OMG!!! I'm literally still shaking so I apologize if this isn't the right place to post this and I'm sorry it's so long. Today was literally the best day of my life since my kids were born. Like most of you here, I have been fighting with my credit for the majority of my adult life. I can never seem to get a strong foothold. The wear and tear on my heart and mind from hearing the word no again and again was sometimes more than I could bear. I have a good life...a wonderful wife and 3 tremendous children. I've been fortunate to have a good, stable job and a nice home in a good neighborhood. However, I have worn the scarlet letter of bad credit for so long it was hard to not feel like a loser. It was in September, when we bought our latest vehicle with yet another high interest loan that I swore NEVER AGAIN! I began researching how to fix our credit in early October. I started browsing this board as well as others for ideas. Once I learned I was not alone, I got the courage to start posting here. I wrote letters and disputed accounts on our reports. We slowly began to qualify for new lines of credit...mostly small store cards. All major banks turned us down(we already had cards with Cap1). It was then that I made the best decision of my financial life...I joined DCU. I was skeptical for obvious reasons...but I opened checking and savings and began having a portion of my paycheck deposited there. I figured, what do I have to lose? Today started with 2 letters from Commenity. One for me(Sports Authority) and one for DW(HSN). They were both verification letters. We each called in and answered the security questions. I was approved for $750 and DW was approved for $1750! I was over the moon! A few hours later, I logged into my DCU account and saw I had a message. It was my Fico update. My EQ score was up to 598(my lowest). I thought about it and decided to call DCU to get some information about their products. I knew they offered a secured card and although I have 2 Cap1 QS cards and a secured card with USAA I fugured it would be a good in with DCU. I spent the next 90 minutes on the phone with a young lady named Jessica who was about to change my life. After a brief discussion about the secured card, I asked her about auto loans. I was declined by a few dealerships JUST LAST WEEK so I was not optimistic. I told her I just got my Fico score and told her what it was. She assured me that DCU looks at many different factors when processing loan applications. I was hesitant to have nother HP done but decided to go ahead. After reviewing all of the information, She informed me that my refinance was approved! My 3 month old loan with Cap1 at 16.9% went from 69 payments at $498 to 53 payments at $469. I asked what the rate was and she said 5.74%! I nearly fell over. Wait...it gets better. She said I noticed on your credit report that you have another auto loan. Would you be interested in refinancing that one as well? I said I was actually hoping to trade that in and get a new car. She asked me how much I wanted and put me on hold. 5 minutes later...BOOM! Approved for $30,000 at the same rate of 5.74%! Again, I nearly fainted. Then she really got ridiculous and said she talked to the underwriter and also got me approved for a DCU Visa with 0% interest for 6 months! It's only a $2000 SL but it's my highest yet! All this came out of me wanting more information on a secured card. Of course, I wouldn't have known any of this was possible or that DCU even existed if not for the wonderful people here. I can't thank you enough for the wisdom and encouragement you've given me either directly or indirectly. I haven't felt this happy in a really long time. Perhaps the best news is that I am still very early in my rebuilding stage and today has given me the push I needed to keep fighting the good fight. Thanks all! Brian.
