Hello, My name is Jeremy and I'm 24 years old. I have had a 730 credit score for some time but to my surprise it is now a 580 and I'm unable to obtain credit. My goal is to buy a house this year and I'm scared I may have messed it all up. I would appreciate any advise I could get from the viewers of this forum. Last week I went to apply for a credit card and to my surprise I was denied. When the reason came in the mail it said "Serious Delinquency" and I was blown away. I had cut up my credit cards 5 months prior and was entirely debt free. I went and pulled my credit score and I show a history of 18 credit accounts, past and present, all with great scores and a "never late" disclaimer except for one, Bank of America. After investigation with the bank I have learned that my iTunes account was still linked to this card and I had bought a movie or two without realizing it. They say they have sent bills but as far as I was concerned I owed them no money so I just never looked. I totally understand that this is my fault I'm just hoping that $28 doesn't ruin my otherwise great credit. The BOA customer service representative acted as if I owed them my life and there is no way out. I FEEL I HAVE BEEN CAUGHT UP IN A COMPUTERIZED WORLD WHERE RATIONAL THOUGHT DOESNT EXIST! PLEASE HELP!
Welcome to Creditnet Jeremy! This is a real bummer...how annoying! Fight hard to get the negative marks removed in return for full payment. It would be a shame to let a measly $28 cause such damage to your otherwise good credit scores. How old is this debt now?
The debt is 150 days delinquent. Any other time I have missed a payment I have been contacted but I feel this amount was so small that they didn't bother. I know this doesn't matter but I have been a member of the bank for 8 years and my contracting business is also run through BOA. I really hope that they work with me here or I will certainly look for a new bank. Do I write a letter, call customer service and attempt to get further up the chain?
I would write a letter. Admit that the debt is your fault and acknowledge that you intend to pay as soon as possible. Explain that you've been a customer of theirs for so long and explain briefly why this debt slipped behind. Ask them if they would extend you a one-time courtesy by removing this information from your credit reports. The only other thing I can think of is ... was your card canceled before the charges were made? If they accepted charges on a canceled card, that's a point of contention that I would fight.
If you were planing on purchasing a home in the near future there are other ways to improve you credit score. You can add yourself as an authorized user to one of your friend and family member existing credit card accounts. Just make sure they have a long perfect payment history and can maintain a low balance (10% or less of the credit limit) on their credit card. Once the credit card has reported you will see the results. It could take up to 30 to 60 days. Good Luck! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
Was just wondering why your always pushing the AU credit card thing?Do yo sell AU accounts or somthing?Also ive got a city bank card on my account that shows its been there since 2004.Credit limit is $800 and $200 is owned on the card.Its shows no late payments.Its only on my equfax reports,its not on Tran or EX.Funny thing is my EQ myfico is a 675 and trans is 625.I have no cluse about EX.So im guessing I should leave this on my report eh?
Yes- she's posting advice about AU accounts because her company still sells them. My recommendation is it's always best to stick to family members/spouses if you're taking the AU route. I wouldn't recommend buying them. Regarding the Citicard, is it yours? Are you making the on-time payments that are being reported? I doesn't sound like there's anything negative being reported, so you don't necessarily want this removed from your credit reports. I would recommend getting that balance paid down to zero though.
No its not my card.It does show me as an AU.I know for a fact I have never been put on any family or friends cards.Its been paid and never late since 2004.I just checked my reports from last month & a $50 payment was made.I have no clue whos card it is???From the looks of things its helping my EQ credit report.If i dispute it im afraid my credit score will drop.My wife & I are trying to get our scores up to the high 600s so we can buy a house in the new year.Would it be best to leave it untill after that?I dont think the person will miss a payment before then,sicne they have not in the past 7 years.
Since you're just an AU, you don't have to worry about becoming liable for any charges to the credit card. Is there a big balance on the card too? If so, that could be hurting your credit utilization ratio. This is a tough one. It most likely is helping your credit scores and will continue to do so as long the as the account holder keeps paying on time and stays within the credit limit. I would be tempted to just leave it alone for now as you tackle other issues and hope for the best with this card. After you close on the house you can then revisit it and decide if you want to get it off your credit reports.
The card has like $800 ballance with $200 owed on it.So I dont think its doing me any harm?I was thinking ti just let it ride for a bit till I can build my credit score up some.
Your utilization is under 30%, so it shouldn't really be hurting you. Of course, it would be better if the balance were less than 10% of the credit limit. I wouldn't worry about it either until a later time.
I agree I would just leave the authorized user account alone for now. I would keep my eye on it though, if the utilization goes above 30% I would think about deleting it off of your credit. An authorized user account is most beneficial when the balance is 10% or less of the credit limit. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
