Denied for BOFA fully secured...(update p2)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I called a second time and explained that the judgements were actually paid, and offered to forward a letter to that effect.  They gave me a fax number and a reference number for the application and said I could request reconsideration.

I wrote a letter of explanation on a few of the baddies and faxed that with the letter to the number I was given. 

I guess now I just wait and see.  I suppose I'll call back tomorrow or Monday to see if they received it.  Has anyone else done this - sent a letter via fax - and had results?

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There are also other "secured card" options out there. You might want to look at them unless there is a specific reason you are looking at BOA.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I called a second time and explained that the judgements were actually paid, and offered to forward a letter to that effect.  They gave me a fax number and a reference number for the application and said I could request reconsideration.

I wrote a letter of explanation on a few of the baddies and faxed that with the letter to the number I was given. 

I guess now I just wait and see.  I suppose I'll call back tomorrow or Monday to see if they received it.  Has anyone else done this - sent a letter via fax - and had results?

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There are also other "secured card" options out there. You might want to look at them unless there is a specific reason you are looking at BOA.

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My only other card - just opened - is an Orchard secured.  I was hoping to qualify for the BofA secured because I've read such good things about them unsecuring the card at some point, so you don't get stuck with a rebuilder forever that you can't close.

Thanks for the feedback - I will let you know if anything comes of it.  If I still get denied, I'm probably going to wait before applying for another one - most of my baddies come off end of this year/first of next year, so that might help.

[haulingthescoreup]

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helplessintn wrote:

Thanks for the feedback - I will let you know if anything comes of it.  If I still get denied, I'm probably going to wait before applying for another one - most of my baddies come off end of this year/first of next year, so that might help.

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I hope the recon with the letter works for you.

In general, don't apply for credit that you don't absolutely need (think of car in flames on the side of the road --that type of need) until you've gotten your reports as clean as possible. With something that close to falling off, I would definitely wait. You always want to present yourself in the best light that you can. You'll get a better deal, better APR, better CL, etc.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the feedback - I will let you know if anything comes of it.  If I still get denied, I'm probably going to wait before applying for another one - most of my baddies come off end of this year/first of next year, so that might help.

---

I hope the recon with the letter works for you.

In general, don't apply for credit that you don't absolutely need (think of car in flames on the side of the road --that type of need) until you've gotten your reports as clean as possible. With something that close to falling off, I would definitely wait. You always want to present yourself in the best light that you can. You'll get a better deal, better APR, better CL, etc.

Good luck!

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Thanks. 

I really don't care about having another card - I've gone this long without them.  I just want to build my score as much as possible to try for a mortage in another year or so, and I'm a slave to the siren call of the FICO score simulator.  When she tells me I might get points, I can't think about anything else until I've tried it. 

She's an evil master, that one. 

[haulingthescoreup]

I hear that. I wish the sim factored in major baddies falling off, but I don't think it does. (Could well be wrong, though.) As best as I can tell, I will project how you'll do if you don't acquire any additional baddies, but it doesn't crunch the removal of existing ones.

At the risk of presenting you with an additional Siren, have you ever tried the FICO score estimator? (link in my siggy below) This one is completely dependent on the info that you enter, and the projected score ranges are even broader, but it's interesting to run it with and then without existing baddies, and see the difference in scores. It can be wonderfully motivating! I call it my FICO score time machine, letting me go back in time and not do the dumb things that I did.

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
I hear that. I wish the sim factored in major baddies falling off, but I don't think it does. (Could well be wrong, though.) As best as I can tell, I will project how you'll do if you don't acquire any additional baddies, but it doesn't crunch the removal of existing ones.

At the risk of presenting you with an additional Siren, have you ever tried the FICO score estimator? (link in my siggy below) This one is completely dependent on the info that you enter, and the projected score ranges are even broader, but it's interesting to run it with and then without existing baddies, and see the difference in scores. It can be wonderfully motivating! I call it my FICO score time machine, letting me go back in time and not do the dumb things that I did.

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Yep!  I've played with that one, too.  They're all fun, aren't they?!

I think I've just hit a wall now.  I only managed to get one CA off with GW.  I'm having zero luck on getting people to remove.  I think the most I can do now is keep sending letters, try like hell to keep anything new from showing up, and give it time.  Patience is not one of my virtues!

I just really want a home.    And if I can't get a secured credit card, there's no way I'm going to qualify for a mortgage.  I don't even know if a year is long enough.  <sigh>  But, thanks to these forums, I've made good progress on my scores in the last month, from 585 to over 600, so that's something.

Message Edited by helplessintn on 08-14-2009 08:40 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

Oh, of course, I remember now --sorry!

When those judgments age off, if they're your only judgments, you'll move into a slightly less negative score bucket (serious derogs, instead of serious derogs + public records.) You might see some score progress from that. In the meantime, will any of the collections have "birthdays" (hit 3 years old, 4 years old, etc) between now and the time the judgments disappear? That will help you, too. You might find yourself hitting 620+ just from waiting it out, and having the judgments gone will really help as well.

I think you've checked out the credit union route? In Tennessee, I would think all the local ones would pull EQ.


edit: cna't splel

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 08-14-2009 09:27 PM

[Anonymous]

I faxed in a reconsideration letter Friday evening, and today I got another email message to check online for their decision - and it's still no.  So, it's definitely not happening.

I did go ahead and apply for a card with my credit union, and they asked a couple of questions about my report (were the items paid - the answer is yes), and what limit I was looking for, so I'm more optimistic about that one.

That will give me two CCs, and I think I'm done.

ETA:  the credit union pulled EQ.  I pulled a score power report and the inquiry didn't cost me, so at least that's some consolation even if I don't end up getting the card.

Message Edited by helplessintn on 08-17-2009 02:32 PM