No luck getting a credit card!

[Anonymous]

After many yeard my credit is is finally improving!  My Experian score is 706 (all time low was 425!). 

Negatives on my account:

-HSN Credit Card which was charged off in 2006 however I did set up regular payments with the CA and paid it off completely in 2009

-Macy's store card- $189 was written off in 2006.  Macy's state they no longer own it and reffered me to a CA.  That CA stated they did not own and.  No other CA has ever contacted me in regards to it.

-Wells Fargo CC- I colsed it in 2006 because I was having a hard time paying it but I did pay it all off in 2006 even though I have several late payments.

-US Dept of Ed Loan- Opened 2005, did have several late payments but it was paid in ful in 2010.

Positives on my account:

First Premier CC.  Owned it from 2007 to 2009 but I closed it because they refused to raise my credit limit from the original $250 even though I never made one late payment and utillization was always below 25% yet they were charge me a high yearly fee.

Orchard CC- opened in 2008 and still open.  Never made one late payment.  Balance due = $0.  Still have the original $300 limit, they won't raise me

American General- took out $3,000 loan in 2009 and never made one late payment.  Paid it off llast month.

My last late payment on any account was over three years ago.

I just applied for a TD Bank Credit Card.  Being that TD Bank was where my checking and savings account is (and I never bounced a check in my life) I thought I would have better luck however they just denied me.  

So with a score of 706 and no late payments in over 3 years, why am I still being denied?????

[John060675]

I am not sure of the criteria for the TD credit card, but it might be worth contacting them asking for a reconsideration.  Speak to a supervisor and just explain the same thing to them that you did to us.  It definitely would increase your chance of acceptance, and at worst the supervisor might be able to give you more information on why you were declined.

One more thing, where did you get your Experian score?  If you did not have a lender pull it, then it is probably a FAKO score.  People on the forums here state that the Experian FAKO scores can be off by as much as 100 points from their real FICO score.  This might be the problem too.

[Anonymous]

Would it be better to contact hem on the phone or in writing?

The 706 score was given to be by TD Bank on the denial letter and it states it is from Experian.  Today I pulled my Equifax score on this site (MyFico) and it states that the score is 659.

If TD Bank won't give me a card, who else might?  In about a year I want to start looking at buying a house so I want to add another open account in good standing becaue the only open account now in my Orchard card.  My CL is $300 and my balance due is $0 and the card was opened in 2008.  Orchard has a freeze on credit increases now because HSBC is in the process of taking them over.  And my American General loan states that the account is still open even though I paid it off last month.  That was opened in 2009.

[Anonymous]

Any other advice?

[llecs]

Some creditors are picky on past baddies. I recently got denied by Chase because I had a 60 day late at 6.5 years old. Go figure.

You might benefit from rebuilding your credit by sending GWs where needed. That'll improve your odds if some of those baddie get deleted. Aside from that, try a secured CC for your second opened CC. You get to control the limit and you'd limit the inquiries.

CCs can deny for many reasons. Presence of the baddies might be an issue. Util another. Your DTI which isn't a part of FICO scoring might come into play. Lack of credit history with the one account open now would be another. I'd look at the denial reason and go off of that. Also, pull both TU and EQ FICO scores and apply based on the strongest report. Some creditors like to stick to one CRA and you can be more selective that way.

BTW, When both of my FICOs were 730-750, I also applied for TD as well and was also denied. I can't remember the denial reason though. Could be # of inquiries.

[Anonymous]

I've tried several GWs on what is left on my CRs (what is left is listed on my first post) however they won't budge.  I was able to get several off but not these.  I was hoping not to go the secured card route, I thought it may be a step backwards.  I was hoping to get a card where the limit could be raised.  Orchard Bank hasn't budged on raising in once these past three years an now they put a freeze on the limit increases.

[NikJ4]

Try a different company

[Anonymous]

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@NikJ4 wrote:

Try a different company

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Yes, I will try another company once I speak with TD Bank.  But what my question to everyone is, what other unsecured cards might I try for?  I am looking for feedback on other people's experiences.

[Fleurdelis28]

Have you tried Discover? A few years ago, I had a CO account with them in which they actually obtained a judgment and started garnishing my wages. It has since fallen off of my reports but I did recently receive a pre-approval from them to apply for another card. I have not yet taken advantage of that so I can't tell you the end result, however, I imagine they aren't that difficult to get approvals with, especially with your scores. Just a thought...

[Anonymous]

I don't think the freeze for HSBC is true.  I've gotten my Orchard Bank CL increased in the past 6-8 months and I just got notification of my latest increase last week.