How to gain more credit points? What should I do n... - myFICO® Forums

Anonymous · ‎02-14-2021

UPDATE:

I settled with Ad Astra... YAY!!!!

Original balance: $547

Settlement Amount: $273.03

Collection Account already removed from EXPERIAN score went up 15pts on Experian. Now just waiting on the other two bureaus.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Happy Blessed Resurrection Sunday/ Happy Easter!!!

Hi All,
I'm new here. I'm looking to gain a lot of knowledge from you all and hope to have some questions answered...
CREDIT PROFILE
Credit payment history: 92%
Credit utilization: 2%... ( I have 4 credit cards and one retail/charge card Finger hut)
Derogatory: 1 Collection from 2018 (Ad Astra Recovery Services/ Speedy Cash). I also have one charged-off account from 2016 (Great American Finance is due to fall off credit 8/2022)
1 Auto Loan (GM financial owes $5300, paying off by April 2021, account also has 18 late payments)
Student Loans: $150k plus All in good standing, also in the public service loan forgiveness program through my job)

So, my questions are as follows:
1) I've sent a pay to delete via mail to Ad Astra and offered them $200 to settle the account balance of $547, I think they are ignoring my letter haven't heard from them, Should I call? I was advised not to instead send them correspondence through the mail? or should I just let it fall off. I've been disputing this since 2019
2) Great American Finance Charge off account is scheduled to be deleted 8/2022. This company tried to sue me and the Judge dismissed and closed the case. should I stop disputing this and allow it to fall off next year?
3) I will be paying my car loan off in April 2021. I opened this account in 2015, it has many late payments due to someone who wanted to take over payments didn't hold up their end of the stick and the car was repossessed for 1 week and redeemed within that week. The account has been in great standing paying as agreed for the last 18 mths. Since I will be paying this car off would it be wise to get another credit card (Navy Federal Cash Rewards) to replace the car loan? I know the credit card will be another revolving account and not installment but I have my student loans and enough of them to make-up for installment loans so I was thinking of a credit card with a higher limit?

Current Credit Cards/limits:
Discover it- $200 (it's up for review this month hoping to go unsecured and a credit limit increase)
Capital One- $750 Account is restricted due to not paying in the past (Account is paid to $0 now and I cant use it I just keep it open for the $750 limit)
Capital One Platinum- $300 (just got Sept 2020 while rebuilding credit)
Capital One Business- $1100 (got this credit card when we started our church account balance is $0, we don't even use this card, I just keep it to report the credit balance)
Finger Hut- $800 limit just received a $500 Temporary increase. I purchase something small every other month from them.
Total Credit: 3650

GOAL: 750 Credit score and to buy a home.
Current Scores:
Exp: 622
EQ: 645
TU: 644
All recomendations welcome,
Thanks

Anonymous · ‎02-14-2021

Welcome to the forum! My first piece of advice would be to read. Read as much as you can on the forum. Back when I joined (and still today) all I did was read and educate myself. I'm in a much better place today than I was back then as a result.

I'm assuming the scores you provided are all F8. Is that correct?

Payment History is your biggest area of opportunity. You mentioned 92%. It sounds like you got that from Credit Karma or a similar source. When it comes to Payment History, there are really only 2 categories... 100% (good) and everything else (bad). 99%, 92%, 70% etc. anything other than 100% isn't good, can result in a dirty scorecard and will severely inhibit your ability to increase your scores. Your goal should be dedicated to trying everything in your power to clean up any dirty items on your CR. PFDs are a great option, but I honestly wouldn't try to nickel and dime anyone, especially for a couple of hundred dollars. Just offer to pay the debt in full if you'll get a deletion and move forward. Any/all negative items on your credit report should be your focus without question.

As far as your credit cards and utilization, make sure you pay them off in full every month. Don't overthink anything at this point (AZEO, etc) as your goal should be to exhibit the best/most sound credit behavior that you can. Charge whatever you want monthly (assuming you have the money to pay it off) and then pay it off in full once the statement cuts. If you do this month after month you'll pay no interest at all and will be giving your lenders the best possible look at your profile.

Other than that, sit on your hands. Don't apply for any further credit at all. Let your accounts age while you focus on keeping utilization low and spend your energy on writing letters, sending emails and making phone calls regarding any/all negative items on your CR.

