Need Higher Limit Card(s) To Improve Utilization Ratio

[Anonymous]

New guy here. Let me know if I'm going about this the wrong way. My credit scores were low across the board primarily due to a Wells Fargo chargeoff that I needed to dispute. Enterprise charged an auto rental to my personal credit card on file instead of my business debit card. I disputed the charge and Wells Fargo upheld it without an appeal. Protest ensued until the account was closed. That was early 2014.

Fast forward to last year in March I opened a a secured account with CapitalOne ($1500). I've never even carried a balance, much less had any payment issues, but the limit is so low that utilization has been high at times within the biling cycle. The CL was raised to $1800 in October for good behavior but that's obviously not enough to really impact on utilization. So I finally started paying attention to the reporting cycles, and subscribed to the Ultimate 3B to lift-up the hood for more score hacks and such.

This month I applied for Uber after a CreditWise/FAKO? reported a 40 point TransUnion spike. Was declined, contacted Barclays, and found out it was due to the Wells Fargo chargeoff. I desperately need TransUnion dispute tips to get rid of that. But I'm also concerned about losing the account/age. Not against reopening another Wells Fargo CL if that gives me continuity. 

In the meantime, I contacted CapitalOne to either increase the CL or graduate on my secured account. They said that CL increases on secured accounts are fully-automated and that the eligibility for graduating them has not been written. So basically I would have to apply for a new unsecured account, which means a 3B pull. I'm still skeptical about the validity of that, but did it anyway. Was approved for QuickSilver One with a $300 limit. After I receive the card I'm going to contact their underwriting department for CL increase guidance.

In the meantime, any other suggestions on acquiring a higher credit limits to improve utilization and/or tips on getting this chargeoff disputed and removed? I need at least $10K to keep utilization in check and still be able to pay off the balance in full. That's why I was hoping Uber would get me over the hump, or close. I'm sure I broke some cardinal credit rules along the way, but if anyone can tell me what to do to correct them, I'm all ears/eyes. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Discover secured. $2500 max deposit. Graduates in 7 months for most.

Stop letting more than $50 report at statement cut on your capital one secured.

Pay off the chargeoff balance so aggregate utilization is managed perfectly. Can't dispute something you know you owe and expect success but paying it off can raise scores due to util calculation in FICO.

[DeeBee78]

Based on your three scores, I'm guessing that the chargeoff is on all three of your credit reports, which means any lender is going to see it, and might deny you for the same reason. 

The chargeoff isn't going anywhere for at least another four years. It's up to you if you want to pay it (and reset the reporting cycle for another 7 years), or just let it fall off in four years. At least if you pay it, you have a good recon story for any future denials based on it. 

Capital One isn't going to recon your starting limit on the QS1, but it can steadily grow for you, and is in the credit steps program. If I were you, I would ignore that partially secured Capital One card you have, and funnel all your spending through that QS1. Why? Because you could end up with a 2-3K credit steps CLI if you do.

1. Put all your charges on this card. Don't worry about getting the balance to less than 10% before the statement cuts - Capital One doesn;t care. Use it for everything, and pay it off as you make purchases. It's a pain to make payments every couple of days, but it's what you need to do.

2. Every month after the statement cuts, go into your Capital One account online and request a CLI. You will probably get a small $100 or $200 CLI after the 2nd or 3rd statement cuts. The requests are soft pulls, so no harm to your inquiries. Continue to put all your charges on the card, paying it off several times a month. You need to show them that the tiny limit they gave you isn't good for your spending patterns. 

3. After the 5th statement cuts, you'll get your credit steps CLI. If you've done what I've said above, you could get a $2-3K Credit Steps CLI, like my mother did. She went from $500 to $3,500. 

4. Want even more of a limit? Follow this process of cycling the full credit limit multiple times per month, and Capital One will give it to you. CLI's are 6 months exactly in between, so mark your calendar for 181 days from your credit steps CLI. In a year from now, you could have a $5-8K card easily, if your spending supports it as you say it does.

Make sure you occasionally call into customer service and ask if there are any upgrades on your account. You want to get out of the QS1 and onto a regular QS before that annual fee hits. 

Look at my signature to see what I've been able to do with a $300 QS1 I opened back in August of 2014. It's not hard, it's just patience. A lot of people get fed up with Capital One because if you don't use a decent portion of your limit, they won't CLI you, or will cut you down. 

[Anonymous]

Paying the chargeoff to $0 won't reset the DOFD and it won't reset the 7 year reporting period based on DOFD.

But it will help FICO utilization. Getting more cards won't help enough because that chargeoff reports both overlimit aggregate and overlimit individual.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! It took me a minute to figure out the statement cutoff was being reported since I never carryied any balances outside of the current period. I didn't want to get another secured card unless it was tied to something I'd actually use. But Discover could be a safety net. They max deposits at $2500? As for the dispute, I definitely don't owe them that money. It was a business rental that Enterprise charged for, and later admitted that the manager should not have charged my personal card. Wells Fargo had all the necessary info, but mishandled the fraud claim.

[Anonymous]

Hire a credit attorney locally and sue if they're misreporting.  he gets attorneys fees rewarded and you get $1000.

Discover opens with $200 deposit and you can add money whenever up to $2500 total.  Card pays 2% on everything and 4% on gas and restaurants due to first year double cash back match!  And graduates super fast .

[Anonymous]

That's awesome (and patient)! And what you suggested for the QS1 is exactly what I've been doing with the secured card. That's the why conversation I had with them today was so frustrating, because I've asked them all of the right questions and never got a right answer until now. Their customer service agents aren't the best, but I like the app/ease of use. Yes, the chargeoff is on all reports and the only DEROG.