jorasparents

I think that's a good idea - giving your inquiries a chance to age will make it seem like you aren't "crazy for cash," and make you seem a better risk. :)

You're welcome. :)

Disputing an account that is paid will not necessarily remove it from your account; collection agencies are allowed by law to report accounts, paid or unpaid, for 7 years. That's why I advise getting that promise you mentioned in writing, so you can hold them to it.

It takes a full cycle (sometimes, for some reason, two) for payments to be reported to credit bureaus, so even though CK may be showing a balance, once the card/s report to the agencies, your balance should go down.

Whether or not a zero balance brings your score up depends on a lot more variables - like how high it was in the reporting period before you paid it. If you had a card that was maxed out, or nearly so, paying it off should raise your score; if the balance was already under the ideal of 20%, you may or may not see a difference, and any difference you do see will likely be pretty small.

It should make it go up. IMO, I'd try to get the promise to remove the item in writing. Ideally, you don't want any collections on your report. Good luck!

Two suggestions: If you have the cash, open a secured card with a large balance. People on here like the Orchard card, but I like the Citi card personally (https://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/cardDetail.do?screenID=940) because you earn 4% annually on the CD that holds your secure deposit (current rates - you can see details when you go to the site: scroll down the page and look for "additional disclosures" link under the "Get PDF application" bar). Second suggestion for building credit: on other credit boards, many people with lower scores than yours have found success applying for cards from jewelers like Jared's. Use the card for something small - even jewelry wipes or a watch battery - from time to time to show utilization so they don't drop your limit.

You can also try these "prequalifiers" that allow you to see if a company/store has an offer for you WITHOUT having to have a hard pull (they result in soft pulls instead). Of course, if they have an offer and you want to accept, you have to submit your app and endure the hard pull:

https://www.newport-news.com/credit/preapprove.aspx
https://www.spiegel.com/credit/eligcheck.aspx

You can also use these card selectors to see if a card company offers cards based on your data (also soft pulls); note that just because they may say they have a card that fits your profile, it doesn't guarantee you'll get it when you apply - but it gives you an idea of there's any card that might suit you, without applying blindly for cards that definitely will NOT accept you:

Pre-qualifiers:

https://cardfinder.capitalone.com/CapOne/findMyOffer.do?ex=R&pr=&id=&tg=25&pnt=ZZZZ00ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ&ch=UNS&wtg=11

https://www.hsbcapply.com/start/rewardzonemastercard

https://www.hsbcapply.com/start/orchardbank

https://www.hsbcapply.com/start/hsbccreditcard/

You might also try contacting Verizon (especially if you ended up switching TO them) and asking them if they'd remove the pull; but I think the age of your accounts is likely what's hurting you most of all.

Good luck!

You can write letters to the institutions that placed the inquiries on your report, asking to have them removed, but that generally doesn't work. inquiries have low impact on your score, and after a few months, their impact really decreases. Of course, if you have a lot of recent hard inquiries, it can affect whether or not you are approved for credit until those inquiries age several months (lots of recent inquiries make you look desperate for cash). IMO: Just don't apply for new credit and let the current inquiries age for several months.

You need to get copies of your credit reports to see what else my be included in your debt. You're entitled to one free report every 12 months from each of the major credit bureaus. You can request your free reports from www.annualcreditreport.com. CK draws from TransUnion for its information.

However, if you HAD 251 in debt one or two months ago and you have since paid it down, it may just be taking a little longer for the reduced amount to show up. Most credit cards report to the credit bureaus once every 30 days. If your card reports on the 5th and you pay down your balance on the 6th, you will not see that new amount reflected until the next reporting cycle.

Perhaps your accounts are too "young," or you have a very limited amount of available credit. Were you EVER late? If so, you may have old - even closed - accounts showing past lates. How much outstanding debt do you have? ideally, you want your total balances to be no more than 20% of your available credit - so if your total credit adds up to $1000, you'd want to ideally have total balances of $200 or less. Best step: get a copy of your credit report from each of the three bureaus (you are entitled to one free report every 12 months from each bureau - go to www.annualcreditreport.com) and make sure there are no negative items on your account. If you owe money on your cards, pay them down as much as you can to get as close to 20% as you can. Good luck!

Get a copy of your credit report (you can obtain a free copy form each of the three bureaus every 12 months by going to www.annualcreditreport.com). Collection agency information is provided on your credit report. Good luck!

That's hard to say without knowing what your score is and whether you have delinquent accounts (open or closed), collections, etc.

Best overall way: pay all your bills on time, every time. Keep all your credit lines below (ideally) 20% of your total credit limit - that is, if you have cards totaling $1000, keep your the total of your balances below $200. Increase the amount of your available credit by applying for additional cards, or by applying for a secured card if your credit is poor.

Providing additional information about your current credit problems will allow users to give you more direct advice. Good luck!

