How do I fix my credit?

[chalice]

zapjb appears to know what she is talking about.

I'd go with the talk to the company and offer to settle in full with them removing the bad report.....

Dude I'm a dude & not mistaken for a female

She knows, you know.

[Skiz]

Are you going to talk out of your arse all day or post something of significance to demonstrate why proven methods and those suggested by authors of such books are completely wrong?

No, no you aren't.

Actually Skiz, that is a dumb idea and you leave out too much.

Increasing your credit worthiness while putting yourself in massive debt is a dumb move.

By what you say, if he has 2 $5000 limit cards, he should max them out, at some point in the year, to increase his score.

What really looks good is when your the high on your card was near the limit but you have very little on it. Mortgage companies look at this favorably and scrutinize your credit more than credit card companies. It shows you can mount up a debt and get rid off it.

Having cards at high limits puts one in danger of going backward. You are also paying interest on that high ass balance.

The advantage there would be if the card is at a 0% interest rate (hopefully for a year or more). That way if he's paying this high balance, he's isn't losing money as long as he pays it off within the 0 rate period.

@asmithz - Also make sure the collection company was one of the big 3. If it wasn't, it might have just been a collection company hired by the company you were delinquent with. In those cases, many times it wasn't reported to Experian/Equifax/Trans Union. If was a credit company, it was probably reported. If was a magazine subscription, probably not.

If it was reported, the delinquency will be there for 7 years (unless the duration has changed)

You're saying the exact same thing as me.

When I said to max them out, I assumed the part about not carrying the balance and immediately paying it off was implied, seeing this is a thread about fixing one's credit, not destroying it.

Yes, the purpose in doing so is just as busy stated. So long as you aren't carrying a balance on the cards (or much of one), maxing out your cards at least once per calendar year is a good thing. It represents that you have the financial income to support the charges as well as the responsibility to make the payments on time.

The result is an improved credit score.

[Busyman™]

Actually Skiz, that is a dumb idea and you leave out too much.

Increasing your credit worthiness while putting yourself in massive debt is a dumb move.

By what you say, if he has 2 $5000 limit cards, he should max them out, at some point in the year, to increase his score.

What really looks good is when your the high on your card was near the limit but you have very little on it. Mortgage companies look at this favorably and scrutinize your credit more than credit card companies. It shows you can mount up a debt and get rid off it.

Having cards at high limits puts one in danger of going backward. You are also paying interest on that high ass balance.

The advantage there would be if the card is at a 0% interest rate (hopefully for a year or more). That way if he's paying this high balance, he's isn't losing money as long as he pays it off within the 0 rate period.

@asmithz - Also make sure the collection company was one of the big 3. If it wasn't, it might have just been a collection company hired by the company you were delinquent with. In those cases, many times it wasn't reported to Experian/Equifax/Trans Union. If was a credit company, it was probably reported. If was a magazine subscription, probably not.

If it was reported, the delinquency will be there for 7 years (unless the duration has changed)

You're saying the exact same thing as me.

When I said to max them out, I assumed the part about not carrying the balance and immediately paying it off was implied, seeing this is a thread about fixing one's credit, not destroying it.

Yes, the purpose in doing so is just as busy stated. So long as you aren't carrying a balance on the cards (or much of one), maxing out your cards at least once per calendar year is a good thing. It represents that you have the financial income to support the charges as well as the responsibility to make the payments on time.

The result is an improved credit score.

Carrying a balance doesn't destroy your credit though.

My point was that you left out too much. If you have $2000 to pay on $2000 limit credit card, then sure. However, you need to say that.

He could, like I said before, charge the $2000 on a 0% rate card, pay on it, and get the same result.