I want to fix my credit and I have questions about my report?

Question

I have pulled my credit directly from all three reporting agencies and I want to start fixing my credit. I have a few questions about what is being placed on my credit.

1.) An acct I paid off reads paid, closed/ collection account - Is this what it is suppose to read and is that good?

2.) I had a car reposesed in Oct of 06. The original car loan was for about $15k, I paid approx $5k on the car before getting into trouble. I know they sold the car at an auction for about $6k. so I shoudl owe about $5k, plus some legal expenses. It is reporting Original Amount of $10,500, with a $7,120 is written off (whats that mean?) and a $0 balance as of 12/2006 (under recent balance) But last payment recieved was 12/06 for $5645. So I am confused on this debt and it is one of the things I want to really fix (as it is the highest debt and I want to buy a car in the future).

3.) A credit card I had about the same time I lost my card is reported on my report as Status: Transferred, closed/ account charged off. $311 Written off. Again, what does that mean? If this account has been sold to another creditor (as it states) why are they reporting the debt as well? Further down my report the other company is reporting the same debt, so i am getting a doubly whammy for the same acct.

4.) A company shows a recent payment on an account that I have NOT paid on. This is actualy the new company from question number 3. They show I made a payment of $675 this month, but I did not. Why would they say this?

5.) Why does only one company show my Balance History?

6.) I have inquiries on my report that I do not know how to explain (like an Attorney from Paul Law Offices in UT. I live in WA state and have not contacted an attorney for any reason. The inquiry was made 06/2008.

7.) I have a judgment against me from an old roommate for a phone bill she said I owe, the courts agreed because I could not show up (I was in hospital having a baby). I have paid this back to her and she has yet to report it to the courts that I paid it. What do I do, she wont answer my emails, phone calls, or Certified Letters asking her to let them know I paid it. Plus I was an idiot and didn't keep a record of payment.

8.) I have a judgment from an apartment complex that I was evicted from and I want to pay this off. However now a days even if it is paid off you can not find an apartment to rent to you if you have an evictions (paid or not). How can I get a judgment removed from my credit? I read somewhere if you get the plaintiff to agree to it being removed they will, but is this true?

9.) Under my personal information I have tons of aliases. Mainly they are mis spellings of my last name, but it will report that mis spelling several times because they will add my middle name, or report last, first and then middle. Does this hurt my credit and how do I fix it. I have only had two last names, my maiden name and my now married name. My mothers name is listed as well as a name I am known to go by. Believe me this is not true and I would never want to be known as her.

10.) I moved a lot and does the number of addresses hurt your credit, some of the addresses are reported three or four times even though I have only lived there once.

11.) I have been told that my credit wont be repaired by paying opff certain debts. Many of these debts on my report are for under $100, to $300 and I can easily pay those off. Will it improve my score by doing this? Can I call these debt places and give my address to get statments and such so I know I am paying the correct agency? Are they required to send me a statment (I had a credit agency refuse to mail me a statment before)?

Do you have any other suggestions that may help me? I am not looking to get credit or anything like that, but here in the next two years I want to be able to buy a house and what not. My low low credit scores are hurting me and I want to fix it.

Answer 1

Your Answer:

1. It is correct and it is not good, but it is less bad than the alternative (unpaid).

2. The phrase "written off" means the amount that you still owed, but you were unlikely to ever pay, so they decided to eat it, rather than keep billing you. If you want to fix it now, you have to pay more than what you owed in 2006. For example, you would have to pay two years' interest.

3. The phrase "written off" means the amount that you still owed, but you were unlikely to ever pay, so they decided to eat it, rather than keep billing you. You can dispute an actual double-entry, but I think that you have one listing for the original debt and one for the collection attempt, not a duplicate.

4. Why are you complaining? A debt that is listed as being paid is better (or less bad) than one that is listed as not being paid.

5. Some do. Some do not.

6. The attorney was probably working for one of the companies that you owe money.

7. Pay again and keep a record this time.

8. Not sure.

9. Having misspellings or variants of your own name listed. Having someone else's name listed matters only if it is a result of someone else using your social security number (see if any of your mother's debts are listed).

10. This does not matter.

11. Paying them will help some. If they refuse to mail you a statement, tell them clearly that you will not pay without a statement. Collection agencies will do almost anything to get you to pay, so if they would rather not be paid than send a statement, you can be fairly confident that they are not the correct company.

You are not going to qualify for a mortgage with this much bad stuff on your credit report. The only way you will be able to buy a house in two years is if you can pay the entire purchase price (without borrowing anything).

Answer 2

I'll number my answers to match the way you numbered your questions.

