Help Please

[TinekaT]

I am currently trying to repair me and my husband's credit, but I am not totally sure to go about it. I have reading the forums and information on this site. Some of it has helped me, but I am not sure if the way I am going about this is the right way. Here is a little history on our credit reports. We have one a furniture bill account that is charged off, and he has an acct with dell that we made a payment arrangement on back in 03 and paid all but one payment. The other things are small bills that we had when we first started living on our own. We had some financial difficulty when we first moved out and are now trying to recover from it. In total are debt is about 5000 collectively. I am not sure if trying to pay and settle these are the right method or what. These accts date back to 02.

[isislc]

First, it's good to read the stickies on this since it has been posted many times.

Second, it sounds like you have a recent copy of your CR. If not, you can get one from Annual Credit Rpt

Third, rank your debts in order of importance. Those that are pretty old should be at the bottom since the SOL for TX is 4 yrs. Don't worry about them too much right now.

Fourth, start disputing accounts. I would start by disputing as "not mine" if they come back as verified then use "obsolete, too old". Just a warning on disputing, some of these CAs will come out of the woodwork and start sending you letters to try and collect on the debt. Which now leads into

Fifth, DV any letters you get so you know what they are trying to charge you for.

This is enough to start with. Remember, DON'T PAY ANYTHING! If you pay an unpaid collection without some kind of agreement for a delete, you will only end up with a PAID notation and that is just as bad as an UNPAID. Not just that but why should you pay an account that is SOL when you can save the money and apply it to another debt. Hope this helps.

[kevin3344]

I would call up the furniture store and/or dell and tell them you want to settle the account. Get it in writing as 'settlement in full'. Since these are old debts they shouldn't be much.

The second part of credit repair is building new, good credit. You'll need at least a secured credit card. Use it wisely and keep the balance low. Overtime you'll be able to qualify for unsecured cards. Of course pay each and every bill on time, if not early.