To pay or not to pay ?

JohnnyOldBoy

After a couple of difficult years, missed mortgage payments and credit card debt and missed credit card payments I have now sold my house and with the equity can pay off my debts.

However I now have a bad credit rating and want to fix this as fast as possible.

Can anyone suggest a strategy for paying the credit card debt which will improve my credit rating ? Regular payments etc ? I could pay off the debt in full today if thats the best thing to do.

How long does it take to improve my credit rating ?

Thanks in advance.

chattychappy

What is the status of the credit card debt?

ie are the cards still operational, but you're paying interest? Or has the debt been sold on/accounts frozen and you can no longer use the cards?

JohnnyOldBoy

One has been closed and the others still work even though I cut the cards up a while ago.

costaerer

i think six years from the last default till you have a good credit rating if you pay EVERYTHING on time

the best thing to do,i think, would be to pay all off in full. and use a credit card for a small purchase per month and pay off the full balance every month.

if you went for a full and final settlement offer, it would normally show partially settled on your credit report.

chattychappy

costaerer wrote: »

i think six years from the last default till you have a good credit rating if you pay EVERYTHING on time

the best thing to do,i think, would be to pay all off in full. and use a credit card for a small purchase per month and pay off the full balance every month.

if you went for a full and final settlement offer, it would normally show partially settled on your credit report.

Good advice. Pay off now to save the interest. Keep the accounts going and pay off each month. Things will slowly improve as the negative information becomes more distant and eventually drops off.

CannyJock

12 months of no missed payments will improve your rating. Be sure to check your credit report (see the sticky at the top of the forum how to get them) to confirm that the cards you don't want to keep are marked as "Settled".

Agree with others that clearing current debts to prevent any further interest is the way to go.