Stuck just under 700 need help!

[Anonymous]

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@SouthJamaica

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OK so having 3 cards report zero and 2 reporting small balances is good, so you're optimized there.

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Not completely.  That means he's at 40% of cards with a balance.  Equifax gives you your first ding at 33%.  While this may only be 3-5 points, it's worth noting. 

Also, the OP mentions having 5 CCs, but I only see 4 listed with their balances/limits.  The sum of the limits comes to $950 less than what he wrote in the original post, so I'm wondering if there's a 5th card with a $950 limit?  OP if you can clarify this it would be helpful, as if you only have 4 cards and you're at 50% of cards with a balance you'd be surely taking a TU ding the way you likely are already on EQ. 

Also aside from these 4-5 credit cards, do you have any other open accounts at all on your CR?

[Anonymous]

Sorry about the confusion. I also have a Macy's card with a 0 balance on 1500 CL. From here forward I will only let one card show a small balance at the end of the billing cycle and pay that off before the due date.
I took a 7 point hit because I had a higher balance at the end of the cycle (even though I did pay in full before the due date).
I would be very interested in any information about what was posted earlier about verification letters. All the info I'm finding is about verification after a dispute. I'm not disputing the charge off because it is accurate and I have paid it in full.

[Anonymous]

No other open accounts. I was wrong with my Macy's limit (don't use it much). It's 1,100. Total on all credit lines is $27,650

[Anonymous]

From what I've gathered from this site, it doesn't matter what loan amount you get for SSL.  I opened a $750 SSL with my credit union, and I receive positive points for opening that trade line.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Great info! Thank you! Is there a range for the secured loan amount that you would reccommend (1k, 5k)? And should I pay it down to 9% immediately?

No particular range. Yes pay it down to 9% immediately if you want the points immediately.

I will look up how to write the verification letter. Do I need to find an error with the charge off account in question in order to write the letter? 

No, you're just asking them to verify it.

I really appreciate the help.

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[Anonymous]

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@AnonymousFrom what I've gathered from this site, it doesn't matter what loan amount you get for SSL.  I opened a $750 SSL with my credit union, and I receive positive points for opening that trade line.

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That's correct.  Many people have thought that a bigger loan is better, but from a scoring perspective there's absolutely no advantage at all of going with a larger (than say $500) SSL.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. I'll get a secured loan asap. That's actually one one the ways I initially boosted my scores when I started this journey.

I submitted a request to TU for early exclusion about a week ago and got a response yesterday. Unfortunately, they said that the information is verified and accurate. Oh well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I suppose I'll send some verification letters to the other bureaus just to see what happened.

Thanks again for your help.