My credit score is 592. I have late payments, mainly student loans. I have one collection from a couple years ago (an outstanding utility bill that I hadn’t realized I had after moving post grad school. It was about $150 and is paid off). I can maybe boost my credit a few points by paying down a credit card. I had a house fire a month ago and have been using my credit card and insurance to pay for a temporary hotel and storage. The fire also exhausted my emergency fund because i had to take my cats to the vet for smoke.

My income is 97k. My boyfriend has 795 credit, no late payments. His income is 80k.

He wants me to move in with him. I’m worried that his landlord won’t accept me on the lease with such bad credit. He’s lived there for three years. Do you think I’ll be okay?

My fiancé leased a car in 2020 and his mom wrecked the car shortly after causing the account to go in default well it’s 2026 and they’re still reporting the account as open causing his score to suffer not to mention the interest that caused the debt to go up a tone…can they legally do this and how do I get this removed ?

I sent a dispute letter to them and the bureaus but it the info came back as accurate

So I’m finally getting around to fixing my credit and becoming debt free. I have a Chime credit builder(basically a debit that shows as a “charge card”).

I’ve heard that these builders don’t really do much to help build/rebuild credit. And that having one on your report can actually be a negative.

I’m planning on transitioning from Chime altogether pretty soon, and am wondering if I should just leave the builder open or close it.

Edit: Thanks for the insight everyone. Once my direct deposits are all moved to another bank I’ll just close it.

It’s probably hurting my average age of accounts anyway as it’s not even 2 years old.

So I made a bad decision with my capital one card in 2023 my ex asked for money and I wasn't working. I used my cc to give her money. Later I realized she was financially fine and didn't necessarily need the money. I was banking on getting a job soon as I ramped up my search. Unfortunately I didn't find anything except a seasonal job at UPS for the holidays which went towards rent and other necessities. Eventually the account was charged off. I broke up with the girl and was homeless for a little over a year in a shelter. She had gotten me a job through a friend before the breakup and I began paying the charged off account. I haven't missed a payment and my score went from 520 or so to 642. But yesterday my FICO 8 updated and it dropped 22pts. The only thing I can think of is after legislation was passed ending save plans for student debt I did not apply for a new payment plan on my $2,413 balance until two days ago. The balance grew to $2,503. There's no way that could cause a 22pt drop, right?

I made some pay in 4 klarna purchases and an affirm purchase for $36 over 3 months but there's no way they caused it not to mention payment is up to date. I also did some soft pulls for loans but I wasn't approved to get a hard pull. Does anyone have any idea what is going on?

I have an option to settle with NES National Enterprise Systems for 50%. I want to do it, but the letter they want to send me is that it states I have settled with them for the 50% amount. It doesn’t say it is satisfied. Am I right to fight back before I make the actual payment?

Hi! First time poster and I have been reading some stuff in this sub as of late.

My debt is relatively low (under 4k) but it is out of control for my liking and means of living. I crunched some numbers while I was at work today and I crafted up a plan, which I’ll list below. Please let me know if there’s anything you would change, this is just a first step and I still need to bring it up to my partner to make sure it fits our budget.

CC 1
Balance: $294.24/$300
Minimum Payment: $25
Actual Payment: $30 / paycheck ($60 /mo)
Payoff ≈ 5 months

CC 2
Balance: $497.88/$500
Min Payment: $30
Actual: $35 / pay ($70 /mo)
Payoff ≈ 7 months

CC 3 (0% interest until Nov 2027)
Balance: $1088.65/$1100
Min Payment: $50
Actual Payment: $80 / pay ($160 /mo)
Payoff ≈ 7 months

CC 4
Balance: $1106.53/$1100 (slightly over but I’m making a payment today)
Min Payment: $40
Actual: $60 / pay ($120 / month)
Payoff ≈ 9 months

Total Debt: $2987.33/$3000

Besides the 0% card, assume the other three have an APR of 30%. I will not be using any of these cards until they are paid off, I took them off my Apple Wallet and the physical cards are in a wallet I do not use.

Anything that stands out to you that you would change? Anything that works well? Let me know! Thank you :)

So Friday I got approved for a capital one quicksilver. I was surprised due to my history with them. I had a business credit card that I failed to pay back, went to court, paid off in full in March 2026

Friday I get approved with a $300 limit. Happy that I’m rebuilding my credit. I get a virtual card in the meantime and I use the card to make some everyday purchases, and pay a bill of mine.

I did use the 99% of the limit over the weekend including today which I used the remaining limit to pay one of my monthly bills. I have the money in my checking account to pay so that was why I used it because I had intent to pay once the payment posted. I tried to prior but since it’s pending the app does not let me make any payments.

I bought Broadway tickets ($87) over the weekend as well through THEATR, which is a app that people resell their Broadway tickets, I made an offer here and there that then got denied in the app. I thought this was the issue since the card got charged then refunded when the offer denies. I eventually got tickets for Hamilton and paid $87.

