Brother screwed my credit and getting conflicting information
I currently have a 763 credit score as of 08/02 according to Experian, and I’m checking my FICO score through my bank app.
I used to have Spectrum Internet, but I cancelled my service around early May. I needed to return the equipment, but all the Spectrum stores around me are driving distance and I can’t drive. My brother offered to drop it off, but he kept forgetting. I hounded him about it and he said he would do it. But with everything that happened with my father passing and issues with school, I completely forgot about the equipment.
I just found out that he never dropped it off, and I got a text from Spectrum saying, “Return equipment to avoid further collection.”
I called Spectrum absolutely frantic, and the problem is that every time I get a new agent, I’m hearing completely different information. One agent told me it had already been sent to collections. Another said my account was just charged off but had not been sent to collections. Another said he couldn’t tell me. Then another said it was charged off around July and that today they sent it to collections. Another said it hadn’t been sent to collections and that I could still pay off the $180 balance. But then another agent said I couldn’t pay Spectrum and had to call the collection agency, but for some reason he couldn’t tell me which agency it was. Then another agent gave me the names of three different agencies?
At this point, I just decided to pay it the exact same day. The agent I was speaking with said she could get the debt recalled and have the charge-off removed, but I don’t know if that’s actually true because I keep getting completely different stories from every agent I talk to.
If my account was charged off back in July, shouldn’t it already be showing on my credit report? My credit score is still 763 right now.
What should I even do? I feel absolutely distraught and angry at myself. I feel like my life is over. I need private student loans because I’m planning to apply to medical school, God willing, by 2029. If this gets reported to my credit, I know it could stay there for seven years. Will my credit score ever be able to get back above 700 or even 720 before those seven years are up? Am I basically going to be barred from ever getting a private student loan? Is my dream of going to medical school over?
It’s already hard enough to get a private student loan without a cosigner. The only person I have who could potentially cosign is my mom, and her credit score is probably in the upper 600s at best. What if that isn’t enough?
I only have one credit card, and I’ve had it for about three years. I’ve always paid my bill on time and have never had any issues with it.
Should I open another credit card and just use it for small purchases to help build my credit? I know this is all confusing. I just don’t know what to do right now. I'm so distraught I completely lost my appetite