How can I start building up good credit while taking care of my debt?

Question

I have several bills that I honestly didn't even know existed until they went to collections. I'm going to start dealing with those, but while I do, is there any way to start building up good credit to balance it out? Thanks!

Answer 1

Paying off all of the debts is the best thing you can do.  Pay the minimum amount to keep them all current every month, and then pay them completely off one at a time.  

Answer 2

The best option for debt trouble is negotiating your debts with your credit companies to keep the payments from swallowing all of your income. This will give your credit a "pays as agreed" status, which looks GOOD on your credit report. Typically, you have to get a counseling agency to call on your behalf. If you try to work with them yourself, many of them will not cooperate with you because you are not enrolled in credit counseling. Try http://www.womenindebt.info. Good luck!

Answer 3

When a debt goes on collection, the collector is required by law to give you 30 days to dispute the debt if it is not yours. During this time they cannot report the account to the credit bureaus. You can buy time this way, by writing and asking the collector to verify the account or cease all collection efforts as well as reporting.

If the 30 days have already elapsed, negotiating may be the best cause. But don't make the mistake of acknowledging the debt as this can be used against you. Refer to the account by its number. Never say "my account", "my debt", "my overdue account" or any similar/phrases.

What you do is ask for deletion upon payment. Make sure that everything is put down in writing as collectors are known for not keeping their word - no nice person can make a good collector. It's the nature of the beast.

Just by the way, have you actually verified the debts are yours? Mistakes do happen, more often than the creditors and bureaus would like us to believe. Get your credit report from each of the three major bureaus and go through it. If you doubt any account (known as tradeline), demand verification or deletion from your report.

Now, in order to build a good credit report, you will have to do two things:

1. Keep paying your bills on time. This is the most obvious one.

2. Keep your balances low (about 30 per cent of limit or lower).

If you don't have credit or the damage is extensive, you might want to get a secured credit card to help build credit. You can get a secured credit card for $200-$300. Just make sure that the issuing company does not report it as secured. And follow numbers 1 and 2 above.

Tips and strategies for building good credit and dealing with collectors could fill an entire book. One of the best resources for this can be found at the link below.

Answer 4

Just paying those would help build credit

Answer 5

Capital One Visa Credit Card

at

http://capitalvisacard.blogspot.com/