Hello, I am not sure if anyone can offer any advice. I am new to these boards first of all and have been reading and been encouraged by the information and testimonials here. Anyway, I noticed a lot of people received credit cards with low scores, bankruptcy, little or no credit, etc. so I said I would give it a shot to rebuild my credit. I don't want to pay money to build it, so when I received a Capital One Platinum Credit Card pre-selected offer in the mail. I pondered for almost two weeks. I did not receive one offfer, but TWO and the deadlines were within a week of one another. I go on cap1 website a few minutes ago to apply, and I get denied. What I am mad about is that this happened to me last year. I only have 2 hard inquiries on my credit report and now this one will make 3, and much to no avail. My credit score is 550, but I had 2 judgments which I've paid off both accounts and December 07 and have received my letters of release. First question, is there someway I can submit the letters of release to the credit agencies to get this on file that the judgments have been paid. Secondly, do you think I can contact Cap1 and complain and see if they will remove the hard inquiries from my report, since it seems they just want to offer and deny in one breath. I don't want any other negative items on my account. I don't have any credit cards, and any other items on my report I am working on now. Please can someone help me get direction as to how to clean up my report, increase my score ( I only have a student loan, that will report and I am striving to pay that on time); other than that, I don't have any other outstanding debts. I just want to make things better, increase my score, and move on with my life. PLEASE HELP
Getting inquiries off your credit report(s) will not really increase your score dramatically. I think the reason Cap One turned you down was because you only have one positive account reflected on your credit report. If you have only secured debts (cars, student loans) but no credit cards it is hard for any potential creditor (credit card co.) to evaluate your credit behavior. Try applying with/through Orchard Bank. THey are known to approve just about anyone. Low beginning credit limit and annual fee, though.
You need to get actual copies of your credit reports, you can get them free one time a year through annualcreditreport.com and you are also entitled to a free one whenever denied credit. Once you have your reports you can start working on them using information you will find in the stickies on this board. Very important. You will build credit faster with a cleaner report. I beleive Greg is right, it's your lack of credit that is hurting you. So you may want to get a few positive TL's going while you do credit repair. Orchard is a good place to start and it has a card selector that can show you what you might qualify for. Target and/or Walmart are good too if you frequent one abit. Some say Kay Jewelers is a good place to start too. Only Orchard seems to have the AF. But your only going to use it to build credit. I had my Orchard a year then dumped it before the AF hit again. I have heard of Hooters Mastercard & HSBC seems to be abit easier to qualify for. Plan your apps though, keep the inquiries down as much as you can. Once you get a bit of credit, use it wisely! Show responsible usage & don't get over your head. If you have money to burn go to myfico.com and pull your actual FICO scores to see where you stand credit wise. They kinda pricy though so tread carefully. Good luck, it can be done! Tegleg
Thank you Greg and Tegleg! That totally makes since about not having enough credit. I figured that did this twice to me, I was just so frustrated, but I will use the advice given. Thanks again.
Np! I totally understand your frustration because I have been there, and come to think of it, Cap 1 denied me too when I was starting out. I would'nt touch them now, have heard too many horror stories.. Let us know how it goes, and stick around and read the stickies and get educated! Tegleg
You might want to look though the card offers on this site and see if there is something that fits your situation. You may have to start with a secured card, where you deposit money into a savings account and they give you a card with a limit equal to what you put in. Use it wisely, pay it off, and in about a year see if you can unsecure. You will almost for sure have to pay annual fees on a card for now. Building a positive history is the single best thing you can do for your score.
I know you say that you don't want to "pay" to build credit but, you may have to. There are a few things you can do which will both raise your scores and give you a few open lines. Just a thought . . .
Thank you for the replies...I think I am a little overwhelmed at where to start at this point. I've read quite a few things on the site, but how do I get started? I got my free credit report and credit score of 550 from Experian. The other two I am waiting on to access, since I got a free credit report last year, I have to wait until the time is up to view the other two. But at this point, I have one...so where do I go from here?
