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[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I've been a lurker for a few months.. I can't stand the entire credit system or the games you have to play to get your scores up but the game is what it is. At some point you would think the goverment would step up and say people have the right to see and know there scores at least once a year for free.  I've been trying to do my best to fix my credit for about 3 years..I filled CH 7 in 2/05 and it's been a lot harder than I thought it would be. I can't get re-established.. I'm not sure what service to use to monitor and pull crs. I have two cc Orchard and Cap 1 each with 500 limits.. I was using them and paying them off in full for two years up until about 3 months ago when I used the Cap 1 card and they tried to pull the payment from a closed checking acct.  Of coarse it bounced (fee) they dedcided it was time for me to make my annual payment (fee) pushed me over the limit (fee) I thought it was paid obviously it wasn't (late) I made a payment of 150 (in my mind) got my statement and it said I was 120 over the limit. It's killed my score that I had moving in the right direction.

Applied for US Air yesterday denied. Applied for Penfed membership.. approved. I haven't applied for credit there. Don't think I'm going to bother.

Any guidance is appreciated. I have a couple small collections I'm going back and fourth with CAs PFD.. less than 300 for two of them. 

I need a plan and I'm not sure where to start. Cap 1 really hurt me... I forgot to mention that put my APR at 30%.

Thanks for reading .. I think this place is really helpful

[JoeBJay20]

Welcome to the forums!

I'm a little confused with your Cap1 issue.  Were you saying that you paid late and you went over your limit, or that you only went over your limit?  If it's just the latter, then paying your balance back down will regain any points you lost.  Regardless, what you want reporting is a $0 amount on one card and a small (1-4% of total utility) amount on the other.  If you're PIF every month then the interest rate doesn't really matter.  But you want to pay it before the statement drops to avoid paying interest.  Unlike most CCs that report your balance on the day the statement drops, HSBC/Orchard reports on the last day of the month.  If you were looking for a 3rd CC, you should looking into getting a secured card, preferably one that unsecures after 12 months or so.  Did you request validation with those CAs, or did you already know they were valid?  Has the SOL expired?  DOFD?  You should visit the following forums for more information if you haven't already. 

FICO Scoring 101  State Resources  Where Do I Start?  Common Abbreviations

[Anonymous]

Thank you Joe, I appreciate your response. I know Cap 1 is confusing.. Here's how it went.

Balance was around 300.. I made a payment of 150 on-line it's a drop down selection of the account you want to use. Unfortunately, I used my old checking account that was closed so the payment in my mind was paid. In reality it bounced so they charged me 39.. then they decided to charge me my annual card fee (89 I think) then I didn't find out about the payment bouncing until the payment was late.. so they charged me another 39 all of these fee pushed me over my limit so they charged me another fee 39 again.. those are exact numbers but that's how it went. 

Thanks for the info on Orchard reporting the last day of the month I didn't know that.. why do you suggest a secure card? 

I have almost zero debt.. I have no mortage or utilities at the moment. My dad is really sick and I'm taking care of him at his house. I make 40-45K a year and have strong employment history. I basically have zero dti.

Thanks again can you tell what you think is a good source for tracking my scores and reports?

[JoeBJay20]

Well you can try to contact Cap1 and let them know it was an honest mistake, that you did attempt to make the on-time payment but that you accidentally used the wrong account.  Some people have had success with Cap1 using planetfeedback, google it if you're unfamiliar.  Also search on here for backdoor numbers to Cap1,  you may be able to get your annual fee partially or completely refunded. 

I suggested the secured card because of your BK.  I'm not sure what your scores are, but if they're still low, you'll find it difficult to qualify for many decent cards, and you don't want to go wasting inquiries to get denied.  Many secured cards can be switched to unsecured after you establish a history with them of paying on time and staying within your limits.  Otherwise, you may end up only getting rebuilder cards like Cap1 and Orchard, which are good for rebuilding but won't grow ith you as your credit improves.

There are numerous credit monitoring services available.  All of the CRAs have credit monitoring services, and there are others available like CreditCheckControl, National City ID Protect, Chase ID Protect, and more.  With those services, ignore the scores they give you and many of the suggestions.  If you want true FICO scores, then your options are limited.  You can purchase EQ and TU scores here at MyFICO or at their individual sites (transunioncs.com for TU, not transunion.com).  EX scores are no longer sold directly to the public, and are only available from a mortgage loan officer or if you're a member of a certain credit union in PA. 

[Anonymous]

I'll look into the secure card, I see where you're coming from on that and I'm going to sign up for one of the products here at myfico to get my scores.. it would be nice if there where once place you could go to get all your reports and scores wouldn't it? I know about the "monitoring" services what about unlimited pulls? That's what I need to keep a close eye on whats going on..I think?

I'll post my scores when I'm signed up but last I checked they were in the 650 range..  my girlfriends credit is impeccable and we will be getting married within the next year. We want to get a house this year cause of the 8000 tax credit for 1st time buyers. I've would not qualify for this but she will..any advice on how her good credit can help mine or should we just leave me off so I dont' hurt hers?