KeesdeWit

I disagree. A charge off is still morally and legally owed. Fees and interest are accruing, late notices on credit report every month. It is stupid not to pay or settle.

Charge off is an accounting term. You still owe the debt. They might be willing to settle. You still owe these debt. They will pop up in the future and you will have to deal with nasty collectors. So contact the debtholder and work a settlement if they are old debts. Do not let these linger. They might get sued someday, loose in court.

This is the fallacy of scoring. Who knows?

Just close it. No reasons to keep it open. Keeping it open is also a liability. (spending too much, card getting stolen and have to deal with the follow-up.

Do not fall in the "extra" stuff trap at www.annualcreditreport.com

Yes, start paying on them. If you many old debts, call one at the time and make settlement offers.   Need more info.

Why do you need credit? Save and pay cash is another option.

Ridiculous, right? Paying off stuff and the score goes down. That is the fallacy of credit scoring.

Get a copy of your credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com and look at your bad debts (if any). Call them one by one, make an offer to settle, get it writing and send a cashier check. Keep records forever.

Creidit history is missing. This can only be solved overtime. Pay off bad debts, this will slowly increase your score over time when the bad debt ages.

You have to get a real TU copy of your credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com (this is free, do not fall for any paid stuff). On this report, the debts and debt holders with phone numbers are listed.   Start your investigation with that information.

I would not refinance my home and put it at risk because of non-payment. The only way is pay to more principal every month. Make paying the loans of your highest priority. (budget, cut lifestyle, sell stuff, extra jobs)

Your scores are an excellent example of why all these scores mean very little. Most importantly these scores are not an indication of wealth or income. Think about that. A high credit score does not mean success.

It depends what kind of credit counseling it is. Some will stop your payments to soften up the credit companies to get lower rates. This is will ruin credit report (and your score). More CONsolidation companies do it this way. No guarantee this will work. Your credit will be ruined at all times. If you can surf balances to a 0% card, do it. I would be more concerned about your family's financial future. This may not be the same a high credit score. Think about budget, cutting lifestyle, selling stuff, staying out of debt, extra jobs to attach these credit card debts.

Monster Megabank. Stay local!

Generally nown as Concast.

Have bad experiences. Issues were never resolved. One year ago I went to turn in my digital box and had to wait inline to return my box. I asked other people waiting why they were there. Answer: same reason I was.