topic Re: Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated in Rebuilding Your Credit

Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated

mystro9876 — Wed, 05 May 2010 23:05:11 GMT

I am a little bit concerned because my credit score seems very low (Average 570, according to FAKO scores), but I feel like I don't have that bad of a credit history to warrant this low score. Especially since I see people here that have three or four collection accounts, but have score in the mid to high 600s!!!

Does my credit accurately reflect a score of about 570?????????? (Using Equifax as an Example)

Here is the summary:

1) One Collection Account, DOFD 4/8/2010 (Trying whatever I can to get rid of this - Sent a letter to T-mobile to take back the debt from Superior Asset)

2) One Charge-off account, DOFD 3/4/2004 (trying to get this trade line deleted as I "Settled for less" in 2005, but the CA never accurately reflected this and has been reporting as "Extremely delinquent" for the last 5 years, instead of "settled". This was while I was in college and didn't know the ins and outs of credit)

3) 4 Open Revolving Cards, All balances below 10% utilization except one card, that is maxed at $500. All "pay as agreed"

4) 7 Installment accounts - "pay as agreed" (1 Car loan, 1 Gov't Student Loan, 5 Private Sallie Mae Loans)

5) Late Payments - 16 Lates (3 within the last two years) - three 60-Day lates, thirteen 30-Day Lates (Wrote Goodwill letters to all these).

6) 3 Hard Inquirys within the last two years - All within one year (6/11/09, 8/15/09, 3/15/2010)

7) I have 5 closed revolving credit accounts - Three of them were closed before 2007, two were closed last year per creditors request (Both account were in good standing and never never never had a late payment - Why they closed them???? I don't know)

Additional questions.

-Does having 7 installment loans here my credit score? 5 of them are Sallie Mae, and for whatever reason, they report each one separately even though I make one payment a month

-Do these Closed revolving accounts have a HUGE impact on my credit score? If so, since the creditor closed for no reason, can I sue them??

THanks for ALL YOUR HELPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated

Anonymous — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:59:31 GMT

My gut feeling is that your FICOs are probably lower than 570. You have a collection within the last month and 3 lates in the last 2 years! Anything in the last 2 years is weighing the most heavily on your score. FAKOs have a different metric than FICOs and there isn't a way to move between the two predictably.

Re: Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated

mystro9876 — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:37:25 GMT

I apologize, the collections was DOFD 4/2008. It just came on my credit report this past December.

Re: Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated

MarineVietVet — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:27:10 GMT

@mystro9876 wrote:
I am a little bit concerned because my credit score seems very low (Average 570, according to FAKO scores), but I feel like I don't have that bad of a credit history to warrant this low score. Especially since I see people here that have three or four accounts, but have score in the mid to high 600s!!!

Does my credit accurately reflect a score of about 570?????????? (Using Equifax as an Example) You need to pull a real FICO score to get some idea of where you really stand. No one has been able to pull their own Experian FICO score since February of 2009. Creditors can pull Experian and also there is a CU in Pennsylvania that supplies that information to it's members only. You can only buy true FICO scores at a few places. One place is here at myfico. I suggest you do an internet search for "myfico discount codes" to save a little money. You can also purchase your Equifax score at www.equifax.com (If you look hard enough) and your Transunion score at www.transunioncs.com.

Here is the summary:

1) One Collection Account, DOFD 4/8/2010 (Trying whatever I can to get rid of this - Sent a letter to T-mobile to take back the debt from Superior Asset) If this is paid all you can do is GW this account.

2) One Charge-off account, DOFD 3/4/2004 (trying to get this trade line deleted as I "Settled for less" in 2005, but the CA never accurately reflected this and has been reporting as "Extremely delinquent" for the last 5 years, instead of "settled". This was while I was in college and didn't know the ins and outs of credit) An account that is "settled for less" is a major derogatory. This is still hurting you in my opinion (although less and less all the time) so you need to also GW this.

3) 4 Open Revolving Cards, All balances below 10% utilization except one card, that is maxed at $500. All "pay as agreed"

4) 7 Installment accounts - "pay as agreed" (1 Car loan, 1 Gov't Student Loan, 5 Private Sallie Mae Loans)

5) Late Payments - 16 Lates (3 within the last two years) - three 60-Day lates, thirteen 30-Day Lates (Wrote Goodwill letters to all these). GW is all you can do for these.