Credit Karma does not provide credit reports. They derive their information from data contained in your report from TransUnion (however the CK score differs from TU). You are entitled to one free credit report each year from each of the three major credit bureaus. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to learn how to get your free reports.

Forgot to add: your report will also (usually) include open mortgages and some loans (if the lender opts to report them to the bureaus) as well as any outstanding (and paid) collections/judgments.

Do you have copies of your credit reports? If not, and if you haven't received you free annual credit report in the apst 12 months, you can get all three free from www.annualcreditreport.com. Every citizen is entitled to one free report from each of the three bureaus every 12 months. Open items are listed on your report (they may be positive or negative, so look in both areas). Good luck!

The credit bureaus offer an option of disputing online (go to the bureau websites - www.equifax.com, www.transunion.com and www.experian.com to learn how to begin a dispute, or try a Google search on dispute, where is replaced by equifax, transunion or experian: for instance, transunion dispute). You can also dispute directly with your creditors. Their addresses are included in your credit report, or you can use Google to search. Most credit card companies have addresses specifically for disputes; get the addresses by Googling your creditor's name followed by the word "dispute." Without the quotes, of course. Good luck!

Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to get a copy of all three of your credit reports if you haven't received a free report in the past 12 months. Otherwise, you can purchase your reports directly from the bureaus: www.equifax.com, www.transunion.com and www.experian.com.

You actually have three credit reports, one from each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. You're entitled to one free report each year from each of the three bureaus. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com for more information on how to request your free reports. If you've already received your free reports within the last 12 months, you can order a report from each agency for a fee. Go to www.equifax.com, www.transunion.com or www.experian.com to order directly from the agencies. Some credit monitoring sites also offer reports for a reduced fee, but beware - if you sign up for their credit monitoring services for a "free" trial, be sure to cancel before the trial expires. Some people have reported trouble canceling accounts in time, so be careful. Good luck!

A secured card is certainly an option, but many will still pull your credit file (a hard pull). Are the pulls you have hard or soft? Do you have a lot of lates? What, if you don't mind sharing, is your score? Why do you need another card - simply to build credit? And how old are you? (I ask the last question since you said you got your first card in '09) ...

I have never heard the income/taxes issue before, but how big a hit could it be even if he/she were required to report it as income? Settling for 70% would mean he/she would have to pay 2590, leaving 1110 to be reported as income. The taxes paid on 1110 will be less than 1110 - 27% would be about $300 ... so wouldn't that still yield a savings of $810?

To me, the bigger question would be how it would affect your scores, especially if you foresee needing credit any time soon and your file is otherwise OK. In that case, you might want to see if the agencies will agree to delete the line if you pay in full (or make a settlement). Just my 2 cents of course, for whatever that's worth (probably less than 2 cents). ;-) Good luck!

You may also have luck (I have had great luck with this technique) by simply writing a letter to the card company and nicely asking them if they will remove the trade line, explaining why you'd like to have it removed. It has worked well for removing old, closed lines that have ates on them. Good luck!

If you have available funds, or when the balance drops enough so you can afford it, another option is to ask the credit card company if they will delete the trade line from your report in return for your paying in full. I have had great luck using this technique. removing the line will get rid of a lot of lates and should boost your score. Good luck!

BKs may be discharged after 7-10 years, but typically remain on your "record" as a legal item for many more years - usually 20 or more. Same for non-BK judgments. Because of recent financial losses, credit card companies have recently been tightening the way - and to whom - they extend credit; searching past legal records is one way they are doing this. The law regarding how long a BK remains in your legal file is longstanding, predating Obama by many years. Did the discharge involve Citi or one of its subsidiaries? If so, I'd say try another card. Good luck! :)

You're welcome. I've had great luck writing polite letters, asking closed account creditors to remove entire trade lines that had lates on them. :-) For best results, hand-write the letter on regular stationery or notebook paper, rather than printing it out via computer. That seems to bear more weight - looks more personal and less like someone writing generic letters to all his/her creditors. :-) IMO, it's also a good idea to send it registered, but not certified, to get a receipt when it's delivered (some credit repair experts say sending it certified - where it needs to be signed by the recipient - makes you look too aggressive ...) Good luck!

I know from personal experience that you can establish long-term - i.e., for years, if needed - amenable pay-back relationships with major creditors, including lower rates AND lower pay back each month if you need it. From my own experience, I know BOA, Chase, Citi and Cap1 are all willing to offer long-term plans directly to cardholders who are in need, both through lower rates and lower monthly amounts. They want their money - they don't want to have to go to court. It costs NOTHING to try it out yourself, and you can always move to an agency if you don't like your results. As the other poster notes, if you don't want to call and ask yourself or if you want someone else to be in the driver's seat with regard to negotiation, counseling agencies are likely your best bet, and certainly have helped many. Good luck!

Maybe you should get a copy of your Chexsystems report - you may have problems with bad bank accounts that are preventing banks from allowing you to open new accounts. Be sure to try local banks and/or credit unions, too.