Credit Repair - Any success?

My FICO score is 738 as of today.

Last September it was 545.

 

My TU score on 3/20 was 587. As of 5/22 it was 770. That's 183 points in 2 months.

First, I disputed with CRA as not mine and lost 4 bad TLs that way.

Sent DV to CAs & disputed again as not mine. Lost 4 more bad TLs.

Sent an ITS on reaged TL & they removed.

The last one just dropped off in between disputes. Now I only have good TLs. Also, I have bumped all but 2 inquiries using PG & WK (2 inquiries were from new cards I got last week!).

 

Great job Guy's.

785 (damn utilization)

 

Whats a DV and an ITS - I don't see them in the glossary. I'd love to have even half the success some of you have!

 

DV = Debt Validation. A demand for them to prove the debt.

ITS = Intent To Sue. If you don't prove it I'll sue you.


YOU WILL!!!

Just be patient and study hard.
Welcome to the board.

 

bump

Just thought someone else might like a little encouragement, too! )

 

None yet,

I've disputed with CRA's a few late pays, buy they came back as "verified."

One situation was using a "Check by Phone" service to pay a bill, and this 3rd party service told me the payment would be credited the same day, as it turns out, it was credited 2 days later, which made me 1 friggen day late.

I disputed as "Not Late, paid to 3rd party bill paying service on time, not my fault they reported payment late" - but Experian came back as "verified, no change."

Another was with the OC itself, they have their own web page where you can pay online, credited the same day, for a $15 fee, and also they offered a new way to pay through CheckFree I think, in which there was no fee charged.

I called OC and asked if I made a payment that day (This was the last day to get payment in on time) if my payment thru CheckFree would be credited the same day as with their own service, and the CSR said "Sure!"

So I used CheckFree, and lo and behold, payment is posted 2 days later, so I get nailed again for a late payment.

(These things are KILLING me, late payments by only 1 and 2 days, OC's lying to me about CA's, etc ....)

I'm really not that bad of a person, just keep getting the crappiest luck and reaching abviously CSR's who no ABSOLUTELY nothing of what they are talking about ....

Anyhow, disputed this as well thru Experian and came back as well "Verified, no change."

My 3rd attempt with Providian, I actually did miss a payment, went past their due date, was due by 07 Jan, and in all previous statements from them, the new billing date started the 8th of the month.

So, I did not get payment in by the 7th of Jan, so on about the 11th of Jan, I did a payment over the Internet (credited the same day) for an amount equal to what was owed for Jan and what was to be owed for Feb.

I figured that since I paid AFTER the 7th of Jan, and before the 7th of Feb, and in the past the new billing cycle always started on the 8th of the month, my "double amount" payment would be recorded for the Feb statement period.

Sure, I was be assessed a late fee for Jan, but at least it would be in before 30 days late, plus they would have enough payment to cover Feb statement.

Well, Providian somehow magically decided to change my next billing cycle to begin on 13 Feb, not the 8th, so they recorded that "double amount" payment for Jan, assessed the late fee, and then still expected a payment for Feb, due by 7th of Feb.

Since I thought I had actually made my payment for the Feb cycle, I did not send another in. So, I check my Mar statement, and sure enough, they nailed me for being late for Feb payment.

I disputed with EX, told them that Providian changed my "due by date" without my knowledge, so payment should have been recorder as on time, but that also came back "verified, no change."

FedUp2003

 

Re: Re: Credit Repair - Any success?

Did you know if you go past your billing date by even one day you are automatically 30 days late? That is because when you got your card your first payment was due 30 days later. Do you understand that? It's supposed to be a courtesy but it ends up being detrimental to us consumers if we are late. For example, a fresh billing cycle started on the 8th of February. By the 7th of March, 28 days has passed. If you pay on the 11th, you are 30+ days past due.

That would be too logical for them. What they did was they combined your Jan & Feb payments as one and assessed a late fee to your Jan bill.

 

Re: Re: Credit Repair - Any success?

Okay,

I guess I'm REALLY confused now.

If I get my statement and it says the payment Due Date is 07 Jan 2003, and I don't pay until 08 Jan 2003, you are saying this is considered 30 Days late?!?

I thought 07 Jan 2003 is the Due Date, and the 30 Days late date would be 07 Feb 2003, since that is 30 Days beyond that original Due Date of 07 Jan.

Is this why I keep getting so screwed up on payment dates, etc ....

Seems to me, that I've occasionly missed a due date, and while I was charged a late fee, it never got reported as 30 Days late, only when I've actually missed 2 Due Dates.

Can someone clarify this for me?

FedUp2003

 

Re: Re: Re: Credit Repair - Any success?

No, they charged me late for Feb, and actually said I went 30 Days past due.

I missed paying on time for Jan, should have paid by the 7th. The next cycle/statement usually would start the next day, so in this case should have been 08 Jan to 07 Feb, and I would have normally seen on that statement a Due date of 07 Feb.