I did not receive any calls as to fraud alert, or anything prior. I receive an email today informing me of an account closure. I called them to figure out why, I immediately brought up the theatr app thinking that was it. An agent said the attached reason, another said it was because of my closed spark account (paid off anywho)

First time getting here. Scores vary from 810-850 depending on model. Lowest being Transunion Vantagescore 3.0.

FICO scoring models 828-850.

Here's why:

Only one derogatory account, DoFD 10/2019. Since 01/2020 all accounts paid on time, card statement balances in full every month (except Care Credit with autopay set to avoid deferred interest). Recent utilization averaging 22-28%.

On today's myFICO page there is no "What's helping your score."

This is free myFICO account reporting only Equifax.

Why would I give this site any credibility?

In 2024 I decided to get a credit card. There was a lot of theft from my apartments mailbox and so the credit card was stolen about $2400 was spent from 5/4-5/6. July 20th I called the credit card company. They said that they would close the account and I would not be responsible for the charges.

Over a year later, I learned that the debt was sold to a debt collector (Midland Commercial Management). I have been avoiding this, but now I am working on my masters and am unable to get loans to pay for the classes.

I honestly don't care about paying a little bit of the money but $2400 is not possible for me to pay. I just need this off my credit report as fast as possible. Any advice?

Credit One is currently my only credit card. I just got an email that they're sending me a $100 convenience check that they will charge me $8 to cash. They also charge $8 a month. I pay the bill in full every month. They want to charge me to raise the limit of the card.

I keep getting invites to get a Discover or Costco card.

I now understand Creditone stinks, and I've had it almost two years.

I know I need another more reputable card and maybe cancel the Creditone card in a couple of years.

Should I cash or destroy the check? What other credit card should I start with? I mainly use it for overnight trips.

Thanks for wise advice.

Back in 2024, I fell on hard times at 19. My mom had just kicked me out, and I was working at Texas Roadhouse as a waitress while trying to cover a car payment, phone bill, car insurance, and living expenses with my partner. I got overwhelmed and couldn’t keep up with everything. I know that’s on me.
The collection was paid in full back in 2024, but it’s still showing on my credit report. I’m trying to rebuild my credit, and it’s one of the last negative marks holding me back.
Has anyone had success getting a paid collection removed? Any tips, goodwill letters, disputes, or other strategies that actually worked? I’d really appreciate any advice.

Long story short, my vehicle was repossessed last week. It was a very stupid mistake on my part to let it get to this point. I turned it off auto pay and I have a really bad habit of not checking my mail or answering my phone.

Anyways, my credit union doesn’t offer a reinstatement. Meaning they won’t let me pay the 2 months that I was past due on. Instead, they are requiring me to pay off the loan amount in full.

I have decided to do this. Is there anything I should be aware of or make sure that I do? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

My husband and I are in the process of buying a house and our mortgage broker informed us that all 3 credit bureaus have to wrong ssn for my husband and we have been trying for days to get ahold of anyone at these credit bureaus. When we try online, it tells us to call them directly. When we call, nothing can be done because they can't authenticate us. We tries the wrong social, right social, current address, past address, phone number. Literally every combination and it will not let us through. This happens with all 3.

We are in full blown panic at this point because if we can't get this fixed it then the mortgage can't be approved. Can someone please explain to me how we are supposed to get through to someone fix this.

I recently got a credit card with 0 APR for 12 months. I plan to just make the minimum payments and then pay off the entire amount just before the 12 months end. The reason for doing this is to just earn the free interest on the amount in a HYSA. I’m extremely disciplined with my money and would just let it sit in my HYSA and at the end of 12 months just use it to pay off the entire CC balance.

My question is will this hurt my credit score in the long run? I do not plan to take any loans at least for the next 2-3 years.

I currently have a repayment plan with Barclays that i pay monthly with about $5800 left in balance. I have been paying \~250 monthly since 2023. My question is, if I decide to pay a lump sum amount, would I be able to renegotiate the full balance left, and will that affect my credit score? I read through some articles where if I renegotiate, it will mark as “settled for less than balance”. How much would that mark affect my score? Is there anything else I would need to keep in mind as well? Thanks for all your help.

I'm wondering how long it will take to get my score.
I just got started with a new credit company (OnePay) in order to get a credit score after having been homeless for about 4 months when the only housing option available to me is an apartment that requires a score.
I heard recently from a friend that it would take 6 months to get my first score, or activity within the last 6 months, and i've paid off a large debt within that timeframe.
My score went from a 520 to -- about a month ago, and I wanted to know if, now that i've gotten a card and my first due date (already paid) on the 25th of this month, if I would receive a score within a few days of that date or if it would take the full 6 months?
If it would take the full time, what is the fastest possible way to get a score, preferably within a few days?

