Score Of 580....Who Will Aprrove Me?

[Anonymous]

Hi - I'm new to posting...but have been on the forum for the last couple of months.....amazing information here...thanks to everyone that shares!!! I just started getting serious about my credit in Jan.....started off with 540 in Jan....then went up to 610 this month.....then just yesterday it went to 580....I guess there was a balance increase...which I have already paid to lower it....i was really happy with the 610....I hope it goes back soon. Anyway...I'm just wondering what cards I would be approved for....I applied to WAMU last week for a personal card, but was declined.....I also applied for a biz card & that is still being processed.....the person said that at least it was still being processed and that was a good sign. But what other cards are out there that I could get approved for....I currently have an Orchard CC...and I just received a CreditOne CC. I basically need them for biz & would pay them every other week or more. Also....I have the EquiFax credit reporting......and it does not tell me when things will drop....what date should I look at to see when things will drop? If I pay these accounts off....will the 7 years start all over again? Am I better to just wait for them to drop? Any suggestions? Sorry about all the questions......ever since signing up for myfico.com I have been watching my score like the stock market! I really want to get my score up there and I'm doing everything possible...any help would be great!! thanks again!!

[marty56]

You should check out www.whogavemecredit.com.  Also late payment history falls off in about 7 years from the date of first late.  Paying it off has no affect on this.  I have never had a collection so I am not sure about them.  The fastest way to improve your score is to pay down oustanding CC balnce to bellow 10% and only have one card report a balance.  Time is the next thing to improve your score.  Always pay on time.  2 years of clean payment history can really make a difference so be patient.

[Anonymous]

thank you so much for getting back to me!! so.....you don't think it would help my score if i were to pay off those CC that have been "charged off".....that were opened in 2003? It seems that many of them were charged off around 03 or 04. I have one CC that is now with a collection group that keeps on reporting a balance increase each month. Many of my older accounts that have been charged off have not reported any new information since 2003-2004....what can i do about those? I just submitted a dispute letter with EQ this week...then my score dropped 30 points...sucks You also mentioned paying down balances.......so pay off current CC so there is only a balance of 10% of credit line? Thanks so much for all the information!!!

[marty56]

Paying off an account in collections wont help your score.  Those are handled by using a Pay for Delete (PFD). I have not been in that situation but many people here have been so they may be able to help you.

Only pay down accounts that are still with the OC.  Accounts that are in collection must be handled with PFD.

[marty56]

Look for info on how people here deal with charge offs/collections here.

[Anonymous]

thanks for getting back to me.....PFD really works? There is a letter you have to send them to have them do this right? I paid off a couple of accounts that were in collections last year...but I did not know about the PFD option...wish I did. How does one go about using the PFD option? I think there is a sample letter on this forum......what are the steps to take to make sure they actually do this? Do you need the letter.....I have heard that you can write something on back of the check that says that if they cash the check they have to delete the account info.....it can be so confusing! Thanks again for all the help...before I joined this forum...I had no idea what was going on out there

[marty56]

Please post a question the the Rebuilding section with a subject like:

Need Help in doing a PFD

[creditreformer]

580 probably leaves you in the orchard and hsbc (you can have cards w/both), cap 1, target red, etc. realms.  check whogavemecredit- you can search by scores or names.  you may want to try apping for a BA cc.  if you get denied you MAY (but no guarantee) get an offer for what's known as their 99/500 cc.  basically you put up 99, BA gives you a CL of 500.  in 6-12 mos. you will get your 99 back and the cc will graduate to 'unsecured' and BA will likely give you a nice CLI.

btw, some cos. have 'soft pull/preapproval' pages...bank of america, cap 1, hsbc, orchard, amex, and wamu (possibly- unsure if they still have the soft pull, preapproval pages) that will give you an idea if you're likely to be approved for their ccs. *caution- some cos. (amex for ex.) will blacklist you, so if you've burned them in the recent past, don't expect to get a cc w/them.

just a fyi on how important paying your ccs off in full is.  up until 4/08, i had 4 ccs w/a whopping CL of 1.2k lol  total balance was roughly 700 for 1.5 months due to an emergency.  paid all 4 ccs off and w/o anything else changing on my reports (e.g., no old bads coming off), my score rose 70+ points!

time's your friend.  if you can get any old baddies off (ex., late pays through goodwill letters, etc.), try to do it.  low utilization, pay in full, avoid lates/overlimits/etc. and a little patience goes a long way. as someone said, 2-3+ yrs of 'perfect history' goes a long way, but depending on the nature of your baddies (tax liens, defaulted loans, defaulted ccs, etc.), it may take more than 'get a new cc' to raise your scores.

[Anonymous]

again thank you! i have heard b of a was a good place to start.....should i just go to their site and apply there? what gets me is that i was at 610 for a couple of weeks.....now 580...uggghhhhhhhh. should i pay off accounts that are with collection agencies? the last activity was in 2003. if so...ask them to delete for payment? i have a capital one card that has been charged off....so i take it i should not apply there again...should i pay that one off....even if it's been since 2003? all this information is so great.....but it gets overwhelming at times! so.....should i try b of a?

[creditreformer]

i'd try the 'soft pull' sites i mentioned- ba, cap 1 (some people like them, some hate them...they've been ok to me), amex, hsbc, etc. and see if any 'preapprovals' come up.  BA has 2 secured options- (1) $ for $ cc- basically you put up 300-10k and that's your limit.  you can add to this acct.  (2) the BA 99/500.  this is an invite only card and only is offered (and only offered to SOME) after you apply for their 'regular' ccs.  i apped for the platinum plus mc and got denied in late 4/08.  however, right after i apped, the 99/500 offer came up.  @ the time of approval, my ficos were 580.  they're now in the mid 650s and it's only been a few wks since i apped.  if only i'd had known.  then again, maybe BA wouldn't have offered me the 99/500 had i waited?  it's really hit and miss and no one's cracked the '99/500 code.'  BA is a prime bank and unlike orchard, first premier, etc., the card will grow w/you.  today's 500 CL may turn into 1000s if you treat BA right.  you could also get a secured card w/usa bank, citibank, or another bank, but you'd need to put up some $ for that.

cap 1 will possibly give you another cc even if you've got a chargeoff.  however, i did not apply for any new ccs while chargeoffs were on my reports, so can't speak to whether cap 1 would deny you.  are your old debts still within the statute of limitations?  very important to know that.  if you try pay for delete, get the agreement in WRITING and get it BEFORE you pay off.  many collection agencies are sleazy and will tell you 1 thing and take your $ and NOT pay for delete.  it's a personal choice- some people say 'i'm not paying if i'm out of statute of limitations' b/c they think it won't help their score or b/c collection agencies lie.  others say 'well i incurred the debt, so should pay what i owe.'  others say 'well, i can use the $ i have now to start rebuilding credit with new companies.'  only you can decide what's best for you.

some like to get new credit and repair @ the same time, but i focused more on repairing first and getting my finances in order (learning to budget/lived w/o ccs for many years, etc.) and then have been taking 'baby steps' for the past 1.5 yrs w/new ccs.  try not to get too hung up on your ficos...being able to manage $ right is more important for now.

1 word of caution that i wish i knew back then...just b/c you CAN take ccs doesn't mean you should.  having a lot of ccs can help your utilization/tradelines, but there comes a point where it can also deter new lenders from touching you.  ex., if you have 4-6 low limit ccs (think 200-500 cls) and that's all you have, lenders may think 'subprime' even if your scores are good.  also, some lenders may be BK unfriendly or deny you b/c of things like tax liens.

Message Edited by creditreformer on 05-18-2008 02:45 PM