topic Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread! in Rebuilding Your Credit

MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

moosemoney — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 17:56:36 GMT

This will be my personal progress thread. I screwed up my credit in a bad way, and have been crawling back from the abyss for a year and a half. Before that, I had a lawsuit brought on me for an old credit card in early 2015 and paid that off in November 2015. Then in 2016 some personal issues collapsed my house-of-cards, and I was almost foreclosed on. I worked with my lender's mortgage retention team to save my home, and since then everything has been on the up-and-up. In June 2017 I decided to stop being a chicken and actually see what my credit score was. It was worse than I thought! Here's my progress so far:

July 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 475

Actions taken this month:
- There was a change to the law (not sure if it was just my state) that liens and judgements could not be reported. Once that was gone I jumped 75 points.

July 2017 End / August 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 550 (current change +75 | overall change +75)

Actions taken this month:
- Started a letter-writing campaign trying to clear up any derogatories. No success this month.

August 2017 End / September 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 550 (current change -0- | overall change +75)

Actions taken this month:
- Continued letter-writing campaign. No success.

September 2017 End / October 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 550 (current change -0- | overall change +75)

Actions taken this month:
- Continued letter-writing campaign. No success.

October 2017 End / November 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 550 (current change -0- | overall change +75)

Actions taken this month:
- Continued the letter-writing campaign. No success.

November 2017 End / December 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 552 (current change +2 | overall change +77)

Actions taken this month:
- Continued the letter-writing campaign. No success.

December 2017 End / January 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 552 (current change -0- | overall change +77)

Gave up on the campaigning. Clearly wasn't going to work.
Action Taken:
- Opened a secured Discover IT card with a $200 deposit.

January 2018 End / February 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 562 (current change +10 | overall change +87)

Action Taken:
- Used my Discover card for a couple small purchases and paid the balance in full before the statement date.

February 2018 End / March 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 582 (current change +20 | overall change +107)

Action Taken:
- Added another $200 to my Discover deposit for a total available credit of $400.
- Used my Discover card for a couple small purchases and paid the balance in full before the statement date.

March 2018 End / April 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 585 (current change +3 | overall change +110)

Action Taken:
- Used my Discover card for a couple small purchases and paid the balance (except for $20 - 5%UTI) before the statement date.
  - Wanted to see what carrying a small balance would do to next month's score.

April 2018 End / May 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 597 (current change +12 | overall change +122)

Action Taken:
- Was preapproved for a Comenity card at Ulta while shopping online. Went through with it because I thought it would be a soft pull, but but it is reporting as a hard pull on one of the bureaus.
  - Approved for $300
- Because I got that second card I'm not sure what the effect of leaving 5% UTI on my Discover card made because I am assuming opening the new card dinged me a little bit.
- Used my Discover card for a couple small purchases and paid the balance (except for $20 - 5%UTI) before the statement date.
- Did a PFD with one of my collections accounts (leaving one more on my report). He said it should be gone by the end of June.
- Wrote a GW letter to my mortgage company requesting leniency on my late reporting.

May 2018 End / June 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 601 (current change +4 | overall change +126)

Currently:

The good:
- Discover Card $400 limit / $20 balance
- Comenity Card $300 limit / $0 balance
- Mortgage paid on time for 18 months
- Hard Inquiries:
  - TU: 2
  - EQ: 3
  - EX: ?
The Bad:
- AAoA: 3yr, 7mo
  - Oldest: 10yr, 5mo (mortgage)
  - Newest: 1mo (Comenity)
- Two Collections Accounts
  - One of them was a PFD that should be gone by the end of June
  - The other I signed up for Collection Shield 360 for help with
- There is one old collections that I paid off a long time ago lingering on my EQ. It's not showing on my TU, and I'm not sure about EX.
- There is an old Credit One with a zero balance showing as "charged off"
  - This is the card that I paid off in the lawsuit.
  - I sent them a GW email on Friday. They responded that day saying they will get back to me in 3-5 business days.
    - I've read a lot of success stories with Credit One as long as it has been paid, so I am feeling optimistic about this one.
- I have one 30-day late on an old car payment that was otherwise perfect. This should age off in January 2019 so I have no plans to do anything with this one.

The Ugly:
- 17 out of the last 48 mortgage payments are showing as late
  - I sent them a GW letter asking for some leniency regarding all these lates on my report, she called me twice so far:
    - Once to tell me they got the letter and will work on it
    - The second call was to tell me I passed the first "hurdle" and it was moving on to the supervisors
    - I should hear back on Thursday (fingers crossed!)
- There is an old Applied Bank credit card still showing an outstanding balance that is marked as "charged off."
  - I've read that if you are willing to pay they will delete sometimes, so I may try that soon.