6) 3 Hard Inquirys within the last two years - All within one year (6/11/09, 8/15/09, 3/15/2010)

7) I have 5 closed revolving credit accounts - Three of them were closed before 2007, two were closed last year per creditors request (Both account were in good standing and never never never had a late payment - Why they closed them???? I don't know) As long as these did not have a balance when they were closed they are not hurting you.

Additional questions.

-Does having 7 installment loans here my credit score? 5 of them are Sallie Mae, and for whatever reason, they report each one separately even though I make one payment a month As long as your payments are current it doesn't matter.

-Do these Closed revolving accounts have a HUGE impact on my credit score? If so, since the creditor closed for no reason, can I sue them?? Creditors have a right to close any account for any reason they see fit.

THanks for ALL YOUR HELPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated

Anonymous — Wed, 05 May 2010 22:47:42 GMT

@mystro9876 wrote:
I am a little bit concerned because my credit score seems very low (Average 570, according to FAKO scores), but I feel like I don't have that bad of a credit history to warrant this low score. Especially since I see people here that have three or four accounts, but have score in the mid to high 600s!!!

Those people with only three or four accounts but decent scores are getting denied every day due to low AAoA. The scoring throws all accounts and general history and using a formula calculates a score. Good recent payment history is a big percentage of a score. You can generate a score with one account; it's payment history, AAoA and utilization that factors what number to give.

Re: Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated

mystro9876 — Wed, 05 May 2010 23:01:22 GMT

Thanks for your response!!!

With Citi...they closed my account when I still had (and have) a balance. again, I have never been late ever on this account. Would this be hurting my credit score?

Also, The collection account is not paid. That's why I asked T-mobile to take it back (and there was surrounding circumstances around why it wasn't paid, in which the Head of consumer relations was involved). I'm hoping they will take it back and superior asset will no longer be able to report it.

Lastly,related to the charge off account, I kind of messed up because when I started looking at my credit report last year, I noticed the account still had a balance and was being reported as "derogratory" (even though I thought I settled), anyway I made a final payment, which i think "re-activated" the reporting on the account. I just felt like I was tricked and coarsed by the CA so i wrote a letter to them and the creditor stating my displeasure. Hopefully they sympothize and remove the trade line. Was my score severely affected by the Final Payment I made recently, even though the account was settled back in 2005?

Re: Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated

mystro9876 — Wed, 05 May 2010 23:03:47 GMT

Sorry, i thought i educated myself on all of the acronyms, but what is AAoA. Aged Accounts of Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

Re: Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated

MarineVietVet — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:10:32 GMT

@mystro9876 wrote:
Thanks for your response!!!

With Citi...they closed my account when I still had (and have) a balance. again, I have never been late ever on this account. Would this be hurting my credit score? Yes because closed CC accounts in good standing with balances do factor into utilization percentages. You need to get this paid off as quickly as you can.

Also, The collection account is not paid. That's why I asked T-mobile to take it back (and there was surrounding circumstances around why it wasn't paid, in which the Head of consumer relations was involved). I'm hoping they will take it back and superior asset will no longer be able to report it. Even if you can pay it through T-Mobile a paid collection hurts just as much as stays just as long as an unpaid one. Ask T-Mobile if they will do a PFD (Pay For Delete).

Lastly,related to the charge off account, I kind of messed up because when I started looking at my credit report last year, I noticed the account still had a balance and was being reported as "derogratory" (even though I thought I settled), anyway I made a final payment, which i think "re-activated" the reporting on the account. I just felt like I was tricked and coarsed by the CA so i wrote a letter to them and the creditor stating my displeasure. Hopefully they sympothize and remove the trade line. Was my score severely affected by the Final Payment I made recently, even though the account was settled back in 2005? Yes when you made that payment it made the CO account look more recent which hurts more than an older CO. That's water under the bridge. No reason to think about that now. With a DOFD of 3/04/2004 this CO will be gone by 9/2011. You can keep trying GW's or just wait on this to die of old age.

AAoA is Average Age of Accounts. Here is a list of Abbreviations.

Re: Does This Add Up to My Credit Score???? Help appreciated

mystro9876 — Thu, 06 May 2010 05:33:19 GMT

Thanks Vet. much appreciated!!