Fico score dropped 60 points -Desperately Need Advise!

[Anonymous]

I am desperate for help.  I have been watching my fico score very careful for the past couple of months and have watched my score go from 633 to 673 in a matter of 6 to eights weeks.  I've been paying down balances and checking carefully to make sure all my (i)'s are dotted and (t)'s crossed.  Several accounts are down to 0 balance and most accounts are setup on automatic pay each month.   I have two cap one accounts that I thought were 0 balance until I received a notification from Fico score watch today saying I had missed payments on two accounts.  1 account listed as 1 month late and the other cap 1 account listed as 2 months late.  Upon checking into the matter, I discovered that I had been chared for a creditwate product that I though was cancelled and the other account had been hit with an annual membership feed, both now past due because I was not aware of the charges  and I don't recall receiving a bill.  Please help, what can I do to recover my points that were lost and resolve the issue with cap1.  I have not been late on any account for 3 years and the one's thre years ago are disputable, which I plan to pursure.  I was constantly watching my for my score to go the the 700 mark.  This is such a set back.  I was planning to purchase a new car as soon as my score reached 700 so I could take advantage of the better interest rates.  I am so upset I don't know what to do. 

[Tuscani]

Did you call CAP1 and explain the situation?

[Anonymous]

Hi Tuscani,

Thanks for your response.  I have read where you have given such great advice to people to help with their situations.  I will be call Cap 1 this morning.  I called yesterday and was told that my account has been sent to their collection department as I would have to talk to that dept to settle the problem. That department was closed for the holiday.   Any advice in talking to them?  I am aiming to have all late fees removed and I will pay them in full for whatever the balance is.  Once they agree to remove the late fees due to my explanation, should I then contact the CRA to dispute the lates or should I ask Cap 1 to report information that would take care of this problem. I'm thinking that it is somethingt that would have to be handled in two parts.  Please advise as to the best method to approach this situation.????  Is there anythink else I should mention in trying to resolve this problem?  Thanks for your help.

[Tuscani]

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curious1 wrote:

Hi Tuscani,

Thanks for your response.  I have read where you have given such great advice to people to help with their situations.  I will be call Cap 1 this morning.  I called yesterday and was told that my account has been sent to their collection department as I would have to talk to that dept to settle the problem. That department was closed for the holiday.   Any advice in talking to them?  I am aiming to have all late fees removed and I will pay them in full for whatever the balance is.  Once they agree to remove the late fees due to my explanation, should I then contact the CRA to dispute the lates or should I ask Cap 1 to report information that would take care of this problem. I'm thinking that it is somethingt that would have to be handled in two parts.  Please advise as to the best method to approach this situation.????  Is there anythink else I should mention in trying to resolve this problem?  Thanks for your help.

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You should not have to contact the CRAs if they agree to delete. Just remember it can take 30 days for your reports to reflect the change. Keep us updated.

[Anonymous]

Hope you have good luck getting theses deleted. Every one should be aware of annual fees. If you have all your cards on autopay and don't check the bills often it is very easy for an annual fee to slip by on an unused card. I had a similar situation with a US Air card from BOA. I waITED UNTIL AFTER i CANCELLED THE CARD to try and have it removed-big mistake. BOA bank mgr said that therefore I had to deal through the reporting bureaus instead of with the bank. No luck in disputing it that way. Eventually I wrote the bank, but never recieved a reply. While you are trying to have these removed work on positive info to offset. Maybe you can have some of your limits increased by calling the cards you already have.

[Anonymous]

curious1,

Do you have your Capital One accounts set up online?   That way you can keep all your bills current and know what charges, if any, are being added to your accounts before Scorewatch gets the information.

SandyK

[Anonymous]

Hi Tuscani,

Thanks for your help.  I called Cap1 and explained my situation and I was transferred to a supervisor that was very understanding in working with me to resolve the situation.  The rep reviewed my account and saw that I was at zero balance until the membership fee posted.  They offered to waive all late fees as well as the membership fee for this year to bring the account back to 0. The same courtesy was extended on the 2nd Cap1 account since the account was zero balance before a payment protection fee and a credit inform fee posted to the account. 

The credit inform service had been cancelled months ago but was still posting to the account.  I was waiting for my account to reflect the adjustment before I reported back to the board.  She was very kind and also offered to send a fax to anyone whom I was seeking credit from if it was needed before my update is reported to the CRA.  I accepted the offer and considered myself lucky.  The 60 poinst drop in my score really took a lot out of me. 

I'm okay now and plan to watch all my accounts  more careful. Do you have an idea if I will recover the full 60 points lost once the update is reported to the CRA?  Thanks for all your help!

[Anonymous]

Hi Sandy,

Thanks for your input.  I do have the Cap1 accounts setup on the Cap1 online site.  Unfortunately, they don't have auto pay each month.  I was utilizing the mycheckfree service previously but as of the first of '07 they no longer processed Cap1 payments as well as about 5 of my other credit cards.  The mychedkfree service has really been my friend.  I would set the payment to repeat each month and would receive notification via email each month a new bill was posted.  I plan to watch all of my accounts more careful whether I have a balance or not.  Thanks!

[Tuscani]

Awesome!

[Anonymous]

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curious1 wrote:

I plan to watch all of my accounts more careful whether I have a balance or not.  Thanks!

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This makes good sense.  We really shouldn't rely blindly on autopayment or scorewatch products, IMHO. Nothing beats going online and checking your accounts once a week.  You can monitor if any new charges have been added and confirm that your payments have posted.