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What should be my next move? (help)

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Anonymous
Not applicable

What should be my next move? (help)

I've been trying to fix my credit and it's was going O.K but now I feel like I'm at a stand still. Here's where I'm at
 my FAKO score is 644 (lol) 
 
 1 credit card that is in good standing 
        - I only use 15% of it but it has a low credit limit.
        - I got the limit raised after 6 months...I'm waiting till March (1year) to get it raised again
       
 I just got a judgment removed from my CR last month
        - I haven't seen the benefit from that yet (I did read that it might take awhile)
 
 I have 4 inquires on my CR well at least on one report
       - all of the inquires are from 07 (so they'll be there for 2 years)  Ughhh
       - all the inquires were made when my score was at 570 I had no idea then.
 
 I have 2 accounts that were delinquent that have been PAID for over a year now.
 
So My question is where do I go from here? I want to get and maintain a great FICO score and I'm scared to try to open another little credit card or apply for a regular credit card and get DENIED again and lower what I've fixed in the last year. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!! What should be my next move?
Message 1 of 9
8 REPLIES 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What should be my next move? (help)

I would pull FICO scores and look at the positives and negatives.
 
FAKO scores mean nothing-
Message 2 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What should be my next move? (help)

time, time, time, ..all this stuff takes time to go through.. you had a few negative things going on pretty rescent, so it will take some time..thats my expreience.. this stuff dos'nt go away right away.. your on the right track so just dont be late and dont open any new credit cards at the store or cards in general.. pay from your income , dont use credit...
Message 3 of 9
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: What should be my next move? (help)


@Anonymous wrote:
I've been trying to fix my credit and it's was going O.K but now I feel like I'm at a stand still. Here's where I'm at

my FAKO score is 644 (lol)

1 credit card that is in good standing
- I only use 15% of it but it has a low credit limit.
- I got the limit raised after 6 months...I'm waiting till March (1year) to get it raised again

I just got a judgment removed from my CR last month
- I haven't seen the benefit from that yet (I did read that it might take awhile)

I have 4 inquires on my CR well at least on one report
- all of the inquires are from 07 (so they'll be there for 2 years) Ughhh
- all the inquires were made when my score was at 570 I had no idea then.

I have 2 accounts that were delinquent that have been PAID for over a year now.

So My question is where do I go from here? I want to get and maintain a great FICO score and I'm scared to try to open another little credit card or apply for a regular credit card and get DENIED again and lower what I've fixed in the last year. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!! What should be my next move?


Hi, Mrsmari, welcome to the forums! You're actually in pretty good shape. First things first, do as Timothy said, and pull all three of your FICO's and reports from this site. Before you do, Google FICO coupon or FICO discount codes to get a code for at least 10% off, but you should be able to find 15% or 20%. (We don't publish them here, as they come from other vendors.) Click on the products tab at the top of this page, and read about FICO Credit Complete. I think that one will be your best bet. I wouldn't be surprised if your 644 FAKO score, from whichever bureau you got it, is lower than the real thing. (Of course, it could go the other way, too.)

Few quick comments: nice work handling the CC. Under 10% is even better, although it might not make a huge difference. And I assume that you know when it reports, and therefore you know how to control what reports for util. The increased CL will help.

Is the judgment still showing up on your reports? If they haven't gotten around to no longer reporting it, it's still getting scored.

Don't worry about the inqs. First of all, they are only counted for scoring for the first 12 months, even though they display for a total of 24 months. If you have only 4, all on one CRA, you are a model of restraint! Smiley Very Happy At any rate, that's low usage for someone with scores in the 600's, or wherever yours really are.

How late were your lates, the ones that have gone over 12 months old? If they were only 30 days, they aren't counting for that much now. If they were 60 days or more, the joy will keep coming for a while longer, unfortunately.

You will probably need one or two more cards to get some score growth going, with responsible payment patterns, of course. What were the delinquent accounts? Were they CC's, and are they still open? Do you have any open installment loans, like a car payment or mortgage? Go ahead and give yourself a late holiday present, pull your FICO's, and then if you're willing, post back here with what you found out. Good luck!
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 4 of 9
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: What should be my next move? (help)

And as craneman said, some things just take time. But if you are attempting to raise your credit score, you will need to use some credit.