So, I knew I missed Jan and would have a late fee, so I made a payment on 11 Jan to cover both what was going to be the current amount coming due for the current statement period, plus enough to cover what I didn't pay by 07 Jan.

So, I thought I covered what was due by 07 Jan, plus paid well ahead of time for what would be due 07 Feb.

So, I didn't pay attention to that next statement when it came in, and I was just going to wait for the statement that would have the Due Date of 07 Mar on it, and pay that by 07 Mar.

But, Providian magically, without telling me, decided to extend that Jan time frame just long enough, so that the payment I made on 11 Jan was credited as the payment toward the amount due by 07 Jan, plus still charged the late fee, plus the statement that had the Due Date of 07 Feb (The one I ignored) did not have any payment credited toward it.

And the statement that had the Mar Due Date, well that was no longer due on 07 Mar, but was now 09 Mar. I paid it on 08 Mar, but since it was more than 30 days past 07 Feb, they nailed me for 30 days late for the 07 Feb Due Date.

But all along I was thinking the payment I made on 11 Jan was covering what would have been due by 07 Feb, but they extended out the Due Date to a later date, so even though I paid in time for the Mar Due Date, it was still more than 30 days after 07 Feb ....

Does this sound right???

I thinkg Providan was wrong for changing, extending the billing period and Due Dates withing telling me, and for crediting the 11 Jan payment to the statement that had a Due Date of 07 Jan and instead should have credited the payment for the statement that had the 07 Feb Due Date.

It just seems to me that this was a little ploy/trick they played with extending that billing period in Jan and then making the Due Date for the next period more than 30 days later than the previous due date, just so they could entrap people and say that they went 30 days late.

FedUp2003

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Credit Repair - Any success?

Try to follow me. IF u paid your Jan bill on the 11th, it was late. It doesn't matter if they changed your due date. Your Jan payment went to cover your Jan bill. I have Cap 1 and they only allow me to pay 10% over my current bill. SO I could not pay for my next month's bill even if I wanted to. Cap 1 does not allow paying in advance for anything pending.

So you're saying you missed your Feb due date? If you paid your bill after the Jan due date but before the Feb due date, you are considered 30 days late.

 

I understand that I missed the Jan 7th due date and was therefore late for Jan and would be charged a late fee, I have no problem with that.

I was just unaware that if you paid even just 1 day after a statments due date, that it meant you were 30 Days late. Seems to me you would have to not pay until 31 days past your statement due day to be reported as 30 Days late.

Also, I wasn't trying to pay my Jan bill and then ADD in extra to cover the next month's bill.

I thought I was beyond the Jan statement time frame, and that I was in fact just paying what was going to be due on my Feb statement, just that I was going to pay it before the statement ever arrived in the mail.

But, Providian changed statement date, cycle dates, billing period, whatever is the correct term, and extended the time period for Jan ... it wasn't actually ON the Jan statement, it's just that when the Feb statement came, it began a few days later in the month than what all previous statement time frame had.

So, I knew I was late for Jan, and I wasn't trying to pay my Jan bill, I was trying to pay my Feb bill, and just pay it before the Feb statement came. So, this payment I sent on 11 Jan was really targeted for my Feb statement, and was for enough money to pay for what was the total due for Feb - Feb's minimum amount PLUS the past due from the Jan bill.

But ... Providian EXTENDED the billing period of the Jan time frame, and so when I sent that payment on 11 Jan, it would have normally went toward my Feb bill, but instead Providian applied it to my Jan bill, even though it was 4 or 5 days past the Jan due date.

So, here I was thinking I missed paying my Jan bill on time, but that I have paid my Feb bill early, even before the statement arrived.

So I sent no other payment in Feb. And then later I find out on the Mar statement that Providian didn't take my Feb payment on 11 Jan and apply it to the Feb bill, they applied it to my Jan bill and showed NO payment for Feb, ... and ..

.. since Providan extended/changed the billing or statement dates, the Mar statement showed a due date of 09 Mar.

I paid that on 08 Mar, and show in April, since Providian didn't show my payment targeted for the Feb bill, and since the next payment Providian received was on 08 mar, they reported me as having not paid between 07 Jan and 08 Mar, and thus as 30 Days late.

I think that 30 Days late at the CRA's actually means 30+ days late, or "more than 30 days late."

Do you see what I'm talking about?

The 11 Jan payment, should not have been credited to my Jan bill, and it normally would not have, it would have normally showed up on my Feb bill,

...but since Providian changed the rules on me without telling, they extended the Jan "reporting" or billing period, they took my 11 Jan payment that should have been on the Feb statement, and instead placed it on the Jan bill.

So, I'm thinking I paid for Feb, plus thinking I paid for the Jan past due amount.

Didn't pay attention to the Feb statement cause I thought I was good to go, that I paid for Feb. Then Mar comes along, the statement says due date is 09 Mar, 2 days later than the usual due date being on the 7th of each month.

