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Advice and best tips on how to pay back old debt - The Bills.com Blog
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Advice and best tips on how to pay back old debt
Question: Besides running all three major credit reports, is there another avenue for people to take that will show you ALL outstanding debts. I'm a mess right now since I ignored my debts for years and have lost track of who I owe money to (checks, IRS, credit cards). I'm ready to make a difference and pay my dues. Any help would be great.
Answer: It is never too lateto start the process of financial recovery. There are several steps you can take to recover from the financial disarray that you state. Doing so requires requires diligent effort and a long-term commitment to financially sound living. It's important to understand that everything remains on your credit report for up to 7 years, and a bankruptcy remains for up to 10 years.
I am not aware of any other agency that will help you get a list of the accounts that you owe. The only way to get a complete list of accounts that you owe is to get a credit profile summary from all three bureaus. You should obtain a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus?Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. You can request free copies of your reports by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com
Once you have received copies of your reports, you should carefully review them to make sure that all listings, especially the listings appearing in the ?derogatory? category, belong to you and are being reported accurately. Credit reports are notoriously inaccurate, with consumers frequently finding listings of derogatory accounts that never belonged to them or that were paid off years ago. If you find any inaccurate listings, you should dispute them with the appropriate
credit bureau. The Federal Trade Commission provides a comprehensive guide to disputing items on your credit report, available at www.ftc.gov
Clearing up inaccurate derogatory accounts may significantly improve your credit score, depending on the number of inaccurate listings you find on your reports.
Next, you should try to pay off any derogatory items that legitimately belong to you. While paying off these accounts will not make them fall of your report, it should improve your credit by reducing the amount of delinquent debt reporting to the bureaus and preventing the accounts from continuing to be reported as delinquent.
Once you have dealt with you derogatory accounts, you should begin paying down your other accounts, to reduce your debt to available credit ratio. You can safely carry some debt, but carrying too much debt month to month demonstrates that you are financially strapped, and should not be extended more credit. Ideally, your ratio of debt to available credit should be no more than 33%.
Your credit rating is calculated based on several variables, including your payment history (do you have any late payments, charge-offs, etc.), the amount and type of debt that you owe, if you have maxed out any of your trade lines, and then
several other secondary factors like the length of your credit history and how many recent inquiries have been made to look at your credit history. Since your past payment history accounts for approximately 35% of your FICO credit score, establishing a good payment history with your creditors is essential to building and maintaining a good credit rating.
Finally, if you do not already have a long, positive credit history, you should begin to build one. You can start by opening a few small credit card accounts, making charges on them, and paying off most, if not all, of the balances each month. By doing this, you will show yourself to be a responsible user of credit, and your credit score should improve with each month you continue to show a positive payment history. If you find that you cannot obtain a traditional credit card because of credit problems, a secured credit card, in which you deposit cash in an account as collateral for the credit line, can help build a positive credit history.
To learn more about credit, I encourage you to visit the Bills.com Credit Solutions and Resources page at http://www.bills.com/credit/
I hope that the information I have provided helps you Find. Learn. Save.
Best,
Bill
www.bills.com
Also, make sure to get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!
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1. Posted by phyllis on Thursday 8th May 2008 19:25
Hello my husband had heart surgury last year and I stopped making any credit card payments now I have 8 charge offs. I ask where do i go from here to improve my credit?
2. Posted by Bill on Friday 9th May 2008 07:51
A charge off does not mean that you do not owe the money anymore. You should obtain credit reports from each of the three bureaus and start contacting each of one of the creditor accounts that are showing past due. You have a good opportunity to get a lower settlement on all the accounts that are in charge off. Make sure you maintain proper records of all your communications and if you do get settlements be sure to ask for it in writing. Your credit will start improving each time you pay off an account and it reflects a 0.00 balance on the report.