and I have a million questions (I'm being pain), and whether than go to every forum and ask the questions, I think I'm just going to put it all out there, and please be honest with me, I am very serious about getting my credit together and after reading all of your stories and the forum (seriously, that's all I did at work yesterday), I think you all can help, so here it is

[*]21 years old
[*]got credit when I was 18, kept it up for about a year then totally let it go
[*]my current scores are as follows]Experian 538
Equifax 564
TransUnion 559

• I have a judgement against me, for $321 from 11/23/09
• I have 4 chargeoffs]1 collection account (from the Old Navy) for $424 from Midland (I'm paying them off)
• 3 student loans that are in good standing
• one collection account I paid off two years ago from NCO

That's it, so my main question is]
[*]I have 3 chargeoffs, but only one collection agency, what does that mean? Does that mean that the other two don't have to be paid back, or that the collection agencies will show up eventually?
[*]Does Bank of American blacklist? I really want to get the BofA secured card, but since we had our...ahem, problems, I am afraid they aren't going to give me the chance. Also, does Target blacklist?
[*]I paid off the account from NCO 2 years ago? How can I get them to take it off? Should I contact them or the credit bureau?
[*]Finally, do charge-off's stay on your credit report, or is there a way to get them taken off; like I'm paying off Midland, (which is Old Navy) after I pay them off can I have the Old Navy account taken off?
[/LIST]Once again, I know I being a pain, but I a so lost and I don't even know where to begin]

IMO:
Attack the tradelines that have the best opportunity for removal first, then move on to the more difficult tradelines.

1) The chargeoffs only mean that the original creditor has "given up" on collecting the amount due. Collection agencies (CA's) will eventually show up for the other two. Your goal is to see if you can negotiate a payment for the removal of the Charge Off (CO) designation prior to the debt being placed with a CA. Once with a CA, you risk being sued and having additional judgements, garnishments, all kinds of nasty stuff. Check the statute of limitations for your state for more information.

2) From what I've heard, BoA and Target do blacklist - however, YMMV.

3) The paid NCO has already done its damage - focus on the more recent TL's and come back to that one later, unless there is something that can be easily disputed on the reporting that could result in a deletion.

4) Re: Charge offs - again - try and negotiate payment for removal, or if you can dispute the TL and have it removed all together that's even better. All depends on how recent the defaults are, how willing the issuer is to do so. I haven't had much luck with this, but this seems to be the advice most often given in credit forums such as these, and in my case the issuers were willing to open new accounts, FWIW. Remember, once an account is charged off and placed in collections, you'll have TWO TL's for the same debt, one reporting zero balance (hence CO) and the other reporting a balance, a double whammy nonetheless.

The judgement is a real score killer - see if you can have it removed. Whychat's website has a good discussion on how to do this.

Keep your student loan(s) in good standing and get one or two rebuilder cards to have additional positive TL's to offset your negative ones while you work on your negotiations. With your scores you should qualify for a subprime unsecured - just watch out for junk fees.

Good Luck!

and I have a million questions (I'm being pain), and whether than go to every forum and ask the questions, I think I'm just going to put it all out there, and please be honest with me, I am very serious about getting my credit together and after reading all of your stories and the forum (seriously, that's all I did at work yesterday), I think you all can help, so here it is:

• 21 years old
• got credit when I was 18, kept it up for about a year then totally let it go
• my current scores are as follows]
  Experian 538
  Equifax 564
  TransUnion 559
  
  • I have a judgement against me, for $321 from 11/23/09
  • I have 4 chargeoffs]1 collection account (from the Old Navy) for $424 from Midland (I'm paying them off)
  • 3 student loans that are in good standing
  • one collection account I paid off two years ago from NCO
  That's it, so my main question is]
• I have 3 chargeoffs, but only one collection agency, what does that mean? Does that mean that the other two don't have to be paid back, or that the collection agencies will show up eventually?
• Does Bank of American blacklist? I really want to get the BofA secured card, but since we had our...ahem, problems, I am afraid they aren't going to give me the chance. Also, does Target blacklist?
• I paid off the account from NCO 2 years ago? How can I get them to take it off? Should I contact them or the credit bureau?
• Finally, do charge-off's stay on your credit report, or is there a way to get them taken off; like I'm paying off Midland, (which is Old Navy) after I pay them off can I have the Old Navy account taken off?

Once again, I know I being a pain, but I a so lost and I don't even know where to begin: should I try to get a secured card? Should I get all this stuff paid off first then worry about it? Your help is greatly appreciated.