The plan:

AZEO for the two cards I have. I know you should have three cards when doing this but I am putting off getting a third card for now.
Increase my Secured Discover limit a little each month. My seventh statement will be in August (I believe), so maybe I will graduate to an unsecured card by then, but I've read Discover can be fickle so I'm not going to hold my breath.
Keep working on these derogatories, one or two at a time. I have a few balls in the air right now.
Garden until November 2018
- One of my Hard Pull Inquiries will age off
- I don't want to take another hard hit to my AAoA
- Hopefully my score will be high enough to get another card. I want to avoid any with annual fees and any more store cards

Phew.

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 13:39:05 GMT

@moosemoney wrote:
This will be my personal progress thread. I screwed up my credit in a bad way, and have been crawling back from the abyss for a year and a half. Before that, I had a lawsuit brought on me for an old credit card in early 2015 and paid that off in November 2015. Then in 2016 some personal issues collapsed my house-of-cards, and I was almost foreclosed on. I worked with my lender's mortgage retention team to save my home, and since then everything has been on the up-and-up. In June 2017 I decided to stop being a chicken and actually see what my credit score was. It was worse than I thought! Here's my progress so far:

July 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 475
Actions taken this month:
There was a change to the law (not sure if it was just my state) that liens and judgements could not be reported. Once that was gone I jumped 75 points.
July 2017 End / August 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 550 (current change +75 | overall change +75)
Actions taken this month:
Started a letter-writing campaign trying to clear up any derogatories. No success this month.
August 2017 End / September 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 550 (current change -0- | overall change +75)
Actions taken this month:
Continued letter-writing campaign. No success.
September 2017 End / October 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 550 (current change -0- | overall change +75)
Actions taken this month:
Continued letter-writing campaign. No success.
October 2017 End / November 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 550 (current change -0- | overall change +75)
Actions taken this month:
Continued the letter-writing campaign. No success.
November 2017 End / December 2017 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 552 (current change +2 | overall change +77)
Actions taken this month:
Continued the letter-writing campaign. No success.
December 2017 End / January 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 552 (current change -0- | overall change +77)
Gave up on the campaigning. Clearly wasn't going to work.
Action Taken:
Opened a secured Discover IT card with a $200 deposit.
January 2018 End / February 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 562 (current change +10 | overall change +87)
Action Taken:
Used my Discover card for a couple small purchases and paid the balance in full before the statement date.
February 2018 End / March 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 582 (current change +20 | overall change +107)
Action Taken:
Added another $200 to my Discover deposit for a total available credit of $400.
Used my Discover card for a couple small purchases and paid the balance in full before the statement date.
March 2018 End / April 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 585 (current change +3 | overall change +110)
Action Taken:
Used my Discover card for a couple small purchases and paid the balance (except for $20 - 5%UTI) before the statement date.
Wanted to see what carrying a small balance would do to next month's score.
April 2018 End / May 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 597 (current change +12 | overall change +122)
Action Taken:
Was preapproved for a Comenity card at Ulta while shopping online. Went through with it because I thought it would be a soft pull, but but it is reporting as a hard pull on one of the bureaus.
Approved for $300
Because I got that second card I'm not sure what the effect of leaving 5% UTI on my Discover card made because I am assuming opening the new card dinged me a little bit.
Used my Discover card for a couple small purchases and paid the balance (except for $20 - 5%UTI) before the statement date.
Did a PFD with one of my collections accounts (leaving one more on my report). He said it should be gone by the end of June.
Wrote a GW letter to my mortgage company requesting leniency on my late reporting.
May 2018 End / June 2018 Start - TU FICO 8 Score: 601 (current change +4 | overall change +126)

Currently:
The good:
Discover Card $400 limit / $20 balance
Comenity Card $300 limit / $0 balance
Mortgage paid on time for 18 months
Hard Inquiries:
TU: 2
EQ: 3
EX: ?
The Bad:
AAoA: 3yr, 7mo
Oldest: 10yr, 5mo (mortgage)
Newest: 1mo (Comenity)
Two Collections Accounts
One of them was a PFD that should be gone by the end of June
The other I signed up for Collection Shield 360 for help with
There is one old collections that I paid off a long time ago lingering on my EQ. It's not showing on my TU, and I'm not sure about EX.
There is an old Credit One with a zero balance showing as "charged off"
This is the card that I paid off in the lawsuit.
I sent them a GW email on Friday. They responded that day saying they will get back to me in 3-5 business days.
I've read a lot of success stories with Credit One as long as it has been paid, so I am feeling optimistic about this one.
I have one 30-day late on an old car payment that was otherwise perfect. This should age off in January 2019 so I have no plans to do anything with this one.
The Ugly:
17 out of the last 48 mortgage payments are showing as late
I sent them a GW letter asking for some leniency regarding all these lates on my report, she called me twice so far:
Once to tell me they got the letter and will work on it
The second call was to tell me I passed the first "hurdle" and it was moving on to the supervisors
I should hear back on Thursday (fingers crossed!)
There is an old Applied Bank credit card still showing an outstanding balance that is marked as "charged off."
I've read that if you are willing to pay they will delete sometimes, so I may try that soon.

