get prove

I have a few credit cards ($5500), a lot of student loans ($170k), and a mortgage ($245k). I also have a few collections that will fall off around 2016. My credit score ranges from 570-590. What can I do to improve my scores??? My goal for the year is 640 by November

My initial thought is to use your credit cards regularily and keep your utilization at statement closing time under 10% when possible. The amount of debt you have is likely considered large by lendors. Your student loans (in today's environment lendors have gotten nervous about student debt defaults) could be a hold back on growing credit.

The "game" of credit is so strange ... It seems from postings here on FG and other sources that not everyone finds the same solutions. Their "average age of account" along with "oldest account" and "utilization" weigh heavy. Yet "inquiries" and "new accounts" seem to have an effect. I had a FICO Score of 805 two weeks ago and I opened a new account (bank credit card)with the score dropping to 777... GADS what's this??? Oh, I was in the 500's and over many years (ten years) brought the FICO Scores into the 800's.

Your colletions weigh heavy and as they age along with you building a credit file with depth (years on the file) your scores will rise. Max scores seem to come when a person has a mortgage, installment loan, department store account and a bank credit issued card.

In playing with the three credit bureaus over the last thirty months (experimenting with real accounts and statement closing dates with or without balances) ... my credit profile follows what I just said and I keep utilization around 1.5%. I know, everything you read says around 30%+ ... Can't explain it! As I mentioned, everyone's credit profile is a little unique to them and we can only offer our own findings as "food for thought".

Patience is also involved when first starting out or rebuilding (this may include years with bankruptcy maybe even ten years). Reading some of the posting on FG will give you and idea of what others have done with starter sub-prime cards and then moving up to the prime cards.

Remember a rule on credit: "... the man who has the gold rules...".

Wanderer

I have a few credit cards ($5500), a lot of student loans ($170k), and a mortgage ($245k). I also have a few collections that will fall off around 2016. My credit score ranges from 570-590. What can I do to improve my scores??? My goal for the year is 640 by November.:

A paid collection account will NEVER have a positive impact on your credit. It actually resets the clock on the statute of limitations and since that is new activity on your credit, it will affect your score with the same weight as when it was first put on your credit. To make sense of what I mean, here's an example. A collection account hits your credit and impacts it with -20 points. Every year it ages, it lessens the blow and is only affecting your score by -17 points the 1st year, 14 pts the 2nd year and so on. So you now finally pay this 2 yrs into it being reported thinking you're doing something good. WRONG! Once they report the payment, you now get hit with -6 points (if not more sometimes), that you recovered from over the past 2 years. You're now back at square one with that account. You've effectively re-aged this account and used the FCRA against yourself.

I can't impress this enough... NEVER, NEVER, NEVER pay a collection agency, they cannot help you. You already have a negative mark from the original creditor, why would you work with them? They have nothing to offer you except threats. If you utilize the Cease and Desist letter against them, especially before they report (within the 1st 30 days of written contact from the agency), then they are legally obligated to comply and cease all efforts on collections, which includes reporting it to the credit bureaus. So now they have nothing and they have to tell their client, which is your original creditor, sorry we can't do anything with this. They now send it back to the original creditor. From here, you are now in a better power position to resolve and negotiate with the original creditor. They now know that even with outside help, they probably can't collect from you. Here's where you can negotiate off your fees, interest, etc, offer to pay the principal amount and have them agree to removing the negative tradeline or at the very least, the negative inferences or late payments. Make sure that they send you that agreement in writing BEFORE you make payment. DO NOT ACCEPT THAT THEY WILL MARK THE ACCOUNT PAID!! This is not going to help you. If you pay them, they have to mark it paid anyway, it's removing the negative late payments or removing the whole tradeline that you need to negotiate. If you don't get a response that's favorable, work your way up the corporate ladder, there is someone definitely there that can make this decision and has the ability to do these things. Don't let them tell you they can't do it or it's against the law...BULL...it can and is done every single day... It's alot of work but you will reap the rewards..
Hope this helps

Hi WeHateUglyCredit.com:

Thank you for the extensive insight about paying, or in the case of your posting, NOT paying collection agencies. You are absolutely right about the negative impacts it can have on a consumer's credit report. Sometimes the consequences can last for years after the account is paid through collection action. I will never work with ANY collection agency; they are all bad news.

