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WANT A HIGHER SCORE

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DisputeQueen
Established Member

WANT A HIGHER SCORE

I've worked really hard to clean up my credit and it's starting to show.  However, I want to know how to make it higher.

 

I have a bankruptcy on my CR that will come off in 6 months.

 

I have two car loans. One I got very recently and have only made one payment so far on time.  The other I've had for almost 2 years in Oct. I do have 60 days late on that one from April 2019. But since then my payments have been on time.

 

I have three credit cards (Capital One $300 SL, Credit One $400 SL, and Indigo $300 SL). Capital One I've had 3 months, Credit One I've had almost 2 years, and Indigo I've had about 3 months. All 3 cards have all been paid on time.

 

My credit card utilization just went from 50% to 6% and my score went up 62 points two days ago.

 

I do have one credit card that I had for almost two years that was late one time 30 days in July 2019.  However, I closed that card because it was secured and I got okayed to have the Capital One card.

 

I also have a self lender loan that was for $500 and is now paid down to like $350 and I've never been late on that either.

 

I do have a PAID charge off for a car loan from back in 2015.  There is another car loan that was paid off and was never late from 2014.

 

Finally I have a defered student loan in good standing. No lates.

 

So now what can I do to make my score go up to 725? Smiley Happy

 

 

Message 1 of 16
15 REPLIES 15
FireMedic1
Community Leader
Mega Contributor

Re: WANT A HIGHER SCORE


@DisputeQueen wrote:

I've worked really hard to clean up my credit and it's starting to show.  However, I want to know how to make it higher.

 

I have a bankruptcy on my CR that will come off in 6 months.

 

I have two car loans. One I got very recently and have only made one payment so far on time. The new loan will hold you back for a while. The other I've had for almost 2 years in Oct. I do have 60 days late on that one from April 2019. But since then my payments have been on time.

 

I have three credit cards (Capital One $300 SL, Credit One $400 SL, and Indigo $300 SL). Capital One I've had 3 months, Credit One I've had almost 2 years, and Indigo I've had about 3 months. All 3 cards have all been paid on time. Get the cards down to only 1 reporting a balance of say $20 a month and then PIF before the due dte.

 

My credit card utilization just went from 50% to 6% and my score went up 62 points two days ago.

 

I do have one credit card that I had for almost two years that was late one time 30 days in July 2019.  However, I closed that card because it was secured and I got okayed to have the Capital One card.

 

I also have a self lender loan that was for $500 and is now paid down to like $350 and I've never been late on that either. Didnt need this. You have 2 installments with the autos.

 

I do have a PAID charge off for a car loan from back in 2015.  There is another car loan that was paid off and was never late from 2014. Charge off ding the entire 7 yrs. It ranks below a BK.

 

Finally I have a defered student loan in good standing. No lates.

 

So now what can I do to make my score go up to 725? Smiley Happy

 

 


Once the BK is gone you may hit it. The past dings will affect you until they age some more. You can ask for EE to get it off sooner. Call TU & EX ask for a supervisor to have it removed early.

TU - 6 months early
EX - 3 months early
EQ - 30 days early, but don’t do it. They'll screw it up more.


Message 2 of 16
DisputeQueen
Established Member

Re: WANT A HIGHER SCORE

I do have a PAID charge off for a car loan from back in 2015.  There is another car loan that was paid off and was never late from 2014. Charge off ding the entire 7 yrs. It ranks below a BK.

 

-- Thank you for your response! I truly appreciate it.  What do you mean when you say Charge off ding the entire 7 years? And below a BK you mean it doesn't sit as negatively as a BK, right?

 

I have three credit cards (Capital One $300 SL, Credit One $400 SL, and Indigo $300 SL). Capital One I've had 3 months, Credit One I've had almost 2 years, and Indigo I've had about 3 months. All 3 cards have all been paid on time. Get the cards down to only 1 reporting a balance of say $20 a month and then PIF before the due dte.

 

-- So charge very little on it and then pay it all before the due date every month until my score goes up to what I want it?

 

I also have a self lender loan that was for $500 and is now paid down to like $350 and I've never been late on that either. Didnt need this. You have 2 installments with the autos.

 

-- Should I just ask the self lender loan to just pay me back my money and close the "loan"? Or should I just pay it off early and be done with it, which I can pay it off next month.  I jactually ust e-mailed them tonight because I am not happy that I have been paying since April 2020 and I've made four payments and only 1 and 2 payments are showing on my CR. So I asked them to report ASAP or send me my money back.