1.) It means it's paid, but it went collections before it was paid. In other words, it became a bad debt before being paid.

2.) You don't owe anything! Once they repossessed the car, you stopped owing them. The writeoff means they claimed the rest of the money as a loss for tx purposes. The amount may not match what you expect because they may have added interest, fees and costs to their writeoff. It doesn't mean you'll never get another car loan. People with bad credit can get car loans as long as they have income. They do pay more in interest, but you can refinance after a year of better credit for a lower rate.

3.) The debt is reported as closed for the lost card. Again, you don't owe the writeoff amount. The listing lower down is probably the balance owed at the time. Not sure, but I think they list it twice for accounting purposes. You can always call the credit bureau to ask if it means you owe the second amount.

4.) Fairy godmother? Nothing wrong with showing you made a payment. Check it against your statements/bills. Call them and ask about it if you want.

5.) Not sure what a Balance History is supposed to list. If it lists places you owe, maybe you only owe one place?

6.) Inquiries from law firms are usually attempts to skip trace, to find your contact info, your employment info and any assets, so they can sue for collection of a debt for one of their clients. Other oddball inquiries can be from collection agencies, landlords, any bank accounts you opened recently or any credit you applied for.

7.) Did you notify the courts that you paid it? That way, they can wipe the judgment, send you a letter saying it's paid, and remove it from your credit record. If you paid the woman directly, and it was by personal check, your bank will have a record. Otherwise, put a note on your credit report saying it was paid and when. No explanations, just the info.

8.) Believe me, show evidence of income and you'll be able to get an apartment. it will be easier to get one in a complex that's owned by a corporation instead of a private landlord, because complexes mainly look at whether you can pay. It may help to move to a different county or even state from the one where you were evicted, as the judgment may not show if they only do a local search. If you can show you paid reasonably on time somewhere after you were evicted, and if you can explain why the eviction was a one-time thing, it'll be even easier.

Once you pay the judgment, the payment will go on your credit report. I don't know about getting it removed, but you can call the court and ask.

9.) This can look like you tried to get credit under false premises. All these variants got there because they were reported that way by your creditors and places where you applied for credit. See if you can get the credit reporting agency to add a note saying what your correct, full name is.

10.) I don't think multiple listings of the same address is a problem, but I'm not 100% sure. Moving a lot does affect your credit, because it makes you look unstable and fly-by-night. On the other hand, lots of people move every few years nowadays, because of jobs. It will improve things if you can stay at one address for at least 2 years and preferable 3-5. But mainly this would affect a mortgage. Other credit is more affected by payment history and income.

11. I wouldn't add more bad debts to your report, even though it would show payoffs. But do pay them, if only so you can do business with those places again should the need arise. (It's also the right thing to do, and it'll make you feel good to have done it.)

You can certainly contact those places. if you're not even sure it's the right collection agency, call the place you originally got the credit from and trace it from there. When you call, say right up front that you're trying to pay the debt in full, and have the account number ready. That should make them try to help instead of trying to intimidate you.

Do make sure that they will send you something saying the debt was paid off. Even better, get them to send or fax youa statement of the debt, so you have on paper exactly what you owe and whom you owe. Your cancelled check should be enough proof of payment.

Other advice: Open a small checking account just for the purposes of paying off bad debts, so they can't come after the bulk of your money. keep in a couple hundred over what you're paying, just as a buffer.

You actually do want some credit. Once your debts are mostly paid off and what's left is very manageable, get some credit to show you can use it properly. Two ideas:

1. Capital One and Providian both offer secured credit cards. You put some money into an account with them, like $200 - $1000. You get a credit card for that amount. Use the card and pay off your balance on time - preferably in full every month to avoid interest and fees. eventually, they will let you take back your secured amount and it'll be a regular card. Keep it for emergencies or large purchases where you want them on record.

2. Get a CD at a bank for, say, $1000. Then take a loan out from the bank using the CD as collateral. Pay it back on time. Someone told me you can even write off the interest you pay against the interest income you get, for tax purposes. The interest rate won't be bad, because the loan is secured.

Answer 3

1) do you have a bank you like? i would make an appointment with a loan officer, and they will tell you exactly everything you want to know and where to start, sadly sometimes you are too far gone to fix within a ten year time period and it is best to file bankruptcy which is still possible, especially if you have little income!  filing bankrupcy usually means you only have to wait a few years as opposed to a decade to get any new loans or house mortgage! so make an appointment and they will help you better then any of us can! Good luck and congrats to taking hold of your future!

Answer 4

Good grief you sure f'd up.

It is going to take you 10 years to get anywhere close to a decent credit history.

Your going to need a co-signer for every loan you will ever get.