topic Re: Rebuilding Help in Credit Cards

Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:02:00 GMT

Hi all!

I have read many of the threads on this board and have used much of the advice. So I wanted to thank all of the great contributors.

Here is my scenario and wondering if anyone can help

In 2000 I was doing very well - VERY WELL! Had multiple cards, lines of credit, etc. Didn't go bankrupt but definitely left lots of creditors "hanging"

AMEX for $42K

A Few bank lines - $30K

Mercedes Benz for $35K

You get the idea

I never entered into bankruptcy - Just left everyone hanging

In 2007, as things started coming off my credit report, I started replying for things

I got a First Premier Bank Card for $200

then another for $300

Next came Orchard Bank for $500

A car loan from Citifinancial for $35K at 20%

Then Cap One for $1K

I have paid them all mostly on time and cleaned up most of the negatives on my credit report. I currently don't have any balances also except on the Citifinancial car loan.

About 3 months I applied for a Best Buy card and was declined.

I wanted to get a mortgage 12 months from now and start rebuilding my credit.

Can anyone give me some advice?

Thanks!

Johnny Credit

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:24:52 GMT

Are your credit reports clean now or will they be in a year?

Re: Rebuilding Help

kjm79 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:27:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

I have paid them all mostly on time and cleaned up most of the negatives on my credit report. I currently don't have any balances also except on the Citifinancial car loan.

What do you mean by "mostly on time"? Are there recent lates on these new accounts? Also, when you have ZERO balances on all of your revolving accounts, that actually brings your score down. As silly as it sounds, it gives the appearance that you are not utilizing credit reponsibly because well, you're not using any credit. The rule of thumb is no matter how many cards you have, you want to leave a small balance less than 10% on ONE card.

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:36:27 GMT

My credit reports are mostly clean.

I have a small charge off of $109 from Partners Federal Credit Union. I tried to negotiate with them to get it paid off and off my report

I have some 30 day and 60 days late from Santander and First Premier in the past 12 months.

When I run a "grade" at credit.com it gives me a B

Thoughts?

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:40:32 GMT

KJM,

I don't use Orchard Bank at all $500 - Credit Limit

I use and keep a balance on the First Premier - $200 Credit Limit

I use and don't keep any balance on the Capital One - $1,000 Credit Limit

My hope would be to get a card with a $5,000 credit limit and eliminate the Capital One card

Bluntly, I would like an AMEX but don't think I have any chance from the posts I have read about the "blacklist" especially with them writing off $42K 10 years ago

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:48:07 GMT

Estimated Credit Score Ranges:

Grade	FICO® Score	VantageScoresm	PLUS Scoresm	TransUnion® Score	CreditXpert Score®
B	700-749	801-900	695-739	765-844	740-799

Your Standing:

You have a score better than 105 million people.

Your Rate:

Your credit score qualifies you for good rates.

Credit Grades:

Payment History
35% of your scoreYou aren't doing quite as well as you could be in this category. Even a few late payments can hurt your

A+

Debt Usage
30% of your scoreGreat job keeping your debt under control! Low balances and high limits are giving your credit score a boost.

C-

Credit Age
15% of your scoreIt doesn't look like you've had credit very long. Leaving accounts open for more than 7 years can help boost your score.

Account Mix
10% of your scoreYou don't have a very good balance of credit and loan accounts and it is hurting your credit score.

A+

Inquiries
10% of your scoreYou are doing well in the inquiry category. Applying for new credit conservatively is helping to boost your score.

Re: Rebuilding Help

kjm79 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:49:22 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
My credit reports are mostly clean.

I have a small charge off of $109 from Partners Federal Credit Union. I tried to negotiate with them to get it paid off and off my report

I have some 30 day and 60 days late from Santander and First Premier in the past 12 months.

When I run a "grade" at credit.com it gives me a B

Thoughts?

The recent lates are hurting your scores the most. But it also sounds like you have a major derog with the CO. Ignore the "grade". True FICO scores do not have "grades". Have you pulled your reports and FICOs from this site? They give you a list of what's helping and hurting your score(s).

It's going to take some time and some work to get rid of the negative info and let your positive history start working for you. And let one of your cards report the small balance, just pay it by the due date to avoid paying any interest. Letting the small balance reports boosts your score.

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:57:53 GMT

KLM,

The CO is $109 - How bad does that hurt me? I have thought about getting a FCRA attorney to go after them. I was never contacted that there was a balance and then it appeared on my credit report.

Any advice?

Re: Rebuilding Help

kjm79 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:01:49 GMT

The amount of the CO isn't really hurting you. It's the CO itself. You said you tried to negotiate with them, did you try a PFD?

Don't waste the time, money, or other resources getting any attorney to go after them. What it boils down to is it's the consumer's responsibility to know what they owe to who. They don't have to notify you either. Best thing you can do is try and offer the PFD. How old is it? Do you have an estimated fall off date?

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:03:17 GMT

PARTNERS FED CR UN

Address:

PO BOX 10000

LAKE BUENA VISTA,

FL 32830

(800) 948-6677

Account Number:

Status:

Account charged off. $479 written off. Status Details: This account is scheduled to continue on

record until Jun 2014.

