Last year, I had a credit score of 720, and today I checked my score, and it is down to 665. Eek! Now a lot has happened in the past year with my credit, and I don't know what to do to bring my score back up, so here's my situation...
Back in 2007 I first started out with 1 secured credit card through my bank, set at a limit of $300. About 6 months later I applied for a BP Gas Visa Card and was approved, and my limit with that started at $400. A year later (2008), I had increased the BP Visa card limit to $1200, but lost my secured credit card and had to get a new one reissued, however, the limit is still the same on that one.
April of 2008, I'm approved for a store credit card at New York & Co, with a limit of $500. I still haven't used it.
Oct of 2008, I receive a car as a gift from my parents, and immediately start car insurance payments, which I put on my BP Visa card. Since I've had these payments on it, the balance hovers around $900 now. I'm doing my best to lower this balance, but also in the past year I've taken a huge pay cut and am only working part time now.
Nov of 2008, my secured credit card info is stolen, and my bank closes it, and reissues me another card, still same limit ($300). They tell me that the balance on my closed card will be transferred to the new one, so I never use the new card that was sent to me because I'm waiting for my balance to be moved to it. However, that never happens, I call my bank and they tell me the same thing, and 3 months later, the bank calls me and asks me when I'm making a payment on that account....! Apparently they were wrong and I was supposed to be making payments on the account even though it was closed. So I pay off the entire account balance right then and there. I have now had this new card for 4 months, and have not once used it.
Also in Nov of 2008, I open a store credit card account at Macy's, because I started a job there and they require that you have one of their cards. I used that on a regular basis, but only make 1 purchase at a time and immediately pay it off after making a purchase.
So there's my credit history! What I WANT to do is cancel my New York & Co account, AND my secured credit card account with my bank, because I don't use either of those cards. But, would this be smart for me to do? Should I keep one or both? And is this just something that only time will heal? I have been on time with all of my bills, with the exception of that one account that was closed and still needed to be paid off for 3 months.
