@Courtyj725 wrote:Hello!
I am new to MyFico and have pulled 2 out of my 3 scores.
I first learned about Myfico after googling regarding Chase Freedom "not enough info, get back to you in 7-10 days" schpiel after applying.
I'd like to know what folks think regarding a few things and see if I can get some advice from those with success stories on here!
About me:
Barclays Visa (Apple) $1700 limit
Capital One Platinum Mastercard $2000 limit
Sallie Mae Student Loans ($13,000)
All accts in good standing.
2 neg marks on EX totaling no more than $130 bucks. One medical and one subscription to book club that i never agreed to. Both paid & closed.
No late payments.
Pay twice the minimum on each cc every month.
FICO EQ: 650 FICO EX: 640 as of 6/17/13
So, I applied for a Chase Freedom card 5/1/13 and got the 7-10 day response.
I also applied for the Citi Simplicity card 5/1/13 and got denied.
I googled and found the boards back door number for Chase and called to try and get approved.
Things were looking good until they found a $738 tax judgment on my acct.
I had no idea and didn't ever recall any tax debt going to collection but last year did owe taxes and was paying monthly, so I assumed somehow it got on my report.
I was told denial because of judgment and for high balances on two ccs.
I explained I just got a new job in Feb and can now consistently pay down credit but intend to transfer balance to new card because interest on others is too high and makes effective debt reduction more difficult.
After denial, I wanted to see what else was on my credit reports and pulled my free reports for the year.
Turns out the judgment wasn't mine!
It was for someone with my same name but different middle initial but when state tax dept sends info to court house it doesn't include social, so they just attach it to the first name they find that matches. ugh!
Chances ar emy score was down when it didn't need to be!
I went through the process of getting it removed from all of my reports and the incorrect address.
Because of these updates, I wanted to see if I could recon for Chase again.
I called and the decision had already been made and mailed out so they said I should reapply.
If I do that will make the 3rd inquiry on my account in 6 years.
Questions:
1. Next month I have the option of paying down both ccs to a lower amount. Should I wait to reapply after paying them down? Nothing helps your FICO score more than lowering your utilization. Always app when your utilization is as low as possible.
2. Should I not reapply at all and try to change my APRs and request higher limits on my current cards? IMHO, CLIs and lower APRs are always good routes to take, unless you are very new to credit (one card or no cards).
3. My credit history is not longer than 6 years, how badly does that affect me? The longer your AAoA the better, but I think that an AAoA of 6 years is adequate for most lenders.
4. Next neg mark not to fall off until 2015. Should I garden only until then? Pragmatically, any negative can hurt your chances of approval, so of course letting all of your negs fall of is best. However, if they are very old (at least 5 years) some lenders may not give them as much weight.
Things to note: Currently my debt-to-credit ratio doesn't look good because of the student loans being high balance since they are deferred till 2014 and high balances on both ccs.
I am not sure I want to risk putting 3 inquiries on my account when I haven't had any in years if I'm not going to get approved. So I'm weary of applying again.
Any thoughts/ideas will be appreciated!!!!
...and welcome to myFICO. Good luck to you!
I suggest once you get the judgment off and get your 2 balances down, reapply for Chase. They are good to get in the door with. 3 inquiries really isn't that much. And they fall off after 2 years, so you might not even have that many.
Starting Score: 515Thanks indiolatino!
Your advice sounds smart, fair and followable. 
Thanks for the info!
Is there a thread that I can refer to for advice on lowering APRs or raising credit limits?
My Barclay APR is 22.99%. Miserable.
In all honesty, after paying that card down I NEVER want to use it again. I wouldn't close it since it has no annual but is that irresponsible to never use it?
I've seen mention of 10% revolving credit. Is that good to maintain on every line of credit you have?
I wonder if ther ei smuch success in getting lower APRs with Barclays. I read somewhere that APRs with them start high and stay high.
Welcome to the forum! Unfortunately, not knowing what's on a cr before applying is never a good idea. Fortunately, you were able to take care of the judgment quickly. I would agree with the others, once your utilization is down and your CR's are updated reapply to Chase. Having 3 inq's is not a large amount and I appreciate that you are sensitive to what it might do to your cr.
Good luck and don't be a stranger around here.
Good luck and don't be a stranger around here.
Welcome to the forum!
This is posted in the rebuilding folder, but I suggest you also ask this in the credit card folder. Personally, once you get the tax lein off your report and its cleaner, I would pay down those existing cards as quickly as you can (who needs to pay interest longer than necessary, right?) and garden for around 6 months. Time does heal wounds, especially credit ones.
LOL I just posted in the rebuilder thread for you to post this here...I'll repeat what i said here..
I would not apply for anything else for a bit... 6 months is a good time frame. This will give time for the misplaced tax lien to be removed, and give you time to pay down those balances. if you have the means, pay them down/off. no need to pay interest if you don't have to.
Thanks for the welcome Lexie and yes, I was a bit of a novice and impulsive so I didn't think to look at the reports prior to but myfico boards realllly helped me to get smart quick and not have to make mistakes to learn.
As far as the updated CR's, i plan to pay down the cards in July. So I wouldn't apply again (if i did) until August or September (?) but where is the best place to pull the reports from.. or rather should i not pull the reports and just request myfico scores again?
I will be continuing my Scorewatch for these next 3 months because of this and can get my scores at a discount but is there a better (read: cheaper) ways to get FICOS (no FAKOs)?
Thanks codimom!
I also saw your reply in the other board.
Haha, im a fast learner, i figured to post in both re this...
Loving the boards a ton already!