Date Opened:

09/2007

Type:

Deposit

Credit Limit/Original Amount:

$3,000

Experian - Printable Full Report Page 4 of 14

Reported Since:

06/2009

Date of Status:

06/2009

Last Reported:

06/2011

Terms:

Monthly Payment:

Responsibility:

Individual

High Balance:

Recent Balance:

$109 as of 06/2011

Recent Payment:

Account History:

Charge Off as of Jun 2009 to Jun 2011

Balance History -

The following data will appear in the following format:

account balance / date payment received / scheduled payment amount / actual amount paid

May 2011: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Apr 2011: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Mar 2011: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Feb 2011: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Jan 2011: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Dec 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Nov 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Oct 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Sep 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Aug 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Jul 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Jun 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

May 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Apr 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Mar 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Feb 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Jan 2010: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Dec 2009: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Nov 2009: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Oct 2009: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Sep 2009: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Aug 2009: $109 / no data / no data / no data

Jul 2009: $109 / no data / no data / no data

The original amount of this account was $3,000

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:04:40 GMT

I am sorry - Can you define what a PFD is?

Re: Rebuilding Help

kjm79 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:07:40 GMT

Sure, it's a pay for delete. Where you offer to pay them the amount owed in exchange for them deleting the account from your reports. They do not have to agree to this, but if you check out the rebuilding forums you will read all sorts of success stories of membes who have been successful in getting derogatory info removed by using pfd or GW (goodwill) letters. Goodwill letters are used to ask for deletion of paid derog accounts or removal of late payments. May want to check out the rebuilding forum for some helpful letters.

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:11:03 GMT

KJM,

I called them and offered to pay it for a delete and they said that is illegal. I thought for the small amount that made sense. Is there a letter for the PFD? I thought maybe if I got an attorney they would be willing to negotiate.

You have been amazing! I really appreciate you investing in me.

Johnny Credit

Re: Rebuilding Help

kjm79 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:16:06 GMT

It's not illegal. But what they are referring to is that what they report has to be fair and accurate by law. But there is no law that says they have to report. I'd try and write a letter instead of talking to someone on the phone.

I'd start by taking a look at these threads:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/What-Steps-Do-I-Take-Do-I-DV-PFD/td-p/337142

and

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Frequently-Requested-Threads/m-p/10675

Both have great info! And you're very welcome. This site is full of wonderful information from people that have been there or are still stuck there. We all help each other!

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:21:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
KJM,

I don't use Orchard Bank at all $500 - Credit Limit
I use and keep a balance on the First Premier - $200 Credit Limit
I use and don't keep any balance on the Capital One - $1,000 Credit Limit

My hope would be to get a card with a $5,000 credit limit and eliminate the Capital One card

Bluntly, I would like an AMEX but don't think I have any chance from the posts I have read about the "blacklist" especially with them writing off $42K 10 years ago

Why keep the First Premier and get rid of Capital One. That is the opposite of what I would recommend.

IMO, AMEX does backlist, so I would forget about them forever,.

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:29:13 GMT

KJM,

Thanks for those threads.

May I ask, do you think I should attempt to apply for a card at this point or wait?

Also, I never receive any "pre-approved" offers in the mail. Should I wait for that to happen first?

Thanks!

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:31:42 GMT

Wolf,

The First Premier is older than the Capital One but I understand your thoughts. I just closed the $300 credit limit FP. I was tired of paying $6 a month and the annual fee came due.

In regards to AMEX, it has been 10 years and the judgement is closed on the court record. Though I never paid it. Do you think if I offered them something ($2K - $5K) they would remove me from the blacklist?

Thanks!

Re: Rebuilding Help

kjm79 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:34:38 GMT

If you're current goals are to get a mortgage and a better score, you probably don't need any other cards. You have 3 and that's good. Just keep paying them on time, especially if you want a mortgage in the next 12 months (lenders want clean positive credit for at least 12 months these days). Garden the cards you have now. And like Wolf said, keeping the Crap1 is better than the FP. If you junk the Cap1 you will lost thae $1k in available credit and your utilization will be very sensitive to that loss. FP won't grow with you either, whereas with Cap1 there is some room for growth.

If you're aren't opted out and are not receiving any pre-approvals that probably means you aren't matched with any lenders right now. If you are opted out, you won't get any pre-approvals at all.

Re: Rebuilding Help

castlefox — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:38:23 GMT

I thought it was not possible for them to delete the charge off. But it would not show up as late any more if you paid it in full now.

Re: Rebuilding Help

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:45:14 GMT

KJM.

1.) When you say "Garden the cards I have now" - What do you mean?

2.) How do I know if I opted out sometime in the past? When my credit score approves will I automatically start receiving offer?

3.) I have not had any "hard pulls" on Experian - 1 on TU (not sure who this is

Old - 07/06/2011 New - 07/11/2011 Comparison

Creditor Name:

WFHM/WB WFHM/WB

Date of Inquiry:

02/24/2010 02/24/2010

Three on Experian

Inquiries that may impact your credit rating

These inquires are made by companies with whom you have applied for a loan or credit.

Name of Company Date of Inquiry

AZUMA LEASING 09/07/10

Creditor Contact Information

AZUMA LEASING

2905 San Gabriel St Ste 21

Austin, TX 787053500

(512) 707-1177

CLEARWIRE CORPORATION 03/20/11

Creditor Contact Information

CLEARWIRE CORPORATION

03/20/11

3525 E Post Rd

Las Vegas, NV 891206214

HSBC BEST BUY 03/20/11

Creditor Contact Information

HSBC BEST BUY

03/20/11

PO Box 15518

Wilmington, DE 198505518