“Dear Steve,
Working on my credit to raise my score and need some advice and or assistance.
i have pulled my credit reports and i have found a lot of discrepencies and things that should have been romoved . there are things that show an amount but no other information. there are items that are 15years old . can you give me some advice and/or some help as to what i should do please .?
also i have now obtained a secured credit card snese there are no revolving accounts on my credit can you tell me do i need to get a second secured credit card or is one enough ? can you also tell me how i should use it . im not much on credit cards im use to doing everything with cash . lol would you give me some help or advice please?
Shawn”
Dear Shawn,
Well it sounds like you are on the right track. If you have your credit reports in hand then you should look for negative credit items that are older than 7 years that are being reported and ask to have those removed from your credit report.
The credit report should contain instructions and information on how to dispute an item so just follow that. Your request can be as simple as a handwritten letter. It does not have to be anything fancy or official. Just be sure to include your full name, address, and social security number when you contact them so they can identify your specific report.
Some items, like legal action, do not have to be removed after seven years (Actually 7.5 years from the date first reported) so those will remain.
Also be sure to let each of the credit reporting agencies know if you spot an item on your credit report with them that you do not recognize. It might not be your account and should not be listed on your credit report.
With the secured cards, just make sure the card(s) you have report your account activity to the credit bureaus. If they do then having two secured cards is better. It results in twice as much good news to report about you. If they don’t report to the credit bureaus then they will not help to rebuild your credit.
You don’t need to go crazy with the cards, just use them to make an occasional purchase to show some activity and then pay off the card immediately. Think of it as a cash card. Do not put anything on the card you can’t pay off when you use the card.
By tackling the negative past history and removing stuff that should not be on your credit report, letting some time pass, and showing new card usage it will all work to bring up your score.
Please post your responses and follow-up messages to me on this in the comments section below.
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Shawn,
Bank loans like that rarely report to the credit bureaus so they are not worth the effort if the goal is to rebuild credit.
Regarding your Capital One card, just give them a call and confirm they are reporting your credit history to the credit bureaus.
hey steve i have one secured credit card its from capitol one are they a good one to have ? and i have a friend come and ask me about getting a secured bank loan he says he has collateral to equal the size of the loan he wants he also his credit is around 620 and he says he has a co-signer with strong credit i told him i dont know anything about those. what is your opinion of secured bank loans with collateral and a cosigner to secure them? please do you have any advice on that? thanks shawn
hey steve i have one secured credit card its from capitol one are they a good one to have ? and i have a friend come and ask me about getting a secured bank loan he says he has collateral to equal the size of the loan he wants he also his credit is around 620 and he says he has a co-signer with strong credit i told him i dont know anything about those. what is your opinion of secured bank loans with collateral and a cosigner to secure them? please do you have any advice on that? thanks shawn
Shawn,
Bank loans like that rarely report to the credit bureaus so they are not worth the effort if the goal is to rebuild credit.
Regarding your Capital One card, just give them a call and confirm they are reporting your credit history to the credit bureaus.