topic Should I apply or WAIT? in Credit Cards

Should I apply or WAIT?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:09:46 GMT

I have a paid and closed collection that shows up on my credit report. I spoke with collection agency yesterday and they promised to have it removed by sending the request to all credit bureaus. Yay for me but this is what I'm wondering about...

I'm new to building credit and only have 1 secured credit card on which I make timely payments in full etc... I'm new to all of this and now realise that I should keep the balance low despite the limit I have... My goal is to boost my credit score in the shortest time possible.. Now that I'm forearmed with all this knowledge, I was wondering if I should get a store card and an extra unsecured credit card (been getting lots of offers) to have more of a variety thus hoping for a boost to my cs?

My secured will probably roll over into unsecured within the next 2 months.

Hopefully the bad mark will be pulled from my report... Do I wait or should I go ahead and apply for other cards?

Please help me with this next step. Thanks in advance.

Re: Should I apply or WAIT?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:20:17 GMT

Hi - I can only speak from personal experience. In the past when I've paid a collection account in full, it was never removed. It just showed as paid - but if they told you they're personally removing it, then go with what they say. I say wait at least 30 days and check to make sure it's removed, then apply.

Re: Should I apply or WAIT?

nuggets321 — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:43:59 GMT

Did you get anything in writing from the CA that they were going to delete it ? I persopnally, have had good luck with NCO ( after receiving written word that they would delete) and believe it or not Aargn actually gave written confirmation that they would delete and they actually did it.... one took a week or so the second took about 30-40 days. This is just my personal experience....also, I waited for these to be deleted before I applied and below you can see it has lent itself to various approvals

Re: Should I apply or WAIT?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:15:03 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have a paid and closed collection that shows up on my credit report. I spoke with collection agency yesterday and they promised to have it removed by sending the request to all credit bureaus. Yay for me but this is what I'm wondering about...

I'm new to building credit and only have 1 secured credit card on which I make timely payments in full etc... I'm new to all of this and now realise that I should keep the balance low despite the limit I have... My goal is to boost my credit score in the shortest time possible.. Now that I'm forearmed with all this knowledge, I was wondering if I should get a store card and an extra unsecured credit card (been getting lots of offers) to have more of a variety thus hoping for a boost to my cs?

My secured will probably roll over into unsecured within the next 2 months.

Hopefully the bad mark will be pulled from my report... Do I wait or should I go ahead and apply for other cards?

Please help me with this next step. Thanks in advance.

First of all, I hope the collection agency actually follows through. Unless you have it in writing, they might not remove it. Wouldn't be the first time they tell you whatever just to get money from you. If you can, I'd try to double-check it with them and confirm they WILL delete it from all 3 agencies and get a written statement of their intent to delete.

Second, there's really no magical way to quickly boost your credit score. I think most of us have tried to do that, but it really is going to take time. Keeping a low util% on your card will definitely help you out, though.

Also, just because you receieved an offer for a card doesn't mean you'll actually get it.. and a lot of the cards that send you preapprovals in the mail when your credit isn't great really aren't worth getting.

I would personally wait until the collection disappears from the report before applying. It will probalby increase your chances of approval, or at least give you a better credit score so you might get a better credit limit and APR.

If you don't mind me asking, what bank is the secured card from? It seems like people (including me) tend to have a lot of problems getting secured accounts to unsecure.

Re: Should I apply or WAIT?

mAndrew1980 — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:44:28 GMT

Definitely hold off on app'ing until it's removed from all three bureau's. Don't make the mistake I recently made. I had a collection deleted from EX and EQ, but not TU. I decided to app with a cc from a CU, thinking they only pulled EX or EQ. Clearly I was uniformed and mistaken They pulled TU. One day later, TU deleted my collection but it was too late. The CU denied me. It was a difficult lesson to learn and reminded me just how important patience is to credit building.

Now I really can't app again until Feb 2012 when my oldest 2011 inq falls off (I currently have 5 inq's on TU). So my answer to you: WAIT.

Re: Should I apply or WAIT?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:28:33 GMT

Thank you so much for all your feedback and input. I'll probably wait until the new year before starting any applications for credit cards.

To answer a few questions,

I spoke with 2 different women from the collection agency yesterday and on the second time the lady told me that when my file comes up, a request was already entered into the system and will be sent to the credit bureaus. It's just a matter of waiting 7 business days although it can take up to a month sometimes. After speaking with the agency, I called Experian, TransUnion and Equifax and they all pretty much said the same to me, which was that the collection agency has to send the request and then they'll remove. The person from equifax said that it's amazing that they agreed to erase it and that she's seen this happen from time to time and even suggested that maybe it was my lucky day! Lets see what happens. I might follow up and request a letter as many of you have stated.

My secured card is from Bank of America. I spoke with my advisor from BOA and she also agrees that even waiting one more month could make all the difference before applying.

Ah, the tedium of it all!

Re: Should I apply or WAIT?

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:32:37 GMT

I know it's been said and you have already said it, wait wait wait, till the CA comes off your reports, it can not only be the difference of an approval or a decline, but, it could be the difference of a blah CL or a "Oh OK thats nice" CL if you were approved with the CA on your reports.

And definately try to get that PFD letter, I Wish you the Best!!