This is my personal experience; results vary. I earn revenue from purchases of the Rental Owner Studio products linked below.
Late student-loan payments and three collections brought my credit score into the 500s. It took about a year and a half to reach around 700. All three collections eventually came off my reports, but the student-loan late payments stayed.
I primarily tracked my progress with myFICO because I could see both my general credit scores and mortgage scores. They did not improve at the same pace. Check a plan’s score coverage before paying for it.
In this article
My starting point: late payments and three collections
To see your own starting point, get your reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. Free weekly reports are available from all three nationwide bureaus. They show the accounts behind your scores.
I started with a Capital One secured card
I started with a Capital One secured card: a $500 deposit and a $500 limit. I put about $200 on it each month and paid it off in full.
Capital One took about two years to move the card to unsecured and raised the limit to only $800. My score reached around 700 before that happened. The slow card upgrade did not stop me from keeping the payment habit.
Credit note: FICO considers the age and severity of late payments alongside positive history. A new card alone does not guarantee an increase.
Balance note: Monthly spending and the reported balance are different. If $200 were reported on a $500 limit, utilization would be 40%. Paying in full does not guarantee a zero reported balance; reporting timing matters.
I tried Lexington Law for over a year, too
I was willing to try anything, so I used Lexington Law for over a year. During that time, they did not get a single item removed from my reports. Writing letters and calling myself worked better for me.
I wrote dispute letters about the collections
I wrote dispute letters about the collections. Some came off that way. For those that stayed, I called the collectors.
Dispute note: Dispute information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete, explain why and include supporting documents. The CFPB offers free instructions and sample letters. A paid template is optional and cannot guarantee removal.
Credit dispute and other credit letter templates
My Etsy kit includes eight editable credit letters. Choose the one that fits your situation and fill it with accurate details. Disputes, goodwill requests and debt-validation letters serve different purposes.
See my credit letter kit on Etsy →Buying a template is optional. No deletion, score increase or approval is guaranteed.
For the remaining collections, I called about pay for delete
When a dispute did not work, I asked whether the collector would accept a smaller payment and remove the collection—often called “pay for delete.” One was a $600 energy bill I had forgotten about. I negotiated it down to $400, and the collection came off within about 15 days.
Collectors may decline deletion requests. Settling a debt and removing its collection entry are different outcomes.
Before paying, confirm the debt and get the terms and promises in writing. The CFPB explains how to negotiate a settlement.
Acknowledging or partially paying old debt can restart the lawsuit deadline in some states. That deadline differs from the credit-reporting period. Check the rules for older debts before acting.
Forgiven debt can create taxable income, with exceptions and exclusions. Check the IRS guidance on canceled debt for your situation.
The late student-loan payments did not budge
The student-loan late payments were the frustrating part. They stayed even after the collections came off. I kept building a better payment record while they were still there.
Reporting note: Accurate negative history generally cannot simply be removed. Negative payment history can generally remain for up to seven years.
I now have more card options, but the habit is the same
I now have a Discover card, a Chase Sapphire Reserve and a Capital One business card. I’m continuing to build positive payment history. More cards do not erase old late payments, and I would not treat an app’s “on-time payment percentage” as the whole scoring formula.
Business-card note: Capital One’s reporting varies by card. Check whether yours reports routine activity to personal bureaus before assuming it builds personal credit.
For organizing bills, I offer a paycheck-budget tracker and debt-payoff spreadsheet. A calendar or your own spreadsheet can also work.
Getting to around 700 did not solve my mortgage-score problem
When I sought financing, many banks wanted a mortgage score around 680, and mine was lower. I looked for lenders willing to consider my income and broader application.
I bought my personal home with an FHA loan in 2025. I’m now seeing my mortgage score improve, although I cannot attribute that change to the mortgage alone.
Mortgage-score note: Lenders use different score versions. A score in an app may differ from theirs, and 680 is not a universal minimum.
My FHA home purchase was separate from my rental financing. Read how I financed my first rental with a 590 mortgage score and later moved an established portfolio to a larger bank.
What I would take from my experience
- Start with the actual reports. Know which accounts and late payments you are dealing with.
- Build a payment habit you can maintain. My secured card and paying it off each month were part of that.
- Understand the difference between disputing and settling. Not every collection was resolved the same way.
- Expect some negative history to stay. My student-loan late payments did.
- Check the score relevant to your goal. Around 700 on one score did not mean my mortgage score was there too.
Personal experience shared by Josie. Updated October 9, 2026. Educational information for U.S. readers; results vary.