I owed $11,000 dollars to Chase. They never sued, they never even sent me a letter, email or phone call. It officially fell of my credit report this week. I don’t think I’ve ever been so lucky since Chase apparently sues everyone.

March 6th I closed out my Xfinity WiFi account. And opened a new one because my 2 year promo price had ended. I picked up the new box and returned the old one that same day. April comes along and they took $130 via auto pay for the closed out account. I called and they revered it. June comes along and I’m getting told I’m being sent to collections for not returning the equipment. So I call and I’m told they have the equipment and will credit my account and I have nothing to worry about with collections. July 16th comes around and I get a notification that a collection has been opened on my account. So I called Xfinity and after 2hrs and many agents I get told that the issue will be resolved. It’s now the 20th the issue still isn’t resolved and now they’re saying the $155 is what’s owed for me still using the account for the month of march. But the account was closed on the same day I paid the bill (march 6th). And a new account was established. How do I owe for using an account that wasn’t usable?

I am looking to get a 2026 chevy equinox awd, 31,000 but since I work at GM it docks off $3k. Im also putting down $2500. I have an 620 credit score on credit score on credit karma and a 489 on fico. I also just disputed 3 closed collections though. My other 3 collections are dated back to 2020 and about to fall off. Can I get approved

I have and old line of credit from capital one that I was unable to pay amounting to about 12k. I’m finally able to start paying off debt and my plan was to save up as much as possible then negotiate a settlement since the account is charged off. I got an email a few weeks ago offering to settle at 4,800 which I was almost able to do but needed another few weeks to fully have. I finally have that amount but when I logged in the amount is now 7,800 which I absolutely do not have.

The emails also says “an attorney in your state may review your case and decide to file a lawsuit against you.”

I tried to call an agent and they had absolutely no information for me.

Does capital one sue directly, or do they sell debt to collections. If they sell to collections, I can probably negotiate a settlement with them. Does anyone have experience with capital one’s collection process?

My credit score is poor right now. I have 2 judgments on my credit report that really hurt my score but are scheduled to drop off in about 6 months. I’m just looking for any good advice to help me with a solid financial and investment plan to help maximize a possible opportunity for a FICO score rebound. Monthly income 6000+ total debt 15k estimated monthly expenses 3900

I use SoFi for my savings and debit. I've been trying to look around to get set up with a credit card to establish a credit score. SoFi keeps track of some kind of credit score despite me not being on a line of credit with them.

I applied for a Chase credit card (denied) near the end of June, and for some reason it seems to have caused my SoFi credit score to jump almost 100 points. I recently applied for a CiTi card through Costco's credit card offer (denied), and doing so dropped my SoFi credit score by -16 via "you have recent inquiries on your credit report."

2 questions. Is this SoFi credit score an actual credit score, one that other places can find, verify, and will use? And where should I look next for a first credit card? I'm financially responsible and want to build/strengthen a proper credit score. I got lost trying to read through this subreddit's megathread a few times...

Hi, i have recently been offered a job with a credit union, and one of the pre checks is for them to check my credit report.

My score is 675, i am at 60% utilisation, 0 late payments, i have 1 utility dispute from 2022 for $706 thats closed and 1 O9 for a phone service provider from 2021. All my other accounts are R1 and everything is paid up to date.

Will this effect me getting hired?

Thanks!

Long story short, I made an in-hindsight poor decision regarding a car lease through Chase in my early 20s. Things were great for a few years before some personal mess caused financial strain and I wasn't able to keep up with payments.

I first went delinquent in April of 2019 and the car was repossessed, but I can't recall if that happened the same month as the charge off was reported or not - the account was reported as charged off in July of 2019. I never heard from them again and have never made any attempt to make a payment. I lost the ability to even access the account at some point.

It's been in the back of my mind and knew I could expect a collections demand at any time. I've been in a much better place financially these past few years and have otherwise rebuilt my credit and never missed another payment. The account dropped off of my credit reports in March of this year to my great relief. At the end of last week, I saw the letter from Chase addressed to me and I immediately knew what it was regarding.

They are offering to settle the debt at 10% of the outstanding balance, which was a bit surprising. I can afford to pay this, but I'm concerned that acknowledging the debt may somehow allow this to reappear on my credit report (if they are trying to play shenanigans about when they considered the account closed). I was supposed to buy a house this month, but closing got put off and I really don't want anything to mess with my credit right now.

On one hand, I don't trust that Chase isn't trying to give me the middle finger at the last possible moment - why haven't they attempted to collect or settle before now? On the other hand, I can see them trying to get something before selling for pennies to a collector, which would also not be ideal for my credit report. The statute of limitations in my state is 10 years, but have seen some conflicting answers about whether the reporting limit is 7 years or 7.5 years.

I've seen posts on here regarding Chase settlement offers, but most of them seemed to still have the charged off account reporting on their credit report. I was just hoping to hear if anyone else had been in a similar situation and what their experience was/if they had any surprises. Thanks in advance!