Anonymous · ‎02-14-2021

Thank You!!!! & Thank you for your quick response.

I have found that there are a tone of topics to explore which I'm excited about. Yes, those are my FICO 8 scores from Experian. I'm reviewing the Myfico plans now to see which one is best for me. Yes, the 92% payment history is from credit karma not sure how accurate that is? Does Myfico give a better/accurate payment history?

The PFD was offered due to the fact I received bank statements from an old account and it shows Speedy Cash actually withdrew 3 payments of $84.47.. I honestly don't remember applying for an online loan with them... So I offered the 40% PFD... I guess that was a no go for them they sure haven't responded yet. So, I'm like ok what now. That's the only collection I have that is actually showing on my report.

Yes, I pay my cards off in full each month. However I just got knocked 17pts from Experian for "not using revolving credit" I was very upset. I guess I will go back to letting $5 report.

Thank you, I will sit on these fingers an not apply for any credit cards :-)... I was trying to think of ways to up my credit score in order to be approved for a mortgage loan.

Anonymous · ‎02-14-2021

Repeated perfect payment and account management behavior over time will do that. As BBS said, focus on cleaning things up while you do that and you'll see your profile strengthen. Then, once you've cleaned up your report as much as possible, when you do apply, that improved profile will boost your odds both at an approval and at better starting terms.

Anonymous · ‎02-14-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi All,
I'm new here. I'm looking to gain a lot of knowledge from you all and hope to have some questions answered...
CREDIT PROFILE
Credit payment history: 92%
Credit utilization: 2%... ( I have 4 credit cards and one retail/charge card Finger hut)
Derogatory: 1 Collection from 2018 (Ad Astra Recovery Services/ Speedy Cash). I also have one charged-off account from 2016 (Great American Finance is due to fall off credit 8/2022)
1 Auto Loan (GM financial owes $5300, paying off by April 2021, account also has 18 late payments)
Student Loans: $150k plus All in good standing, also in the public service loan forgiveness program through my job)

So, my questions are as follows:
1) I've sent a pay to delete via mail to Ad Astra and offered them $200 to settle the account balance of $547, I think they are ignoring my letter haven't heard from them, Should I call? I was advised not to instead send them correspondence through the mail? or should I just let it fall off. I've been disputing this since 2019
2) Great American Finance Charge off account is scheduled to be deleted 8/2022. This company tried to sue me and the Judge dismissed and closed the case. should I stop disputing this and allow it to fall off next year?
3) I will be paying my car loan off in April 2021. I opened this account in 2015, it has many late payments due to someone who wanted to take over payments didn't hold up their end of the stick and the car was repossessed for 1 week and redeemed within that week. The account has been in great standing paying as agreed for the last 18 mths. Since I will be paying this car off would it be wise to get another credit card (Navy Federal Cash Rewards) to replace the car loan? I know the credit card will be another revolving account and not installment but I have my student loans and enough of them to make-up for installment loans so I was thinking of a credit card with a higher limit?

Current Credit Cards/limits:
Discover it- $200 (it's up for review this month hoping to go unsecured and a credit limit increase)
Capital One- $750 Account is restricted due to not paying in the past (Account is paid to $0 now and I cant use it I just keep it open for the $750 limit)
Capital One Platinum- $300 (just got Sept 2020 while rebuilding credit)
Capital One Business- $1100 (got this credit card when we started our church account balance is $0, we don't even use this card, I just keep it to report the credit balance)
Finger Hut- $800 limit just received a $500 Temporary increase. I purchase something small every other month from them.
Total Credit: 3650

GOAL: 750 Credit score and to buy a home.
Current Scores:
Exp: 622
EQ: 645
TU: 644
All recomendations welcome,
Thanks

I would deal with AD Astra sooner than later, once they sit too long with them (SpeedyCash in house CA), they sell to NCA, who under no circumstance will PFD.

You need to reach out to them directly on the phone. Skip letters. They are not generous with settlement amounts to PFD. I owed $8XX and got them down to $500, so not even half off and they stated it was only because "I had a previously good payment history with SpeedyCash". I had only missed the final payment. This was almost 6 years from DoFD and well outside the SOL.

