When did you know you hit rock bottom with your credit

[Anonymous]

This was a few years ago but I knew I bottomed out when I got denied for a SECURED card from Cap One. I was like how in the world can I get denied when it's MY money that's fronting this. I felt so worthless. Lol

[DantGwyrdd]

When Credit One asked for income verification. It was a mixture of anxiety and relief (cause the card was awful, fee-wise). My overal util was like 103% at the time (cause interest would make one of my cards go over 100%). Thankfully, the amount of debt wasn't terrible so I got it under control. I'm now at 3% overall util and haven't been asked for income verification in years lol

[Anonymous]

I never heard of Credit One asking for income verification. Lol. Good stuff!

[Anonymous]

Rock bottom for me was when I had 3 accounts all around the same time report delinquencies, 2 of which I was unaware of and the one I was aware of was a mistake (which was rectified) but nonetheless a late payment was reported.  At the time, I didn't even know my FICO scores or monitor my reports at all.  I went for an auto loan and the dealership came back and said they were having trouble getting me approved for financing.  I was shocked, as at the same dealership 3 years earlier I was told my score was 800 when I got my last car there.  I figured nothing had changed on my report, so I probably still had an 800 score.  Eventually I was approved for a terrible rate and of course I then dug into my credit reports to find 3 delinquent accounts.  Also at the time I only had 1 credit card through my local credit union that was 15 years old that they took AA against me on and closed based on seeing those delinquent other accounts, even though I had never missed a payment on that credit card in 15 years and wasn't at high utilization.  Having trouble getting an auto loan and having my only CC closed down on me was my point of hitting bottom. 

[Anonymous]

I did not know that a creditor would close a card with such a long history and payments on time because of being late with others. I guess it kinda makes sense but still odd. Good info to know.

[Anonymous]

It certainly depends on the creditor, but when it comes to AA all it takes is negative information to be introduced onto your credit report from anywhere and it's game on for anyone that sees fit.  Obviously I was emotionally invested in the situation and at the time couldn't understand why a creditor that I had 15 years of fantastic history with would take AA on me for having done nothing wrong to them, but I see now that they were just being extremely cautious and safe.  It sucked, but I get it I suppose. 

I know someone that is currently maxed out on 8 of 9 of their credit cards and has been for over 6 months.  Since they have made on-time payments (albeit the minimums) none of the creditors have taken AA.  Should they miss just one payment though with any creditor (which, incidentally just happened), once the other creditors see that late payment on their report the chances of them taking AA are significantly magnified, as at that point the writing is on the wall and the chances of that person being late on another account increases significantly.  I'm actually curious to see what happens to this person's maxed out accounts once that late payment reports and is seen by everyone.

[Anonymous]

Mine was when BoA and JCP closed my long time accounts, both over 20 years, because of a dispute I had with Merrick Bank, which also closed my three month account. My claim is Merrick held a payment until after the due date and then charged me a LF. Throw in a dispute I had with BoA which was charging me for something I didn't purchase. I was the single card holder. BoA ignored my first two snail mailed complaints. All three closed my accounts. That was my only credit. I had gone from over $30K in CL to $0. This is why I am against ever closing a no AF CC. I had closed almost all of my what some call toy cards because I had a BoA with over $25K CL. Why did I need toy cards like Lord and Taylor, Macy's, Goodyear, Marathon, some with 30 years of reporting?

[expatCanuck]

It's all relative.

For me, it was when PNC balanced chased our HELOC (which I'd always kept current - and there always remained sufficient equity in our home).

That, and being quoted a (relatively) usurious rate for a car loan.

Since then, I've been better behaved (December's 4-card spree notwithstanding).

[CA4Closure]

Read my profile name. It says Foreclosure. Yes, it happened to me after a 12 month unemployment period. I could not find a job in my career and I could not keep up with the payments. All of my credit cards abandoned me. All except Capital One. They added an Annual Fee to my credit card and I lost the rewards part of the deal. I was evicted and no where to go except a Days Inn. By that time, I had a make do job but I needed a place to live and for two months I lived in this motel at $1,900 a month. Yes, I do not not know where I came up with the money other than that Capital One card was used to pay for a two month stay (Halloween to New Years). Imagine, living at a Days in during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. FUN.

A few months later, I go to use that Capital One card at a Del Taco restaurant and the clerk goes, "Sorry, your credit card was denied". I had used up 99% of my $3,000 credit limit. I put everything on that card. Gasoline, rent, food and other expenses. Pay day was not until 7 days later and I was nearly running on EMPTY gasoline wise!

Ever pay gasoline with spare change? Yes, I did! $10.26 in change. I remember that amount because I had to drink water and ate one slice of bread a day until pay day four days later! This is a true story. I am embarassed to repeat it because the pain returns of that awful period in my life.

I vowed from that day forward I was going to pay down my debt (Capital One card) and live very frugally. In 2014 on a whim, I decided to apply for a Discover Card online and surprisingly, I was approved for $1,000. At the time, Discover said my FICO score was 679. Discover was one of the cards that abandoned me after my foreclosure even though I was never behind on any of my credit cards.

Eight years later, my FICO score is 750. I have 10 credit cards with a utilization of less than 1%. I pay off my credit cards in full every pay day. Now credit card offers comes in my mail every day. American Express sends me three pre-qualification letters each week but because they also abandoned me, I will never again hold an American Express card again. Bank of America is another bank I will never patronize for sending me a letter to cut up their card and return it as my account with them was closed. Fine, I will never apply for a Bank of America card either!

[AverageJoesCredit]

When all my cards were maxed and i knew id never be able to pay them off paying minimum. Just got to the point i needed to start fresh and learn more about credit.Plus going for my first car, i should have got a lower monthly payment but due to everything maxed i think it affected my score which i never knew to check, and ended up paying way more for my model i bsught.