Expert: David McArthur - 1/11/2009

Question
I am 25 years old....when I was in college I took out 3 creidt cards, JcPenny, Capital One, and a Macy's.  I found out that a relative took a card out in my name...I know the only way to get that removed is by pressing charges...but I am to kind but I know I should.  All of these are in collection....I paid off my JcPennies one and working on the macy one as we speak....I am trying to get in touch with Capital One to set up payment rearrangements....My score is bt. 550 and 580...which has went up from 508.  I have education loans I consolidate together...how quick can I see improvement to my score...and if I settle to close these accounts for less then I owe will that effect my score neg or pos...please help...I am trying to fix my score.

Answer
Jessica,

I recommend a 3 step approach to your problem.

1.  Settle the collections for as little as possible.
2.  Have a credit repair pro work on deleting your negative history. Check out www.financialscoringsolutions.com
3.  Put positive credit on to replace the negative.

I can explain these in detail if you'd like.

David McArthur
219-718-8566