Whatever you do, don't let it end up in NCA's hands! Disputing a valid account will do nothing for you and may speed up heading to NCA.

Having even 1 CA will severely depress your scores. Since they PFD, jjst deal with it, have it removed, and likely see a very nice score increase (if this is your only CA).

You can always search your emails if you dont make a habit of deleting them all to see if you have any paper trail of SpeedyCash. I have emails for both me and my SO from 2014/2015.

Anonymous · ‎02-15-2021

Thank you for your feedback I appreciate it!

Anonymous · ‎02-15-2021

Thank you for your feedback!

Yes, this account has been sitting since 2018. Disputed multiple times. I was able to find older emails of this account. I'll call them and see what they say. The loan appears to be for $450. In which they received two payments of $84.61 (total $169.22). I'm just ready to clear this as I'm hoping to apply for a home mortgage and this is the only collection affecting me.

I've sent them a PFD as stated before I just didn't think it was a good Idea to call them but I guess I have no choice if I want this behind me.

I will keep this post updated.

Anonymous · ‎02-15-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
Yes, the 92% payment history is from credit karma not sure how accurate that is? Does Myfico give a better/accurate payment history?

It may be accurate in that you've made 92% of your payments on time in the last 2 years, but that's not a Fico scoring metric. When it comes to Fico scoring, 100% on-time payments is the only thing that doesn't result in a scoring hit. Even missing 1 payment is going to cost someone and cost them a good amount. Once you're talking multiple missed payments or just 1 major negative item (90D delinquency, CO, CA, etc) you're in a dirty scorecard and that fact will adversely impact your scores more than anything else until you clean up your report and find yourself on a clean scorecard. Definitely don't look at any CMS front end fluff that gives you a "rating" on your Payment History, whether it be a percentage, pretty color of green vs yellow vs red or a word rating like "good" verses "fair" or whatever.

SouthJamaica · ‎02-15-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi All,
I'm new here. I'm looking to gain a lot of knowledge from you all and hope to have some questions answered...
CREDIT PROFILE
Credit payment history: 92%
Credit utilization: 2%... ( I have 4 credit cards and one retail/charge card Finger hut)
Derogatory: 1 Collection from 2018 (Ad Astra Recovery Services/ Speedy Cash). I also have one charged-off account from 2016 (Great American Finance is due to fall off credit 8/2022)
1 Auto Loan (GM financial owes $5300, paying off by April 2021, account also has 18 late payments)
Student Loans: $150k plus All in good standing, also in the public service loan forgiveness program through my job)

So, my questions are as follows:
1) I've sent a pay to delete via mail to Ad Astra and offered them $200 to settle the account balance of $547, I think they are ignoring my letter haven't heard from them, Should I call? I was advised not to instead send them correspondence through the mail? or should I just let it fall off. I've been disputing this since 2019
2) Great American Finance Charge off account is scheduled to be deleted 8/2022. This company tried to sue me and the Judge dismissed and closed the case. should I stop disputing this and allow it to fall off next year?
3) I will be paying my car loan off in April 2021. I opened this account in 2015, it has many late payments due to someone who wanted to take over payments didn't hold up their end of the stick and the car was repossessed for 1 week and redeemed within that week. The account has been in great standing paying as agreed for the last 18 mths. Since I will be paying this car off would it be wise to get another credit card (Navy Federal Cash Rewards) to replace the car loan? I know the credit card will be another revolving account and not installment but I have my student loans and enough of them to make-up for installment loans so I was thinking of a credit card with a higher limit?

Current Credit Cards/limits:
Discover it- $200 (it's up for review this month hoping to go unsecured and a credit limit increase)
Capital One- $750 Account is restricted due to not paying in the past (Account is paid to $0 now and I cant use it I just keep it open for the $750 limit)
Capital One Platinum- $300 (just got Sept 2020 while rebuilding credit)
Capital One Business- $1100 (got this credit card when we started our church account balance is $0, we don't even use this card, I just keep it to report the credit balance)
Finger Hut- $800 limit just received a $500 Temporary increase. I purchase something small every other month from them.
Total Credit: 3650

GOAL: 750 Credit score and to buy a home.
Current Scores:
Exp: 622
EQ: 645
TU: 644
All recomendations welcome,
Thanks