granny031350 wrote:Ok, I will try not to ramble here. I have read everything I can in this forum about credit scoring and about buckets and scorecards etc. I am currently in a chapter 13 BK but am at the end of it and will be discharged by August. My current scores from the My Fico are TU/ 556 Equifax 544 and Experian 585. I thought not bad for being in BK. LOL I have opened a few of those sub prime cc with fees to help with my rebuild. Ok, so2. Even though the cc's I currently have are considered bottom feeders with fees, will the ontime payments and low utilization increase my score as well? (does it matter to Fico that they are the pond scum of credit cards?)
I agree with Timothy about moving your post to the BK board. There's a lot of specialized info over there. You can just copy your current post, start a new thread over there, and paste this on, or you can click the options button and select "report abuse to a moderator." This isn't abuse, of course, but that's how you get their attention, unless they just happen to read this.
As for your current cc's, no, FICO does not penalize for "pond scum" cards. If they did, no one would every be able to rebuild before entering the nursing home! 
However, over in installment loan land, FICO does penalize for something called "consumer finance loans." These never get marked as CFL's in a way that we can see it on a report, but the code on them tells the FICO formula, which then penalizes you. Generally, these lenders might have "finance" as part of their names, like CitiFinancial, Wells Fargo Finance, etc. Also, I think that this includes things like those furniture loans that you get from the store; wouldn't swear to it, though.
However, over in installment loan land, FICO does penalize for something called "consumer finance loans." These never get marked as CFL's in a way that we can see it on a report, but the code on them tells the FICO formula, which then penalizes you. Generally, these lenders might have "finance" as part of their names, like CitiFinancial, Wells Fargo Finance, etc. Also, I think that this includes things like those furniture loans that you get from the store; wouldn't swear to it, though.So if you ever need to get a loan, go to someplace like a credit union or a local bank. Good luck!
thank you for that insight. I have been already told by my credit union to come back after discharge and I will do that. And I know if I can get my score up a few more points (especially TU and EXP) then I will be ok. Thanks again for the information. (I did post on the BK forum but no responses. 
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Oh, sorry, I didn't realize. I don't know anything about BK, so I don't go over there, so I'm afraid that I'm one who didn't respond!
Have you read anything about how to fine-tune your CC util, by keeping util under 9% and timing your payments to control what balance reports to the CRA's? It's really hard to do with low-limit cards, but it can be done. And the other thing that might especially help TU is having only half of ALL your open accounts, including mortgage, car loans, etc. report a balance at any one time. So for instance, I have a mortgage, a student loan, and HELOC, and 5 cc's for a total of 8 accounts. Naturally, the first three are going to report balances, so I allowed only one card to report a balance ($7), and I got a very nice score jump, especially from TU, with 4 out of 8 accounts reporting. It's actually easier to do this (only having one card report) with low CL cards, just to avoid the headache of controlling small balances.
So if you have a $500 CL card, PIF the others and let $45 or less report on the one card. You can use the others as long as you pay them off before they report. Or if that's too much of a hassle, just use one card a month, put one tank of gas on it, let it report, pay it off, put it away, and use another card the next month.
We do have some people who are very knowledgeable about BK's on this board and also on General Credit. Maybe if you edit your subject line to include "bankruptcy", it might catch their eye. HTH
Have you read anything about how to fine-tune your CC util, by keeping util under 9% and timing your payments to control what balance reports to the CRA's? It's really hard to do with low-limit cards, but it can be done. And the other thing that might especially help TU is having only half of ALL your open accounts, including mortgage, car loans, etc. report a balance at any one time. So for instance, I have a mortgage, a student loan, and HELOC, and 5 cc's for a total of 8 accounts. Naturally, the first three are going to report balances, so I allowed only one card to report a balance ($7), and I got a very nice score jump, especially from TU, with 4 out of 8 accounts reporting. It's actually easier to do this (only having one card report) with low CL cards, just to avoid the headache of controlling small balances.
So if you have a $500 CL card, PIF the others and let $45 or less report on the one card. You can use the others as long as you pay them off before they report. Or if that's too much of a hassle, just use one card a month, put one tank of gas on it, let it report, pay it off, put it away, and use another card the next month.
We do have some people who are very knowledgeable about BK's on this board and also on General Credit. Maybe if you edit your subject line to include "bankruptcy", it might catch their eye. HTH
I have read about the low utilization. I am working towards that and the simulator did say my score would jump big time if I did that. My cards all came with fees of course so for a 250.00 card I got socked with a balance of 175.00 right off the bat. But that is what happens in the rebuild process. I am paying that off and then will have the gas tank theory to work on my score. Thanks there for the info. LOL I have lots of accounts on my credit report that say zero owed because they are IIB (included in bankruptcy) which is a flag. But they are all zero which is good. The one good thing I have going is my length of credit history (over 16 years) and many of those are still reporting positive. My life didn't dive until 2000 when my now ex had a stroke. Amazing how 30 seconds can change your whole life.
But that is what happens in the rebuild process. I am paying that off and then will have the gas tank theory to work on my score. Thanks there for the info. LOL I have lots of accounts on my credit report that say zero owed because they are IIB (included in bankruptcy) which is a flag. But they are all zero which is good. The one good thing I have going is my length of credit history (over 16 years) and many of those are still reporting positive. My life didn't dive until 2000 when my now ex had a stroke. Amazing how 30 seconds can change your whole life.