However, in my case, I was left with no other option. From my post on April 25, 2012 (scroll further down in the thread), the situation involved my vehicle registration. A collection agency called Alliance One works directly with the Seattle Municipal court. All unpaid traffic violations (parking tickets included) are turned over to the collection agency after the court's holding time expires. After the state's Department of Licensing refused to allow me to renew my tabs, I had a choice of either paying the collections or driving around the city with expired tabs. Neither option was very appealing and a decision HAD to be made. I thought my payment would be to made to the court, not the collection agency. As it turns out, a few weeks later I disputed the paid collections on my Trans Union report and they were REMOVED!

In reference to credit report disputes... my experiences have been good. All of the bureaus have worked with me to remove disputed items or update as necessary. Transunion has been really good! Keep us posted. This is a very important item and there hasn't been much written on this website. This equals more new learning!

Good news and an update on my dispute with Trans Union...................

I was notified by email Trans Union had completed their investigation. ALL three of the collection notices for the paid parking tickets were removed from my report!

Just to cover all the bases, I also checked my Experian and Equifax reports. Everything else looks good so far, no other paid collections, late payments or accounts past due.

A paid collection account will NEVER have a positive impact on your credit. It actually resets the clock on the statute of limitations and since that is new activity on your credit, it will affect your score with the same weight as when it was first put on your credit. To make sense of what I mean, here's an example. A collection account hits your credit and impacts it with -20 points. Every year it ages, it lessens the blow and is only affecting your score by -17 points the 1st year, 14 pts the 2nd year and so on. So you now finally pay this 2 yrs into it being reported thinking you're doing something good. WRONG! Once they report the payment, you now get hit with -6 points (if not more sometimes), that you recovered from over the past 2 years. You're now back at square one with that account. You've effectively re-aged this account and used the FCRA against yourself.

I can't impress this enough... NEVER, NEVER, NEVER pay a collection agency, they cannot help you. You already have a negative mark from the original creditor, why would you work with them? They have nothing to offer you except threats. If you utilize the Cease and Desist letter against them, especially before they report (within the 1st 30 days of written contact from the agency), then they are legally obligated to comply and cease all efforts on collections, which includes reporting it to the credit bureaus. So now they have nothing and they have to tell their client, which is your original creditor, sorry we can't do anything with this. They now send it back to the original creditor. From here, you are now in a better power position to resolve and negotiate with the original creditor. They now know that even with outside help, they probably can't collect from you. Here's where you can negotiate off your fees, interest, etc, offer to pay the principal amount and have them agree to removing the negative tradeline or at the very least, the negative inferences or late payments. Make sure that they send you that agreement in writing BEFORE you make payment. DO NOT ACCEPT THAT THEY WILL MARK THE ACCOUNT PAID!! This is not going to help you. If you pay them, they have to mark it paid anyway, it's removing the negative late payments or removing the whole tradeline that you need to negotiate. If you don't get a response that's favorable, work your way up the corporate ladder, there is someone definitely there that can make this decision and has the ability to do these things. Don't let them tell you they can't do it or it's against the law...BULL...it can and is done every single day... It's alot of work but you will reap the rewards..
Hope this helps[/quote]Your fortunate the governmental unit didn't seek a bench warrant approved by a judge and have you arrested over outstanding parking tickets and the like then, have you put in jail (favorite trick is to catch you on some other type of vehicle stop and run your DL and arrest you on the spot for outstanding warrants). My residence is in Minnesota and some of the counties use $100 as a guide and they will turn the warrant over to law enforcement. You end up with more than fines to pay. There is an ole saying that "you can't beat City Hall." Right or wrong there is factual truth to it. Also, the damage to your credit may not be worth it. For me it took ten years to get my credit from the 500's to the 800's all over one Chapter 7 BK. I know, we have to pick our battles.[/quote]