 

Thank you very much for your help! 

 

Message 3 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: WANT A HIGHER SCORE


@DisputeQueen wrote:

I do have a PAID charge off for a car loan from back in 2015.  There is another car loan that was paid off and was never late from 2014. Charge off ding the entire 7 yrs. It ranks below a BK.

 

-- Thank you for your response! I truly appreciate it.  What do you mean when you say Charge off ding the entire 7 years? And below a BK you mean it doesn't sit as negatively as a BK, right?

 

Correct, a CO is basically the next most severe derogatory after a bankruptcy. What he means by the seven-year ding is that some minor derogs like an isolated 30-day late payment will lose most of their damaging effect after two years, but bigger ones like 60-day lates and worse, chargeoffs, etc will hurt significantly the entire time they're on your reports.

 

I have three credit cards (Capital One $300 SL, Credit One $400 SL, and Indigo $300 SL). Capital One I've had 3 months, Credit One I've had almost 2 years, and Indigo I've had about 3 months. All 3 cards have all been paid on time. Get the cards down to only 1 reporting a balance of say $20 a month and then PIF before the due dte.

 

-- So charge very little on it and then pay it all before the due date every month until my score goes up to what I want it?

 

Nope, charge all you want. The key isn't what you spend, but the spend that's reported to the bureaus. You can spend all you like on your cards, but before their statement dates (when they report), pay two of them to zero and the third to about a $10 balance. Once the new statement cuts, pay off that $10 to avoid interest and start over again. It's a technique known as AZEO, all zero except one. It has proven to be worth 5-20 points for people, depending on their profiles. Once your rebuild is complete AZEO really isn't necessary until a month or two before you apply for credit to pretty up your reports and max out your scores, but during a rebuild it's a great way to develop and ingrain responsible credit habits that'll stick with you.

 

I also have a self lender loan that was for $500 and is now paid down to like $350 and I've never been late on that either. Didnt need this. You have 2 installments with the autos.

 

-- Should I just ask the self lender loan to just pay me back my money and close the "loan"? Or should I just pay it off early and be done with it, which I can pay it off next month.  I jactually ust e-mailed them tonight because I am not happy that I have been paying since April 2020 and I've made four payments and only 1 and 2 payments are showing on my CR. So I asked them to report ASAP or send me my money back.

 

Thank you very much for your help! 

Pay it off next month and close it. It'll stay on your reports for up to ten years after closure as a positive tradeline that contributes to the aging factors of your score.

 

Follow this advice and from today forward, no lates or missed payments ever, for any reason. Not 30 or 60 days, not even an hour past a due date. Payment history is the biggest single slice of the FICO8 pie and it's the biggest and most important factor in scoring. One hour late won't get reported to the bureaus but you can bet the lender will remember and it'll probably nuke any chances of increases (and will likely invoke a high penalty APR) for a couple of years. Do what FM1 laid out in his reply and you WILL rebuild successfully Smiley Happy 

 


 

Message 4 of 16
DisputeQueen
Established Member

Re: WANT A HIGHER SCORE

Wow! Thank you! I'm excited to rebuild and to tell my friend who is also doing the same.  Thank you both so much for all of your help! I truly appreciate it!  You guys this stuff down! Take care and be safe & healthy! Smiley Happy xo

Message 5 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: WANT A HIGHER SCORE

You're welcome and welcome to the forums. This site is second to none when it comes to the experience of its members and the collection of knowledge here. 

I would advise you to spend time reading like crazy, asking questions, etc and you'll be amazed how much strategy has been deduced by people here over the years, from playing by the rules to boost your scores, to when/how to apply for specific banks and cards, etc. And if you'd like to kick off a full-on rebuild thread, start one with a little background and list out all of your accounts, open or closed. Include limit, balance, current status, payment history, current owner of the debt, and any derogatory tradelines, closed accounts (whether good or bad) and the knowledgeable membership here can help to guide you. We (collectively) know which collection agencies may be willing to delete themselves from your reports in exchange for payment, when/how you can get old tradelines removed before their natural dropoff dates, and how to apply for accounts that use your best scores per bureau.

 

Pull your reports free from www.annualcreditreport.com and get your FICO scores at www.creditchecktotal.com for a dollar (cancel the trial after you have them so you aren't enrolled in a recurring $30/month subscription, and you can repeat this as often as you like), and include your scores. We don't judge, we get that life happens, and most of us have been there. Inclusion of scores and derogs helps us help you - it's not to give us ammo to make fun. 