The plan:
AZEO for the two cards I have. I know you should have three cards when doing this but I am putting off getting a third card for now.
Increase my Secured Discover limit a little each month. My seventh statement will be in August (I believe), so maybe I will graduate to an unsecured card by then, but I've read Discover can be fickle so I'm not going to hold my breath.
Keep working on these derogatories, one or two at a time. I have a few balls in the air right now.
Garden until November 2018
One of my Hard Pull Inquiries will age off
I don't want to take another hard hit to my AAoA
Hopefully my score will be high enough to get another card. I want to avoid any with annual fees and any more store cards

Phew.

You will get there and I'm definitely watching this thread! Question how to do get that little credit score siggy thing? lol

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

moosemoney — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 15:19:23 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Question how to do get that little credit score siggy thing? lol

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/SmorgasBoard/Badges-for-Your-Signature/m-p/5257198

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

moosemoney — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 20:22:03 GMT

Mid-month update: Credit One has agreed to delete the tradeline!! Here's what they said (edited for privacy):

Dear *******,

Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. We will continue to make every effort to serve
your needs in a manner more consistent with your expectations and our high standards.

Credit One Bank received your communication dated June 8, 2018.

Due to non-payment for more than 180 days, your account charged off on ****** 2014, with a
balance of $*********. The ownership of the account was transferred to the agency referenced below.
Since Credit One Bank no longer has a financial interest in this account, please contact the agency
listed below to reach a mutually acceptable resolution for all parties involved:

*****

******

*****

As a courtesy, our office initiated the process of removing the Credit One Bank tradeline from your
credit history; however, any derogatory reporting of this account by any other lender will need to be
addressed directly with the other lender. Please allow the consumer reporting agencies 60-90 days to
update their records. If you need to provide evidence of the requested change prior to the consumer
reporting agencies updating their records, please provide a copy of this letter.

We have provided the information to the following consumer reporting agencies:

Experian: 888-397-3742
TransUnion: 800-888-4213
Equifax: 800-685-1111 or 888-766-0008

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, please contact our office at *********, Monday through Friday, between 6:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time).

Sincerely,

Credit One Bank, N.A.

Wooooohhoooooo!!!!!! That's two derogatories down so far! (the collection and judgement have already been removed, so this was the last bit of that whole thing remaining)

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

austingal — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 22:25:34 GMT

That is awesome! Congrats.

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 22:30:31 GMT

Good!!!

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

moosemoney — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 17:11:10 GMT

Got a letter today from my mortgage company, denying my GW request.

Here's what the letter said:

*Mtg Company* is required to provide accurate information to the credit bureaus to which we report (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). The reporting is based solely upon the dates payments are received; which is in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Thus, any inaccurate reporting would be a violation of the FCRA.

*My Name*, although we sympathize with your situation, we are required to comply with these applicable laws and regulations. Therefore, we must respectively deny the request to remove negative credit reporting as a goodwill gesture.

Bummer. My question for any credit gurus out there: I heard that if your GW is denied on these grounds, you can ask again stating that the FCRA only requires accurate reporting, and I can ask if they will just post "no information" for the late periods (I have two periods already showing "no information" from the period of my modification/retention.

Should I just give up? Try calling? I was on a high yesterday after getting that news from Credit One, then this brought me crashing back down to Earth.

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

austingal — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 20:22:32 GMT

You can always keep trying. Some people have had success with goodwill letters by sending them to multiple people at the company and sending letters repeatedly (change your letter a bit, don't send them the same exact copy that you sent last time).

Search on these forums for advice/techniques about goodwill letters.

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 14:00:39 GMT

I was thinking of opening a discover secure - I was approved - do you think that’s smart for me - what’s your experience - I’ve been reading it’s a good way to go

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

moosemoney — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 16:45:12 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I was thinking of opening a discover secure - I was approved - do you think that’s smart for me - what’s your experience - I’ve been reading it’s a good way to go

That's what I did. You're starting ahead of me currently, and wayyy ahead of where I was when I got my secured Discover (I was 552 at that point). I am thrilled with my experience with Discover, so my personal opinion is to go for it.

