I stumbled upon this website through a GOOG search although I watch the Suze Orman show whenever I get a chance so I'm well aware of it. 
In the past year I've been attempting to rebuild my credit. My beacons were never horrible (in the mid-low 500s) but they were definitely sub-par. In fact, they still are. My problem has been a mixture of lack of credit-lines and charge-offs amongst other negative strikes for negligence. When I was 19 I had a first time credit card with a $600 line of credit. I ended up defaulting on that and a charge-off still exists with a high of around $1400 after interest, late-fees, etc. I also made a poor decision regarding choosing a trustworthy roommate. I left the apartment and failed to sign my name off the lease. He was evicted and as a result, we both have that strike on our reports. I still haven't been able to track him down but you live and learn. I also had little strikes here and there, most are paid off but there are still around 3 that I'm currently in the process of paying. 4 months ago I created an Orchard secured credit card with a limit of $200. For the most part, I've been charging around 30-35% and paying in full. I did, however, learn the hard way that my pay date and statement end dates due not end on the same day. Basically I've been using the card for my gas and that's it. I would pay the balance off in full and then charge a tank of gas 4-5 days later not realizing that the tank of gas was actually on my previous month resulting in a balance. I caught that pretty quick though. The secured credit line instantly boosted my credit on all three companies around 10 points and has actually increased it 20 or more points on TU and EQ. Now I'm at the point where my TU and EQ are both above 620. The EX is still struggling (575sh) and I'm guessing that's due to the charged off credit card transferring from TU. I would like to receive more credit in order to boost my scores but am unsure on which approach to take. Should I stick with Orchard and request an unsecured card? If so, how long should I wait? Or, should I just avoid them all around and go through another provider. Any help is appreciated and I'm definitely open to feedback regarding the other issues and advice. Thank you all in advance, Matt
In the past year I've been attempting to rebuild my credit. My beacons were never horrible (in the mid-low 500s) but they were definitely sub-par. In fact, they still are. My problem has been a mixture of lack of credit-lines and charge-offs amongst other negative strikes for negligence. When I was 19 I had a first time credit card with a $600 line of credit. I ended up defaulting on that and a charge-off still exists with a high of around $1400 after interest, late-fees, etc. I also made a poor decision regarding choosing a trustworthy roommate. I left the apartment and failed to sign my name off the lease. He was evicted and as a result, we both have that strike on our reports. I still haven't been able to track him down but you live and learn. I also had little strikes here and there, most are paid off but there are still around 3 that I'm currently in the process of paying. 4 months ago I created an Orchard secured credit card with a limit of $200. For the most part, I've been charging around 30-35% and paying in full. I did, however, learn the hard way that my pay date and statement end dates due not end on the same day. Basically I've been using the card for my gas and that's it. I would pay the balance off in full and then charge a tank of gas 4-5 days later not realizing that the tank of gas was actually on my previous month resulting in a balance. I caught that pretty quick though. The secured credit line instantly boosted my credit on all three companies around 10 points and has actually increased it 20 or more points on TU and EQ. Now I'm at the point where my TU and EQ are both above 620. The EX is still struggling (575sh) and I'm guessing that's due to the charged off credit card transferring from TU. I would like to receive more credit in order to boost my scores but am unsure on which approach to take. Should I stick with Orchard and request an unsecured card? If so, how long should I wait? Or, should I just avoid them all around and go through another provider. Any help is appreciated and I'm definitely open to feedback regarding the other issues and advice. Thank you all in advance, Matt
hello myficomatt and welcome!
You stumbled into the best place possible, and any admirer of Suze is a friend of mine.
Please read these 3 threads stickied over in General Credit Issues and refer to them well and often, most especially the 101.
Credit Scoring 101 Start Here: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=ficoscoring&thread.id=2654
Frequently Requested Threads: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&thread.id=6834
Guide to Common Abbreviations: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&thread.id=52625
Instead of getting more credit to boost your scores, you need to do the reverse right now. This means doing your repair work (disputes, DVs,GWs, PFDs), asking current accounts to increase your CL without hard INQs, not getting hard INQs by app'ing for anything new just yet and, timing payments to optimize UTI (and reducing your UTI as well). Call companies that you had old accounts with and see if they can re-open them without a new app, then consider the potential effects if so.
If you are still within SOL for small claims... start a suit against your former roommate while you can.
Many creditors will change your payment date to something that suits you better if you just call and ask.
What accounts do you currently have aside from the Orchard cc?