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What am I doing wrong?

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MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

What am I doing wrong?

I was in a mess back in 2001 and went into credit rehab. I got out in 2004.  I have one 5 year old collection on some of my reports ($200, a mistake as I was paying as agreed; which I have removed from Transunion but not the others).  I have had no late payments since 2001, I rarely carry over a balance on my credit cards (2, total credit line $3,500) or my store card or my gas card.  I have aged off nearly all the derogatory comments (depending on which reporting agency I check with).  My utilization varies depending on the day of the month, but is rarely over 30% (today it is 28%, by Thursday it will be less than 1%).  I have had two enquiries over the last 12 months, a total of 3 over that last two years (and one was a mortgage refinance).

 

Nothing I do seems to make any difference.  I have credit history going back to 1998.  Unfortunately, as I closed most of my cards when I went into rehab, my current credit cards have less than two years history, but my gas and store cards have over 10 years.

 

In the last 21 months my score has gone from 664 to 679.

 

What am I doing wrong?  What else can I do?

The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
Tuscani
Moderator Emeritus

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Your scores are not bad... work on getting any derogs off your report (even if they are old). Try a goodwill letter.
Message 2 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What am I doing wrong?

I agree with Tuscani, but I would like to add that having no balance or a less than 3% balance can harm your score rather than help it. Try to keep your utilization around 10%...leave a small balance for a few months at a time. Paying over time rather than all at once raises your score faster, because FICO is looking for regular monthly payments not monthly pay offs. Your score is pretty good btw. Cant wait to get mine there. Dont feel bad though, alot of us run into a bump in the road that seems to hold us at a certain FICO range, but it only lasts a little while - your score will rise.
Message 3 of 8
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Both my credit cards have a monthly charitable donation on them ($25.00) so each one is used every month  Smiley Very Happy
 
It just seems that 6 years of no late payments should have done more for my score than it has, along with removing most of the derogatory comments
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 4 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What am I doing wrong?

Its not so much a matter of if they get used every month as is how are they reporting your balance to the CBRs every month. They usually report the balance after the last payment, so if you are using only the $25 a month and then paying it off each month they would be reporting a 0 balance. How are they reporting your balances?
Message 5 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What am I doing wrong?



Fritz wrote:
Its not so much a matter of if they get used every month as is how are they reporting your balance to the CBRs every month. They usually report the balance after the last payment, so if you are using only the $25 a month and then paying it off each month they would be reporting a 0 balance. How are they reporting your balances?


True, you need to first find out when each card reports to the CRAs.  Call 'em and ask.  It is not necessarily after the monthly payment; it may be the statement cut off date or it may be mid-cycle. Having a balance on that date but keeping the utilization between 1 - 9% is the way to go.
 
The other factor that may be keeping your score lower is that the CCs are only 2 years old.  Nothing to do about that, just let time do its thing.
Message 6 of 8
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: What am I doing wrong?

They are reporting my balance at the same time they send me the bill.
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 7 of 8
smallfry
Senior Contributor

Re: What am I doing wrong?



@MidnightVoice wrote:
They are reporting my balance at the same time they send me the bill.



My Cap One reports on the statement cutoff date. I have no idea how long it takes the CRA's to post that info on your credit reports.
Message 8 of 8
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