Fico up from 680 to 684

Hi Classy,

Part of the reason billing takes so long is the coding and processing of the procedures with the insurance companies. I'm not saying doctors are unethical, however, there are many times procedures are incorrectly coded or additional procedures coded and submitted, usually to the benefit of the physician. These ongoing submissions with insurance companies take time and the physicians are not equipped to maintain their own collections and most don't want to for fear of opening themselves up to additional criticism by former patients and potential HIPAA violations and lawsuits. So they remove them from their books and turn them over to a contingency collection agency, as submitted to the insurance companies. However, when dealing with the collection agency, due to HIPAA regulations, there is no procedural history or any information actually specifying the debt. Since you cannot effectively and intelligently speak with the collection agency, it's best you don't deal with them. Either way, whether you've already been reported to the credit bureaus, it's in your best interest to send the collection agency a Cease and Desist notification. (If you can't find one, I'd be happy to email you one). If you can send this to them within the first 30 days of ever receiving their notice, it will never ever be reported to your credit (at least from the entity you are sending the letter to).
Once you have done that, wait about 2-3 weeks and dispute the item with the credit bureaus. You'll have at least an 80% chance they'll be deleted.
If they aren't removed, another option would be to file a claim against the physician in court. 9 times out of 10, unless the debt is $2500 or more, the doctor will just release you from the debt and contact the collection agency to have it removed. Make sure you get that in writing before dismissing any court case. It will cost you anywhere from $10 to $75 to file it with the court, but I will almost guarantee you will never have to step foot in the courthouse. The doctor also may not want to drop the suit, and if that is the case, it will at least give you leverage for speaking with him directly and working with him on a repayment structure and still having it removed from your credit, which is ultimately your goal anyway...
Hope this helps!

WeHateUglyCredit.com,

I have very good insurance which will pay in a timely manner. However, since it is federal insurance, they make sure that everything is coded correctly. The first problem is that the bills have been sent to collections without me ever knowing that I owe. As I have been disputing them, I am finding that the number one problem has been they were not coded correctly. This causes problems because some procedures are covered at 100% with my insurance, so therefore, I would not expect a bill from the doctor. You are correct in much of what you are saying and you have given some excellent advice. I would be interested in the Cease and Desist Notification that you referenced. The insurance company is working with me to get some of the issues resolved, but I do not feel we should have to live with this on our reports for years. I am not trying to stiff any one, I am just trying to clean up my credit. In the area in which I live, there are a lot of incompetent health care workers and billers. I had one doctor who did not get paid and I alerted him to it, yet his billing staff did nothing. He lost so much money from unfiled and unpaid claims that he had to go out of business.

Hi Classy,

Part of the reason billing takes so long is the coding and processing of the procedures with the insurance companies. I'm not saying doctors are unethical, however, there are many times procedures are incorrectly coded or additional procedures coded and submitted, usually to the benefit of the physician. These ongoing submissions with insurance companies take time and the physicians are not equipped to maintain their own collections and most don't want to for fear of opening themselves up to additional criticism by former patients and potential HIPAA violations and lawsuits. So they remove them from their books and turn them over to a contingency collection agency, as submitted to the insurance companies. However, when dealing with the collection agency, due to HIPAA regulations, there is no procedural history or any information actually specifying the debt. Since you cannot effectively and intelligently speak with the collection agency, it's best you don't deal with them. Either way, whether you've already been reported to the credit bureaus, it's in your best interest to send the collection agency a Cease and Desist notification. (If you can't find one, I'd be happy to email you one). If you can send this to them within the first 30 days of ever receiving their notice, it will never ever be reported to your credit (at least from the entity you are sending the letter to).
Once you have done that, wait about 2-3 weeks and dispute the item with the credit bureaus. You'll have at least an 80% chance they'll be deleted.
If they aren't removed, another option would be to file a claim against the physician in court. 9 times out of 10, unless the debt is $2500 or more, the doctor will just release you from the debt and contact the collection agency to have it removed. Make sure you get that in writing before dismissing any court case. It will cost you anywhere from $10 to $75 to file it with the court, but I will almost guarantee you will never have to step foot in the courthouse. The doctor also may not want to drop the suit, and if that is the case, it will at least give you leverage for speaking with him directly and working with him on a repayment structure and still having it removed from your credit, which is ultimately your goal anyway...
Hope this helps! [/quote]Thanks Wanderer. I will look for a response from patrick12.
I will keep everyone posted just in case the information is needed by someone else in this position.[/quote]