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

Anonymous — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 23:34:11 GMT

@moosemoney wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I was thinking of opening a discover secure - I was approved - do you think that’s smart for me - what’s your experience - I’ve been reading it’s a good way to go
That's what I did. You're starting ahead of me currently, and wayyy ahead of where I was when I got my secured Discover (I was 552 at that point). I am thrilled with my experience with Discover, so my personal opinion is to go for it.

when is your card due to graduate? I might just pull the trigger and put $200 down. I don't really understand how it works. So i put $200 but $200 is available for me to spend immediately? I need to keep the utilization at 5% ? but I can put more money on it whenever I want? It's supposed to graduate i n7 months. do I have the idea right?

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

moosemoney — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 15:41:51 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@moosemoney wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I was thinking of opening a discover secure - I was approved - do you think that’s smart for me - what’s your experience - I’ve been reading it’s a good way to go
That's what I did. You're starting ahead of me currently, and wayyy ahead of where I was when I got my secured Discover (I was 552 at that point). I am thrilled with my experience with Discover, so my personal opinion is to go for it.
when is your card due to graduate? I might just pull the trigger and put $200 down. I don't really understand how it works. So i put $200 but $200 is available for me to spend immediately? I need to keep the utilization at 5% ? but I can put more money on it whenever I want? It's supposed to graduate i n7 months. do I have the idea right?

My 8th statement will be my August's, I believe. A lot of people graduate with their 8th, some people have to wait longer. What happens is when you "graduate," your card status is changed from a secured card to a regular card. Some people receive credit limit increases as well.

You can add money whenever you want, correct. I opened mine with $200 then two months later added another $200 for a total limit of $400. When my card graduates Discover will mail me a check with my $400.

For utilization, the general consensus is less than 8.9% (so $17.80 of $200, or $35.60 of $400).

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

joltdude — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 17:53:23 GMT

Im curious.. do you have some sort of installment loan reporting on your CR?

Also you still might be able to get some points for a third CC... but id wait untill the dust settles just a little bit... esp since your expecting another score bump.... perhaps in Aug?

Congrats on the progress...

-J

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

moosemoney — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 18:17:43 GMT

@joltdude wrote:
Im curious.. do you have some sort of installment loan reporting on your CR?
Also you still might be able to get some points for a third CC... but id wait untill the dust settles just a little bit... esp since your expecting another score bump.... perhaps in Aug?

Congrats on the progress...
-J

Thank you

Open accounts I have two credit cards and a mortgage.

Re: MooseMoney's Progress Thread!

moosemoney — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 20:25:36 GMT

June End / July Start Check-in!

June Start

Action Taken

June End

Account in Good Standing
Discover Card

$400 limit

Reported Balance $20

Used multiple times throughout month, made payments throughout month
Accidently paid in full before statement cut leaving $0 balance on statement (dated 6/2), but in a stroke of good luck they reported $19 (4.75%) to the credit bureaus

Account in Good Standing

Discover Card

$400 Limit

Reported Balance $19

Account in Good Standing

Comenity (Ulta) Card

$300 limit

Reported Balance $0

Used card twice through month, paid in full for both purchases as soon as it would allow

Account in Good Standing

Comenity (Ulta) Card

$300 limit

Reported Balance $0

Account Current

Mortgage

63/84 payments on-time

Attempted GW for removal of late payments reporting - request was denied
Continued making mortgage payments on time. Will show 63/84 on time (75%) until August 2019 when one 30-day late will age off

Account Current

Mortgage

63/84 payments on-time

Derogatory Account

Applied Bank

Charged Off $920 bal

Did not work on this in June - will tackle soon

Derogatory Account

Applied Bank

Charged Off $920 bal

Derogatory Account

Credit One

Charged Off $0 bal

06/08/18 - I emailed CEO requesting deletion due to it having been paid years ago
06/13/18 - Received email back approving my request
06/21/18 - Deleted from all three (TU, EQ, EX)

no longer reporting

Unpaid Collection:

Midland Funding

Successful Pay-For-Delete

no longer reporting

Unpaid Colletection:

The Bureaus

06/01/18 - Enlisted Collection Shield 360
06/07/18 - Received email from CS360 saying they filed dispute
06/11/18 - Received packet from The Bureaus verifying debt
06/21/18 - Deleted from TU
06/28/18 - Deleted from EX and EQ

no longer reporting

(possible reemergence)

Paid Collection:

ERC

$0 Balance

was paid years ago - did not work on this in June - ages off in September 2019

Paid Collection:

ERC

$0 Balance