Putting My Plan In Motion

[Anonymous]

hello everyone

i recently moved to Pennsylvania from canada,(i actually have dual citizenship from birth) and have been trying to establish credit here in the usa, in april i applied for a couple small vehicle loans, knowing i would get denied but also knowing that my info would be "set" into my file

i then requested my credit report from EQ and after "updated" my information with them, i am working on getting my info to match from the 3 bureaus.

after spending a couple weeks reading about credit and how the scores work i signed up for a free 30 day trial at identityguard, pulled the 3 reports, and put in some disputes online (hope 30+5 applies and not the 15 day extra time limit)

i wanted to jump start my credit history by applying for a secured CC, but didnt want to tie up the 200 or whatever the minimum amount was to start the card.

then i read on these forums that the best buy value card was pretty much garenteed, so i (mistakenly) went ahead to bestbuy.com and applied (hsbc card) and got denied.

"go figure" i thought to myself.

But then i read and found a link to a "pre approved" hsbc best buy value zone rewards card, via this forum, filled out the app for yuks and voila, instant approval, now its only $100 credit limit, but this is a great start.

My plans are to get FICO scores from EQ and TU via this site subscription, after my new CC has been added to my Credit File.

(not sure how long this will take for me to aquire enough info to actually get a score)?

I guess from there i would like to apply for a small vehicle loan, around $2000 (small dirtbike)

(not sure how long ill need to wait, or how good my credit score will need to be... AAoA etc.)

once that is paid off (thinking of doing minimum payments to increase AAoA)

while working on my FICO scores, i would really love to "set up" my fiancee's FICO scores, so we can apply for a house mortgage in maybe 2 years (once small vehicle loan has been paid off)

hows my plan look? am i missing anything? maybe if you guru's could chime in with some tips, comments or strategies, i would be GREATLY appreciative

stoked on that $100 CL....   LOL  it may be small but its the seed that will grow into something beautifull

Thanks for looking

oh PS: what would be my best option to constantly check my FICO scores(2-4 times a month) on both EQ, and TU...apparently EX is another ballgame?

[llecs]

Welcome back to the USA!

Report info from Identity Guard is OK, but ignore the scores as they are not FICO scores.

Once that new CC reports for 6 months, then a FICO score will be generated, assuming you don't have any other open accounts.

IMO, only get the loan for the bike if you need it. Installment TLs help very little per your FICO score. In fact, it will damage your score more than it'll help in the beginning. Plus, they only help your mix of credit if a balance is reporting. I paid off my last installment last year (car) and one FICO score increased and the other decreased, both by single points. IMO, it isn't worth spending money on a new loan for a few (single digit) points.

AAoA factors in both open and closed OC accounts (good or bad). So, even if you paid off the dirtbike loan, the AAoA wouldn't change because it'll still report.

If I started from scratch (again), I would nix the dirtbike loan. I'd avoid all loans. Spending $$$$ to gain or lose a couple of points isn't worth it. However, if I had it do over again, I would focus on more CCs. I would get secured cards and I wouldn't apply for any unsecured cards (in the beginning). I would aim for a total of 3 CCs (you have one now) and would go after secured cards and would throw as much as possible ($1000+). I' d let them report and then I would wait. I wouldn't apply for anything at all for at least a year. After a year and after repairing my credit, assuming I was done with that, then I would re-evaluate via my FICO scores and maybe would apply for a 4th CC if I knew that CL would superceed any secured limits and if so, I would cancel one of my secured CCs and save the cash for the future home. If I had over 12 months at that point prior to applying for a mortgage, then I would consider a 5th card and would replace the other secured card. Again, I would use that money as savings for the future home. Finally, if 12 months had passed since my last credit card and if I was ready for a home, and if my credit was clean, then I would apply for a new home and would have 750+ FICO scores by that point.

Everyone is different. DW and I are about to buy our first home. We pull both FICO scores (TU  and EQ) twice per month via the FICO Standard product. We pull that frequently to track the cause and effect of utilization, account changes, etc. We also subscribe to a CMS (creditchecktotal...ignore the scores and advice). We pull those reports daily and as we see major changes, we come back to myFICO to see any scoring impact. Finally, we pull directly from each CRA to track other details like demographic changes, soft pulls, etc. I subscribe also to ScoreWatch and DW has TUQM. BTW, it is impossible to pull your EX FICO from anywhere, however, as a resident of PA, you have access as a member to PSECU (A CU in PA). PSECU offers free EX FICO scores on your checking account statement each month if you happen to be a member.

[Anonymous]

thanks for the reply, good ideas, that changes my game plan a little

i applied at  psecu  and plan on using that bank for our future mortgage...good rates, and research i did says its a REALLY good bank

last night we signed fiancee up for the free 30 day identity guard trial, to get an idea where she stands......  lotsa errors including a delinquent CC that she has never owned 

anyone have a link to those dispute templates, and the past 30 days template my brain is frizzled from all the research lol should have bookmarked, d/l them

so glad i found this site, tons of good info

[chasmith]

Dantaz, what organization did you use to qualify to join PSECU?

[Anonymous]

hi, i used a family member

[chasmith]

Thanks, I was hoping they had a group I could join to gain membership.

[llecs]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

anyone have a link to those dispute templates, and the past 30 days template 

---

IMO, don't dispute anything. Read this info:

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

What Steps Do I Take - great for learning the repair process.

and Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.

[Anonymous]

i shouldnt do anything about the card thats not hers?

because there are no collections, reports from the CA ended Aug 2009 (EQ) last report was 9/09, first delinquency 1/09, TU has no data except that it was "charged off", and EX doesnt even know about it, it is negatively impacting her EQ Fako score though by about 20-30 points give or take

kinda confused

ty for the links

[llecs]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

i shouldnt do anything about the card thats not hers?

---

I missed reading that. My bad.

If you are 100% certain, beyond any doubt, that it is not hers, then contact the police. Tell them that someone used her info to apply for credit without her knowledge or consent. Get a copy of the police report and then use that report copy to file a dispute with each CRA. It'll come off pretty quickly. Without the police report, the odds of it getting verified are pretty high. Once verified without the police report, it'll be next to impossible to get removed from all 3. Working with the police is easy. I live in the DC metro area and the police were eager to get a report out to me (someone cloned a CC of mine). Plus if they have her info, then it can happen again.

ETA...you may want to do some research first on that CC to see if it changed ownership over the years (e.g. Providian - WAMU - Chase, or First Union - Wachovia - Wells Fargo, etc.)

[Anonymous]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPMorgan_Chase#Acquisition_history

found this but no clues on her inquiries...heck only inquires done around her turning 18, are CAP one...a card she doesnt have or ever had, nor is being reported

not sure what else to dig into