UPDATE: To date I have been CLD'ed on:
OldnavyAmazonWalmart( last night)TJmaxx( this morning)- Banana Republic and Lord and Taylor sure to follow........ I wrote a letter and will be emailing the EO! This is so frustrating, but truthfully, I dont feel the same way anymore, just kind on numb.
Ok- I'm so totally frustrated and embarrassed... I want to kick rocks and cry at the same time!
I have been trying my best to be a good steward of my credit--- timely payments,etc. However, over the last few months I've been CLD by GE on my Oldnavy card from $500 to $200 and just this morning I checked and I've been dinged by Amazon from $500 to $130!!! I just made a purchase that has taken my balance to $121, leaving me with a whopping credit limit of $8!
These are the potential factors:
- A change to my credit report with a tax bill, that's incorrect and I'm trying to handle
- My overall utilization is high (I'm paying everything down within three months)
Additionally, my score has taken a major dive and I've gone from the mid 600's to the mid 500's.
I learned so much here- but this is just so frustrating and discouraging.
What should I do to get back on track ?--- fight to reverse, or just sit back and wait for another ax to fall.
I need some encouragement,sage advise or just pity
PS: For all those new to MyFico, its important to have a plan... I think that because I didn't ( follow the link below to see my story) I'm experiencing these negative occurrences.
That stinks but don't lt yourself get annoyed and cancel the cards. Wait for the tax thing to be resolved and petition to have your limits restored.
Rebuilding is a slow, and occasionally ugly, process. Keep fighting!
Starting Score: 675Thank you for your kind words.. It does suck and I'm so trying! I just dont know what to do
-- when you get this far and begin to see the light at the end - then its blocked... man-o-man!
You already have 15 accounts.
Let time do its thing and don't buy into the crazy thinking that a prime card will magically make your life better. Inquiries hang around 2 years and there's no point wasting them to get the I've arrived feeling with a low limit Freedom, Citi, Discover, etc... card that won't grow for a long time.
Aside from getting the tax record removed from all 4 agencies *; I'd reccomment paying before statements close so your utilization can be under 9%. You may actually be a lot closer to better scores after those two issues are taken care of.
Keeping up with closing and posting dates is important. I let balances report and dropped 31 points two days ago, LOL! Closing date can be gotten from online statements or customer service. I track posting dates with Score Watch and Credit karma. My report is clean following repair and time but the score still fluctuates a great deal.
Also, you may be trading utilization for age on the AU cards if they belong to someone who either carries a balance or pays after statements cut. It's sort of a touchy conversation to have with someone who has extended AU to you but.... you really can't tell if their account will help without knowing if they carry a balance and payment style.
* Everyone forgets Innovis.
Innovis is one that slips under the radar. They're primarily used by mortgage companies and don't provide on-line credit reports. Getting a report from them is supposed to be easy: I've tried twice and nothing ever came in the mail, LOL!
Wow. Thanks I just printed and bookmarked your reply-- I'm going to use it as my cheatsheet. Yeah 15 accounts--- I know wish I'd found this site before-- like I said in my orginal post--- I had no clue. I didnt have a plan and didnt even know you could have one!
Never heard of Innovis before-- headed to google now Trying not feel defeated and this really helps... Thanks again.
OP,
As some of the other posters recommend, you need to not do things to make things worse. As your scores have dropped, certain creditors will start jumping ship. It's the time where you can see which ones (if any) will stick by you. So you need to not give them more reason to worry. Once your tax stuff is taken care of on your credit report, you can fix everything. In terms of tangible advice:
1) GE has already jumped ship: Do not use any GE backed cards now as I expect them to CLD to your balance owed or outright close your accounts with balances which would be a disaster credit wise. You need to pay down GE balances ASAP to 0.
2) Keep reported utilization to ideal: You don't usually need to manage your credit so closely to manage your reported utilization to maximize score. Really you only need to do it a month before you apply for credit. However, in your case, you have to treat the next few months like you are applying for credit constantly and maximize your score. If you can't afford to have ideal reported utilization (0 on all cards but one), please outline your outstanding balances and how much you can pay down each month. I can then recommend what order to pay things down in.
3) Tax Issue: Obviously, start dealing this this.
LIMITS IN CARD DESCRIPTIONS