Did Capital One give back your $75.00 security deposit yet?

I have recently gone through your situation. I had a car loan and two credit cards go in default in 2003-2004. I did not pay any of these bills until 2006. Once my last bill was reported as paid by the credit bureaus I applied for a Capitol One credit card and was approved for $500 with a $75 security. I used my credit card every month for 12 months. I paid off my card at each bill date. Twelve months after having my capital one card I went to my bank and was approved for a $3000 credit card. One year after being approved with my second credit card, I was approved for a $16000 car loan.
As you can see it does take time to repair your credit, but if I did not pay off my debts Capital One would never have helped me start building my credit. Hope this helps

somerandomdude,

The six year rule depends on the creditor. The majority of debts I settled, the creditor did not change the date of last activity. In some cases; I had the creditor state in the settlement letter they will not change the date of last activity if I settle the debt.

Cheers

somerandomdude,

The six year rule depends on the creditor.The majority of debts i settled, the creditor did not change the date of last activity.In some cases i had the creditor state in the settlement letter not to change the date of last activity if i settle the debt.

Thanks for the advice Richard. The 6 year rule would be pretty unfair to those who pay off their collection item after a few years of it being added. If paying it off, in essence, resets the timer to 6 years then there basically isnt anything to be gained (aside from morally) to pay off a collection item. It pretty much puts you in a worse position than you were in before because now the item will take longer to purge from the system than it would have, had you just ignored it.

Last time I checked, it was 6 yrs from the date of last activity.

Monty (the CMA site webmaster) has a great DIY credit repair book, you should check it out for further help: /canadian-credit-repair-ebook.html

Thanks for your post Richard. Do you know how long it takes for the collection item to purge once paid? Is it 6 years from the time that the item is sent to the collection agency, or 3 years from the time the item is paid, or something else?

somerandomdude,

You cannot remove a collection item unless it is not accurate or verifiable. They will drop off as time passes naturally.

If you want tips for rebuilding your credit then read this: How to get good credit

Actuallly I believe that if they are paid that would reflect positively on your credit, just as if you had a loan and paid it off. What you should really be worrried about now is rebuilding your credit with a secured credit card.

Hi Janet,

Well they are in the "collection items" section and I would assume that having any collection items reported, whether or not they are paid, would negatively affect my credit score. I wan't these removed so that nothing appears under collection items in my credit report.