I would encourage you to get your friend to join as well and we can help him/her too. Best of all, we're free Smiley Happy

Message 6 of 16
DisputeQueen
Established Member

Re: WANT A HIGHER SCORE

I have been kind of a lurker on here for a few months. I get on here and read stuff and it's definitely helped. My friend is also on here and she and I are always going back and forth on how to get our scores higher. Smiley Happy

 

I do have a question though.  I had an ex boyfriend who liked to play poker on my account, which you're really not supposed to do, but I let him do it anyway from time to time. We lived together and when I was at work he electronically put thru checks to play poker from my checking account and then I refused to pay for them and so did he. The checks bounced and have been reported to my credit report by a collection agency. I got them deleted from TU and Experian, by explaining what happened.  However, Equifax will not remove them. I've disputed them online several times.

 

So should I dispute them thru the mail with that letter that I've seen on here asking for 20 different pieces of information about how and where they got their information? 

Message 7 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: WANT A HIGHER SCORE

You could try but my feeling is you got lucky with EX and TU. It's your account so you're ultimately responsible for its usage. The only way I think you could successfully get it wiped out would be by filing a police report for fraudulent use/theft, which obviously opens another big can of worms...

Message 8 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: WANT A HIGHER SCORE


@DisputeQueen wrote:

I have been kind of a lurker on here for a few months. I get on here and read stuff and it's definitely helped. My friend is also on here and she and I are always going back and forth on how to get our scores higher. Smiley Happy

 

I do have a question though.  I had an ex boyfriend who liked to play poker on my account, which you're really not supposed to do, but I let him do it anyway from time to time. We lived together and when I was at work he electronically put thru checks to play poker from my checking account and then I refused to pay for them and so did he. The checks bounced and have been reported to my credit report by a collection agency. I got them deleted from TU and Experian, by explaining what happened.  However, Equifax will not remove them. I've disputed them online several times.

 

So should I dispute them thru the mail with that letter that I've seen on here asking for 20 different pieces of information about how and where they got their information? 


I honestly agree with @Anonymous , you got lucky they were wiped from 2 of 3 CRs. Disputing valid items often can come back to bite you. And disputing them further can hurt even more as they come back verified and ding your scores each time with a fresh update or even consider you to be a frivolous disputer and barre you from future disputes. Just because they are gone now does not mean that they cannot place them back onto your CRs down the road. Only options are:

 

Pay them now before they possibly come back onto your CRs

 

File police report for fraudulent use of your checks and go down that road

 

Honestly, DV standards are very low. It is not like it used to be. They could just send you a copy of the check (or e-check) and that is proof enough. Or even as little as a sheet of paper with your name and account number. It is really sad what passes for verification.

 

Good luck!

Message 9 of 16
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: WANT A HIGHER SCORE


@DisputeQueen wrote:

I've worked really hard to clean up my credit and it's starting to show.  However, I want to know how to make it higher.

 

I have a bankruptcy on my CR that will come off in 6 months.

 

I have two car loans. One I got very recently and have only made one payment so far on time.  The other I've had for almost 2 years in Oct. I do have 60 days late on that one from April 2019. But since then my payments have been on time.

 

I have three credit cards (Capital One $300 SL, Credit One $400 SL, and Indigo $300 SL). Capital One I've had 3 months, Credit One I've had almost 2 years, and Indigo I've had about 3 months. All 3 cards have all been paid on time.

 

My credit card utilization just went from 50% to 6% and my score went up 62 points two days ago.

 

I do have one credit card that I had for almost two years that was late one time 30 days in July 2019.  However, I closed that card because it was secured and I got okayed to have the Capital One card.

 

I also have a self lender loan that was for $500 and is now paid down to like $350 and I've never been late on that either.

 

I do have a PAID charge off for a car loan from back in 2015.  There is another car loan that was paid off and was never late from 2014.

 

Finally I have a defered student loan in good standing. No lates.

 

So now what can I do to make my score go up to 725? Smiley Happy

 

 


personally, I am of a different mindset regarding the self lender loan. I believe you already took the hit to your scores for the new TL, so why not take the positive credit history reporting monthly to your CRs? You are only a couple months in, so I would finish it out. While it does not add any loints for credit mix, you at least build another positive TL for a solid year (or two), so that in itself seems like a valid enough reason. If you were just considering it, I would say no, but you already have it, so no sense wasting it. This is just my take on it. 

 

Good luck!

Message 10 of 16
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