50 Point Drop!!! (And I Am An Idiot)

[Boldilocks]

I've been here lurking, reading, learning - posting sometimes - and I thought that we were playing the game pretty well.  Got rid of some duplicates and errors, found the right cc to apply for through here (and got it - first cc we have qualified for in the 8 years I have been married to DH), found that by paying off some old collections they would drop off right away (Living in NY state where the drop off for paid is 5 years not 7), etc.

Since I've been taking this seriously (Feb - Ex 543, Eq 543, Tu 554) I had managed to get our scores up a good bit (Ex 568, Eq 610, Tu 579).  I got an alert yesterday that a dispute I had made with Experian had been resolved and the collection had been deleted, so I pulled the reports today.

Unfortunately something else had happened today.  I got our cc statement.  We hadn't used the card since getting it in Feb, but a car thing came up and we thought it was a good opportiunity to use the card and PIF when the statement came.  There was my mistake as you experts will have noted - I'm an idiot.  Statement came today, balance due $282 (on the $300 Orchard card) by 05/05/09.  "No problem," I thought, "I'll just go online and pay it now."  Pulled the reports at the same time and nearly fell off my chair.  Feverish reading of these boards has since informed me that the balance due date means nothing (until today it said balance due was $0) and that you have to pay it off before the statement is sent.  When will I learn that this credit building thing doesn't need  to make sense - of course by some esoteric rule zero balance due actually means $282 due!

How did I not know this?  I am such an idiot!

DH is really upset (well, he's not as upset as I am truly, but about as upset as he gets about these things.  I married into bad credit, and he is typically the more lax one).  Across the board we have dropped Ex 517 (down 51), Eq 574 (down 36), and TU stayed the same.  

If I PIF now and continue to PIF as soon as we use the card (though I am so tempted to sock drawer it right now, but I know we need to play the game) will we get these points back?  How long will it take to claw our way back? 

We were hoping to buy a house in a year and this is just so discouraging.  DH transferred (he works for the State) from Long Island (ridiculously expensive) to upstate NY and even with the economy the way it is, our finances are so much better now.  Now we pay just $650 a month for a 3 bed 2 bath house, as opposed to $1400 a month for a 2 bed 1 bath mouldy windowless *basement* apartment down on LI - our debt to income is about 15% now and we really thought we were getting on track.  But what's the point of having more money and doing better when your credit is in the toilet??

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The one sliver lining, I suppose, is that I applied for the Target store card (we didn't have one in our mix) a couple of days ago and they pulled Eq when it was still 610.  We got the "we need more time to process" message, but hopefully we can still get that.

Message Edited by Boldilocks on 04-11-2009 09:49 AM

[Anonymous]

Where did you get these scores? They sound like FAKOs.

If the score hit came from util and not from a late payment (which is what I think you were saying) then you'll regain some points once it is paid down.

If this is an HSBC card, they report to the CRA on the last business day of the month and report your balance that you have ON that day.

If this is your only card, let less than 9% report, but at least 1%.

[Anonymous]

That score is going to shoot right back up if you pay off the card. Once you pay it off this month and see your scores go back up, try and charge only $10.00 a month for a good 6 months to a year.  I now this sounds silly and also like a heck of a long time, but if you do this your score should move up by a couple points each month. Three reasons: Old bad debt is now aging and having less effect, you are paying on time showing current responsibility, and most importantly you are keeping an extremely low utilization. Fair Isaac likes this even better than having a zero balance. Don't ask me why?  Please. Please. Please. What ever you do do not apply for ANY new credit. This will decrease you score again and give you a huge mental set back. 

I speak from experience. I went from a score of 557 Eq last April to as of this morning 635 Eq.  It is such a mental boost to go over the 620 mark.  For those who have never hovered in the low 500's it would be hard to understand.  Truthfully, I think it is a blessing that it has taken me this long to get here.  If I had jumped up fast after only making a few changes I don't think I would have really fathomed the importance of truly managing credit and the importance/benefits of paying on time. 

Hope this helps. Your doing awesome. We're doing awesome.

[nothingman02]

About HSBC reporting though,

My orchard secured statement cuts every month on the 8th and the balance is updated with the CRAs between 10th and 17th depending upon the CRAs. Experian always updates first followed by the other two by 17th. But the payment history is still not reflecting the last two months despite the balance reported being current. 

[Anonymous]

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nothingman02 wrote:

About HSBC reporting though,

My orchard secured statement cuts every month on the 8th and the balance is updated with the CRAs between 10th and 17th depending upon the CRAs. Experian always updates first followed by the other two by 17th. But the payment history is still not reflecting the last two months despite the balance reported being current. 

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The secured cards may be different. I have an unsecured Orchard and it reports what the balance is on the last business day of the month.

Check your balance on the last business day of the month and see if that is what gets reported in May.

[nothingman02]

Will check again.

[Boldilocks]

Thank you twoboysmom - you made me cry!  It's so frustrating, esp when your score is already very low (as you understand).

I had intended to keep util between 1% and 9%, but someone on the board advised me just to use it and then PIF every month because the CL was so low.  Dunno - I'm going to err or the side of caution from now on and just keep it below 10%.

I heard someone here say before that HSBC reports at the end/start of the m,onth too.  But my statement date is the 4th, and the balance said zero up until yesterday (11th).  Maybe it isn't such a hard and fast rule?  (It's not a secured card).  I think keeping the util below 10% at all times until I get a better handle on when they issue a new balance and report our balance is definitely a good idea!  

I feel better today - thank you for the replies.  It can be such a solitary process I think, credit rebuilding, that sometimes it's good to reach out and realisde that you're not alone.

[Anonymous]

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Boldilocks wrote:

Thank you twoboysmom - you made me cry!  It's so frustrating, esp when your score is already very low (as you understand).

I had intended to keep util between 1% and 9%, but someone on the board advised me just to use it and then PIF every month because the CL was so low.  Dunno - I'm going to err or the side of caution from now on and just keep it below 10%.

 What you do/don't use on your card each month is not a factor in scoring. What gets reported is what is a factor.

I heard someone here say before that HSBC reports at the end/start of the m,onth too.  But my statement date is the 4th, and the balance said zero up until yesterday (11th).  Maybe it isn't such a hard and fast rule?  (It's not a secured card).  I think keeping the util below 10% at all times until I get a better handle on when they issue a new balance and report our balance is definitely a good idea!  

Do you have online account management for your card? If so, watch your balance there. Make sure and pay it down before the last business day of the month, because whatever your balance is on that day is what is reported. Doesn't matter what you statement balance is. It takes a few days for a payment to post to your account when making ahead of time, so make sure and post it early. For instance, this last month I didn't get a payment scheduled in time, so paid $13 for rush payment, which posted my payment the next day to keep my balance from reporting. Normally I would do this but I am in the middle of buying a home and don't want a balance to report. A $13 balance reported because that was charged to my account, which is fine. Better than a $250 balance reporting.

I feel better today - thank you for the replies.  It can be such a solitary process I think, credit rebuilding, that sometimes it's good to reach out and realisde that you're not alone.

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My first 6 months of having CC my score was horrible due to util and figuring out when each report and what balance they report. I've finally got it all figured out(I think) and know when each needs to be paid to avoid a balance being reported.

If util is all that lowered your score, you'll bounce back. I'm higher now than I was.