Close or leave open

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone! I have been a lurker for several months and would like to thank you all for helping me understand credit scores. I have reached a dead point and my credit score wont budge. I have some small loans that have been PIF for over a year some 2 years. Experian has the accounts as closed, but Equifax and Transunion each have one still showing open and each one is a different one. Should I dispute the TL and request it to be updated to closed? One was refinanced and the other was truly paid in full. How will closing the accounts change my score? Also I just paid off 4 credit cards. I have a total of 6 that are open. How many should I keep open and how do I decide which ones to close? 

If there are specific questions you need answered, let me know. This is my first post, so I may not have given enough information.

[Shogun]

Are they in good standing?  No baddies?  Are they showing a balance when they shouldn't?  If they're just showing "open" and are good paid TLs, leave them.  Otherwise you run the risk of deleting good TLs and thinning your file and lowering your AAoA.

[Anonymous]

I had a similar situation once, and disputed, and the TL was deleted.

Such deletion may raise or lower your AAoA, depending on whether the specific age is less or more than the old AAoA.

With regard to which CCs to keep or close, it's hard to give general advice.  Ones with AFs or low CLs could be candidates to close.

[Anonymous]

All of the accounts are about 2-3 years old and all positive with zero balances. 

I am looking for anyway to get my scores to 700 and above. Everyone that reviews my report says I have great credit. But for some reason my score does not change. I went from 95% maxed out CC to under 10% and my score didnt change at all. No increase or decrease. I havent had a collection or late payment since 2008, I have a mortgage and 2 car loans that are paid on time every month for 4 years. My credit took a hit back in 2006-2008 because I was a student and didnt make enough to pay my bills. But most of the negative is gone minus the 2008 collection for less than $200 for a phone bill and a 60 day late for a closed car loan. I have been working on my credit for years. I got some bad advice, like use your CCs and pay them on time. So my utilazation % was very high for a long time, but always paid on time. My current FICO score according to Discover is 661. Anything else that I may be missing?  

[blondy250]

Close nothing. Let one card report less then 10%, that collection is the big anchor on your score.

[pizzadude]

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@Anonymous wrote:

All of the accounts are about 2-3 years old and all positive with zero balances. 

I am looking for anyway to get my scores to 700 and above. Everyone that reviews my report says I have great credit. But for some reason my score does not change. I went from 95% maxed out CC to under 10% and my score didnt change at all. No increase or decrease. I havent had a collection or late payment since 2008, I have a mortgage and 2 car loans that are paid on time every month for 4 years. My credit took a hit back in 2006-2008 because I was a student and didnt make enough to pay my bills. But most of the negative is gone minus the 2008 collection for less than $200 for a phone bill and a 60 day late for a closed car loan. I have been working on my credit for years. I got some bad advice, like use your CCs and pay them on time. So my utilazation % was very high for a long time, but always paid on time. My current FICO score according to Discover is 661. Anything else that I may be missing?  

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This is what is keeping your score down.    I'd work on sending GW letters to get rid of the collection.   The 60 day late may not be hurting you as much if it's a couple of years old or more.

[Anonymous]

Great! I was thinking it wasnt hurting as much anymore because it was from 2008. I will mail a GW tonight. 

Thank you so much!

[Shogun]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Great! I was thinking it wasnt hurting as much anymore because it was from 2008. I will mail a GW tonight. 

Thank you so much!

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Get the GW going for that one collection, after that, you should be sitting pretty!

[Anonymous]

Payment history and utilization are around 2/3 of your score.

Tackling derogatories, and then controlling balances reported to the credit bureaus, are the biggest areas for improvement for many people.

[AndySoCal]

If the samll loans you are referring to are instillment loans  and the instillment loan balance is zero it is considered closed. The reason why is you cannot borrower against that loan again. Having the report as closed is not going to change your soore any.