Really need advice: Rebuilding my credit, paying loans, and bills!

[shoot2kill]

I would like some advice on the quickest way to pay of my student loans, and some bills that I have collection agencies calling for and how to rebuild my credit! My situation may or not say it's critical, but I have a lawsuit for a loan I took out in Sept. 2007 of $2,400. Long story short: I paid $200 each month until it was $1600 left, lost my job couldn't pay for my bills and had to move back home. Now I have a lawsuit of 2,700 for that loan, 2 collection agencies calling everyday for 1,300 to Dell(stupid laptop) and 1,600 to HSBC Store Card.

I am currently saving money made through my steath ebay accounts and I have $7,000 and another $1,000 stuck in 2 amazon accounts till July and $950 stuck in 2 limited paypal accounts til October.

I am 21 and a single father. I have a two year old boy who I spoil.

[bigpoppa911]

You should start with disputes to the CRA's and follow up with Debt Validation Letters to your creditors. Once an item is on your report paying it off doesn't remove the negative.

[JohnnyBoy]

Here is a link with alot of info on debt validation. Sending a debt validation letter might give u a little stall time until july when you get ur money.

Debt Validation: The ultimate weapon against the collection agencies

[TMiles]

Good advice my friends!!!

[shoot2kill]

Yes thanks for the advice. I should have paid them off before.

[GreenBean]

shoot, S'long as you try now to get on top of matters. There is help out there & do ask here as well.
Good Luck

[TMiles]

I just re-read this thread....On piece of advice. Do not keep spoiling the 2 year old. It will come back and bite you in the @ss.....

Work with your creditors. The all will settle for pennies on the dollar. Never pay a debt solution agency.

Look up Dave Ramsey and Benjamin Dover, through a Google search. They have excellent resources to help...

[oompaloompa]

Benjamin Dover, Ben Dover for short...

[upsidedown]

Just looking over this thread there are a few options-

First if you cannot afford at all to repay that debt and are planning bankruptcy, then that is the ONLY point at which you want to "SETTLE" your debt (that will show up on your credit report as "debt settled" instead of "paid" and in that case, creditors in the future will not give you any loans)

If you plan on eventually buying a house, a car, or taking out a loan for personal reasons, there is no reason why you should settle your debt, especially if you're only 21- it could ruin your credibility for life.

Now you may be thinking what to do- Debt Consolidation is a much better way to go- in that way, you actually will repay ALL your debt but your creditors will just lower the APR which will help you a great deal. Debt Consolidation vs Debt Settlement- not many know the consequences but whatever you do make sure you know the consequences before jumping into either one of them.

[inverser]

In a twist of irony, paying off your debts will not improve your credit score. And that's the whole point isn't it?

If one agrees to settle, that's fine. But it's crucial to also negotiate a deletion of the tradeline. Be sure to get the promise in writing.

Otherwise, the negative tradeline will remain on your credit report even after the debt is satisfied. Sure, it's paid off -- but it will continue to negatively affect your FICO score.

In my opinion, the smartest move would be to take the offensive and dispute all negative tradelines. Most likely the original creditors sold your debts anyway. They washed their hands of it. As far as they are concerned, they got a limited ROI when they sold your debt to a collection agency. If you choose to pay at this point, you join the ranks of millions of others that support the debt collection industry. They make billions of dollars a year and you're helping them.

Just my humble deuces.

[aspkin]

I had an old bill from Vegas when I was staying there last summer. It was only around $20 but I didn't pay it out of spite. I forgot I gave them my SSN.. and well it hit my credit score.

I since paid it off and had the item removed from my credit score after disputing it.

I just contacted the three credit bureaus and contested it, saying I thought the landlord would pay it since I moved out early.

I like when things work out.

[PaulStarr]

I personally would not ever have that much money in paypal as a "savings account".