Fixing my credit score
How does one go about fixing their credit history? Mine is at 560 :( I left the states a couple of years ago, and am planning to return in a year. Now I am worried that I will have trouble getting a place to rent or even a phone connection. I was working on a startup when I was in the states, so ended up having a couple of delinquencies. Small amounts: not retuning my Sprint iPhone which was on lease, had 6 months left and not returning my comcast set top box (I know I know). I maxed out 2 credit cards albeit only around 2000 total. I didn’t get my first credit card until I graduated college and was an international student. So I had limited credit history. I paid those back before I left. I just looked at credit karma and the only delinquency I have on file is that for Comcast, 116$ from a collection agency. The sprint one doesn’t seem to be there anymore. Any tips would be greatly appreciated
It will take a few years, and yes it will limit your rent choices. I recommend you try private owners and explain the situation as they may be more understanding than rental companies
Yeah this makes sense. Apart from the score itself, my finances are in fairly good shape and my comp will be solid as well. So hope I can convince them of the story. Thanks
Renting a room is best bet as it doesn’t always require a credit check, for example, if the resident owner is renting out one or more rooms.
That’s probably what I’ll have to go for then. Thanks!
Whoa! Thanks for the quick input folks. The problem here is that I only see one collection on file (only for 116$). The only other I expected and was surprised to find gone from my credit history was my sprint lease. But I’m willing and able to pay whatever amount it requires. But I’m assuming there is no quick fix for these? I actually work for GOOG and make a decent L5 PM salary, and looking to transfer to MTV on an L1 visa sometime later this year. Will getting a secured credit card help? I still have a bank account in the states and travel back often. I opened my credit history literally after 2 years today as started seriously considering moving back which wasn’t something that I had planned on before:)
Dispute the collections before you pay them. Payment is admission it’s yours. On the off chance Lexington Law Group or a similar credit repair agency can trip up a creditor / collector who doesn’t have sufficient documentation of your debt; you want to see if you can make them disappear before you pay them. Basically once you pay them, you admitted the balance was owed and the delinquency sticks.
This is very helpful, thanks. I will raise a dispute since I did officially close the account. But right before I leaving found out the settop box as I was cleaning my apartment. The Comcast rep where I submitted the other equipments and officially closed the account, never asked for it. So think I have a solid ground here. Cheers!
Even if you pay, it does not matter (but you should). Yes, you will have to get a secured credit card, and if you don't mind paying the extra interest, get a car loan too so that you start rebuilding the credit. It will still take few years.
Definitely getting the secured credit card. But car loan will be tricky because I won’t be moving until later in the year ;) Wanted to see what I could do from afar and have a decent enough score to get a place of my own in the Bay Area. Thanks!
Yes on secured card Other delinquencies / collections may not show up because may be reported to different bureau. Should check all 3 they have different levels of geographic coverage (Experian biggest on west coast, and not included in CK) since you don't know what a potential landlord will check. Best bet is to pay for Experian report too. You can dispute through the bureaus directly - best bet since they will check collections agency's documentation - or through CK for other 2 bureaus.
A response from someone at CK. That’s just awesome :)Anyway, Just checked Experian, and they actually don’t have a score for me :/ I got the FICO Score from them as well (in addition to the free annual report); but I do see the same 116$ Comcast collection on file. As mentioned I didnt much of a credit history in the first place and I don’t think I ever checked Experian until today (sorry a completely to all this)
No worries understand it is super confusing. Only reason I know this stuff now is bc work If u dispute u have to dispute with all 3 bureaus or whatever bureaus list separately, it's kind of a hassle as they don't share data btw themselves (that would defeat the purpose of having a separate bureau) Closed collections do stay on your report for several (3-7?) years I think. But paying it will help a little bit since it will change status from open delinquent to closed settled. A successful dispute will remove it from your report but you would have to separately file for each bureau and it can always go back on if they find the documentation (here I'm assuming Comcast has better documentation than random collections agencies) I'd personally just pay it and then start with a couple secured cards from diff companies - each is going to be like a couple hundred max - and use each very lightly for several months to build credit. You can't just open must use - maybe pay a small utilities bill or something. The loan idea is a good one bc diff product from cc but only do if you actually need a car lol
I got the secured CC from CapitalOne. It lets you check the score on demand for free.
Go and file dispute. They don't check much for small amounts and it'll fix on its own. Rest of the advice are good too
Pay everything off and wait. Don’t use the credit repair companies. They’re scams
Dispute everything. Get a secured card and pay all your new bills on time. There is no quick fix. 35% is based on payment history 30% on the amount of debt 15% length of credit history 10% amount of new credit 10% credit mix If you closed all your cards your starting from scratch. You don’t have a mix of credit. You will have to build you credit and payment history again. Also almost everything drops off in 7 years, so you could wait it out. Lol As for getting an apartment. You may have to get lucky with a renter who looks at things other than credit score or pay a sizable security deposit
Hire a credit repair company or do it yourself. I fixed my score from 608 to 710 but it took lots of time and work... lots of dispute filings, many phone conversation both with credit Burue and lenders.
That’s rather heartening to hear. My big problem is I never really had the opportunity to build my credit when I was in the states, in the first place. So I’m not sure actually how much of a cause are the 4 late payments and one in collection. So not really sure what a credit repair company can do.