I have a lot of available credit, but I never carry a balance from month to month and pay finance charges. I just pay off my cards every two weeks on payday. I use them for ridiculous everyday things, I guess, but I'd rather do that than carry cash, and it doesn't cost me anything in interest, and it makes my credit card companies happy (they make money every time I use my card), AND it helps my scores, so it's win-win-win.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 5 of 9
scramblingin2007
Established Contributor

Re: What should be my next move? (help)



@haulingthescoreup wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
I've been trying to fix my credit and it's was going O.K but now I feel like I'm at a stand still. Here's where I'm at

my FAKO score is 644 (lol)

1 credit card that is in good standing
- I only use 15% of it but it has a low credit limit.
- I got the limit raised after 6 months...I'm waiting till March (1year) to get it raised again

I just got a judgment removed from my CR last month
- I haven't seen the benefit from that yet (I did read that it might take awhile)

I have 4 inquires on my CR well at least on one report
- all of the inquires are from 07 (so they'll be there for 2 years) Ughhh
- all the inquires were made when my score was at 570 I had no idea then.

I have 2 accounts that were delinquent that have been PAID for over a year now.

So My question is where do I go from here? I want to get and maintain a great FICO score and I'm scared to try to open another little credit card or apply for a regular credit card and get DENIED again and lower what I've fixed in the last year. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!! What should be my next move?


Hi, Mrsmari, welcome to the forums! You're actually in pretty good shape. First things first, do as Timothy said, and pull all three of your FICO's and reports from this site. Before you do, Google FICO coupon or FICO discount codes to get a code for at least 10% off, but you should be able to find 15% or 20%. (We don't publish them here, as they come from other vendors.) Click on the products tab at the top of this page, and read about FICO Credit Complete. I think that one will be your best bet. I wouldn't be surprised if your 644 FAKO score, from whichever bureau you got it, is lower than the real thing. (Of course, it could go the other way, too.)

Few quick comments: nice work handling the CC. Under 10% is even better, although it might not make a huge difference. And I assume that you know when it reports, and therefore you know how to control what reports for util. The increased CL will help.

Is the judgment still showing up on your reports? If they haven't gotten around to no longer reporting it, it's still getting scored.

Don't worry about the inqs. First of all, they are only counted for scoring for the first 12 months, even though they display for a total of 24 months. If you have only 4, all on one CRA, you are a model of restraint! Smiley Very Happy At any rate, that's low usage for someone with scores in the 600's, or wherever yours really are.

How late were your lates, the ones that have gone over 12 months old? If they were only 30 days, they aren't counting for that much now. If they were 60 days or more, the joy will keep coming for a while longer, unfortunately.

You will probably need one or two more cards to get some score growth going, with responsible payment patterns, of course. What were the delinquent accounts? Were they CC's, and are they still open? Do you have any open installment loans, like a car payment or mortgage? Go ahead and give yourself a late holiday present, pull your FICO's, and then if you're willing, post back here with what you found out. Good luck!

Hauling, what is the time frame in years that lates will eventually not count?
Message 6 of 9
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: What should be my next move? (help)


scramblingin2007 wrote:Hauling, what is the time frame in years that lates will eventually not count?

I wish I really knew. I've been told that serious lates, especially 90 and 120+ days, can hurt you as long as a collection or judgment. Smiley Sad And someone else said the same of 60's, which is REALLY depresssing. I have one of each (60 and 90.)

I think this is one of the deep dark secrets of scoring. And of course, it's hard to tell by watching score changes over time, because by the time a late is three or four or five years old, there is so much other stuff going on in your report, its effect can't be isolated from all the other noise.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 01-05-2008 05:02 PM
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 7 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: What should be my next move? (help)

Well i did check my FICO score and it's at 626 Woman Sad ......Now it shows one my acc. that is paid for over a year now as 120 days past due. (so I see from some of the responses that's really bad) Now the acc. is an old gas bill that I forgot about when I moved, it was one of my first times moving. It wasn't a CC so does that matter? How long does that normally show on your CR?
 
The judgement is off my FICO & FAKO report as of 12/07 my score hasn't went up or down yet.
 
Now that I see my score is lower should I wait to apply for another CC?................Thanks
Message 8 of 9
marty56
Super Contributor

Re: What should be my next move? (help)

Here is the derog info on my CR from BofA:
 
30 days late 1 time (Nov 2004)
60 days late 2 times (Jan 2005, Dec 2004)
90+ days late 7 times (Aug 2005, Jul 2005, Jun 2005, May 2005, Apr 2005, Mar 2005, Feb 2005)
 
My scores are what they are.  The simulator says in should be over 760 as soon as all my CC debt (around 8k) is paid.  This will be in the Spring and these lates will be comming to 3 years old.  We will see.
 
As a side note, I dont know if they way BofA reported the lates and how it shows up is common or not.
1/25/2021: FICO 850 EQ 848 TU 847 EX
Message 9 of 9
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