My game plan does this make sense...Before I even try??

[Anonymous]

Ok my credit rating is>>>>Fico score according to Equifax on its report is 620.  Exp 584 /  Equi 572 / Trans 572.

I am working on improving my rating to over 700 Ideally..

I am purchasing a small Franchise Business within the next Year. I have a couple bucks under my mattress....

I need to improve my rating of course to get a better rate on a Business Loan what do I need to do? ( I have a cosigner but don't want one ideally )

I would like to start with an AMX card is that possible at 620 fico? I have no bankruptcy just some lates and a couple collections I have paid off.

I applied for a CC and they sent me this letter saying I was appoved but we need $95.00 for a processing fee? Sounds fishy is it??

If need be I will go to a Credit Union and open an account and give the a few grand and get a secured Card or two to help.....can the Experts here tell me the pitfalls of my plan...  Ps I now have been working on this for 6 months to Improve my credit...Thank you....

[KeepSwimming]

Hey BigD,

Based on everything I've read here, AmEx isn't an option until you're around 700 or so. They have their own proprietary scoring system to approve/disapprove, but a FICO of 700 seems to be the starting point.

The processing fee probably isn't fishy if this is a secured card that you applied for. What card was it?

I'd work on the lates and collections with some GW letters. Did you just pay off all the CAs with no PFDs?

[RobertEG]

My first step would be to establish an account with your CU, and then get a CC from them.

[Anonymous]

I just started Calling creditors and seeing if they would take off the account if I paid them in full. Boy was that an eye opener...They do not want to help they were just mean people from the get go. Its clear there is NO governing body on these Companies/People. A couple removed them but most did not and were just assH*&^%s from the get go..I did not even know about PFD until last week. I also had thought when a creditor was paid and said they would delete it would happen to all 3.....Wrong.

[RobertEG]

I would not be very surprised when creditors give you short-shrift when you request a PFD.

Viewing it from their perspective, the reporting agreements that creitors have with the CRAs includes specific instructions that creditors are NOT to delete proper, prior account reporting based on payment of the debt.  So in refusal to do PFDs, they are just complying with their agreements with the CRAs.

Some credtiors have a corporate policy of NO PFDs, so sure, they will probably blow you off very quickly.

Some creditors will consider a PFD, notwithstanding the credit reporting guidelines, thus putting instant $ in their pocket.

It is not a statutory or regulatory process, and is left solely up to the individual creditor.

As to who deletes, and what is deleted if and when a PFD offer is accepted, be aware that a PFD offer is a legal offer of contract.

Most consumer PFD offers are pretty pitiful, leaving the one to whom the offer was made a lot of weasel-room to therafter ignore or not enforce provisions that were not explicitly stated in the PFD offer to them. 

I would offer the following comments on making a PFD offer. 

Usually, you dont want to ask for account deletion in a PFD offer.  There are good things in prior acccout history that you might want preserved, such as age of the account, that you dont want deleted. Specify each derog that is part of your offer, and further specificy that deletion is to be of their prior reporting of the specified derogs with all credit reporting agencies to which they reported the derogs.

You want to identify the specific derogs that you seek their agreeement to delte, and not their entire account.