Just some general repair questions

[vizon]

Hello everyone, I am a young person that has recently learned about how credit management and how to repair credit.

Fortunately, I am near squeaky clean. Considering I only have 2 cards, with VERY minimal amounts.

I had two charge offs, and a collection account. They were reporting on utilization, etc. Lovely for me, this month those have been sorted.

Now all I have to deal with are 2 30 day lates. One is on my GE Money (JC Penney) card, and one on my Bank of America. These go back to mid 2010 and I have no been late since. These are the ONLY negatives on my credit, but are also my ONLY lines of credit.

Two things: I have very small limits. My BOA is $500 (paid off in full) and my JCPENNEY is $230 (recently paid in full). I used to have a $500 on the JCPENNEY, but the lowered me on a reevaluation just this month. Well, just this past week all the bad guys were deleted. (Still waiting for one from Equifax, but the others have been missing since Saturday on Experian and TransUnion).

Now for the questions. I have a small business and applied for a merchant account. I was denied, so my rep told me to reapply for a merchants account with a bank reserve of 30%. I was approved. THAT WAS 2 hard pulls in less than 7 days. Second, on transunion I have 4 hard pulls from collection agency's which were from the deleted accounts. Letters are going out tomorrow asking them to remove these (as I read disputing them puts a fraud alert which I should steer clear). Secondly, I show some hard pulls at a car dealer ship on equifax (never applied...) Letter sent!

So now, I have $730 in credit that is revolving, with 0% utilization when the JCPenney updates with paid. I only show 30 days late twice ever, which was of course in 2010. I am sending good will letters to both companies with hopes of success.

I was recently denied for a Chase card in December which I am going to try and recon via contacts from myfico forum. Or should I just reapply for a slate? I SHOULD have a very decent credit now - to my knowledge. The negatives are the inquiries and two 30 days late.

ANOTHER thing. I have lost my wallet, which shows the lost or stolen on both the JC Penney and BOA account. Both show the 30 days on the lost or stolen AND on the current open account. Lately I was unable to find my JC Penney card (as I do not use it, and had a family member make a purchase without my consent) so I reported it, and got another. I am afraid of a 3rd 30 day for the only ONE REAL delinquency.

Spring time I am going to be purchasing a car. I want to be approved at Chase, my bank with some of the best rates I have found. Taking the MyFico estimator, I should be between 675-725. HOPEFULLY this is true, but we shall see. What am I doing wrong, or what should I do to bring myself to the best place possible? I think I need another card in good standing and I really want a Chase card.

All suggestions and replies are greatly appreciated.

EDIT: Lastly, where should I be purchasing a credit report? I was going to purchase this, for the 7 day trial and cancel http://www.creditchecktotal.com/ but as I read these are FAKO scores which aren't what mortgage lenders and car lenders use? I am not sure how this works. Where should I get my credit scores, that are accurate and helpful.

[llecs]

Welcome to the forums!

I'd suggest reading the following:

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

and Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.

IIRC, Chase doesn't like apps if denied within the past 6 months...I'd give it some time and make sure there are no baddies. If unsure about your score, then consider a FICO report from myFICO.com. The pos/neg reasons in that report are the same ones your creditors will see when you apply.

The double late reporting is normal. The history carries over to the new CC as it did from the old, and the old deletes in 2 years. The lost/stolen TL is fully scored.

Aside from repair, let everything age as much as possible before applying again. With just 2 CCs reporting, you can hit an 800 FICO score, provided balances are in check, there's long period (years) between apps, long history, baddie-free, etc.

When starting repair, pull your reports from annualcreditreport. If you used the free reports, just purchase them. Since you are pretty much done with repair, and no baddies are reporting aside from the 30s, this step isn't as important. I'd also pull both FICO reports because those reports will tell you what is and is not hurting your FICO. Finally, for ongoing review of your reports, I recommend a CMS. I've used creditchecktotal before they made changes to it. It's an OK service. If wanting to save $$$$ and get a better benefit out of it, you can also get the same via USAA. You don't have to have any accounts with them, and can easily sign up regardless of your military ot non-military past. Anyone can sign up. Their version of CCT allows you to pull daily all 3 reports and at half the price.

The scores from creditchecktotal are FAKOs called PLUS scores. It says in their website that PLUS scores are not used by any lenders. Ignore them. Nothing more than gimmicks, IMO. Ignore the advice too. But the report content is good and valid. If wanting to know FICO, then pull from here. If you apply through a big bank like Chase or through the dealer, then you'll find that they'll use an auto-enhanced FICO. YOu cannot buy this version of FICO from anywhere, though you'd have a greater shot at comparison by knowing your two FICOs from here. If you apply through a small bank or CU, then there's a good chance your FICO from myFICO would match your lender's score.