I pay on 08 Mar, and lo and behold, since providian incorrectly applied my Feb payment (which I paid on 11 Jan) to the Jan bill and not the Feb bill, Providian says they did not receive a payment between Jan and Mar and was therefore 30+ days late.

This is wrong. They should have not changed the dates like that without telling me, and they should not have applied the payment I made on 11 Jan to the Jan bill, but to the Feb bill.

FedUp2003

 

Also, you may be asking what did I wait till 08 Mar to pay the bill due by 09 Mar, that if I had paid earlier I wouldn't have fell for their trap for it being 30+ days between payments.

Well, here's the deal.

I once read in the past somewhere that it was smart to wait and pay bills at the last possible moment, especially if you are earning interest on your money.

The thinking was, if you pay your bill 3 weeks early, the CC company or other payee has your money early and is collecting interest on it while you are not.

but, if you keep your money that extra 2 or 2 1/2 weeks before paying, then you get the benefit of collecting interest on it for a couple more weeks.

So, I had got into the habit of paying all my bills over the Internet (the ones that I can) and always paying 1 day before the due date, or however early so that payment is recorded on the day before the due date.

I guess now in retrospect, this may not be the best policy.

It seems to me, that with today's economy and how most CC companies are parhannas (sp? you know, those men-eating fish) that they are looking for every possible way to increase profits and reduce costs. What business isn't?

So I figure they have some smart analysts and they discoverd that I, and probably many others, always seem to pay their bill exactly 1 day before the due day.

So they came up with this scheme or tactic. They would extend a statement period, and cause it to be that a payment made 1 day before the due date of next month's bill will be 32 days after the last month's due date, that those who pay exactly one day before each due date that they can catch them sending in payments that are 31 or 32 days in between ..

.. and this would allow them to claim they are 30+ late and therefore charge a late fee, and also use this as basis to raise their APR, and ...

... and customers that they want to get rid of, (i.e. Sub Price consumers) this gives them a reason to report to the CRA's and eventually cause someone like me to pay them off and close the account.

This may seem like paranoia, but this is exactly what happened to me.

Charged an extra late feem APR went up, got a black mark on my CR, and now all I want to do is pay off the balance and cut up the card.

FedUp2003

 

I read somewhere on this board that CC companies can hit you with a 30 day late if you are 1 day past your due date.

Cap 1 will not accept a February payment in January. That must be a industry standard.

 

When I say I paid in Jan for my Feb bill, I mean the statement that I received that has the Due Date of 07 Feb.

So, actually, we are talking about Dec and Jan statements.

On the Dec statement, it says something like for "billing cycle between this and that date..."
and that the payment for that period is due by 07 Jan. So I'm calling this my Jan bill.

In the past, my next statement would have said something like for "billing cycle betrween this and that date..." payment due by 07 Feb, etc ....

Normally, if I would have charged something on 08 Jan, it would appear on the statement that would have had an 07 Feb due date.

Normally, if I would have made a payment on 08 Jan, it would have appeared on the statement that would have had an 07 Feb due date.

Do you see what I'm saying ??

But Providian changed the dates somehow, and the payment that I made 11 Jan, which should have normally appeared on the statement that would have had a due date of 07 Feb, they didn't credit it to that statement.

Instead, it's kinda like they "back-dated" the payment, and applied it to the now old statement that had the 07 Jan due date.

In the past, had I paid on even 08 Jan instead of 11 Jan, the payment would have appeared on the next statement with the due date of 07 Feb, but it didn't.

Let's see if I can say it a little differently.

This CC had been having billing or activity periods of approximately 30 or 31 days, I guess depending on the number of days in the month.

Anything that happened within that 30 days, any new charges, payments, etc .... when that 30 day period closed, those activities appeard on the next statement that same out. On that statement, were the charges, payments, etc ... that had occured during the previous 30 day "activity period."

The due date usually something like 3 weeks out from the day I received the statement (guess it took 1 week to create and mail it).

So, this due date, let's call it 07 Jan, always fell within the then current 30 day "activity period."

Any charges or payments made since last period and up to and including 07 Jan, would normally have appeared on my nect statement.

I'm guessing the period ended 07 Jan, and about a week later it was mailed, I would receive it about 14 Jan, and that gave me about 3 weeks to pay it by the now new due date of 07 Feb.

This is how it normally had been occuring.

But then all of a sudden, it's like they made the "activity period" longer than 30 days, made it something like 35 days.

So normally a payment made on 11 Jan would have been recorded as a payment for the "activity period" that would be on the next statement, the one with the 07 Feb due date.

See?

But, by them extending that "activity period" to 35 days - by my estimation it lasted till about 12 Jan, then the payment I made on 11 Jan, thinking it was be recorded for the "new activity period" really got pushed back into the "extended activity period."

This happened this year.

If this would have occured last year in 2002, there would have been no problem.

If in 2002 I received a statement with a due date of 07 Jan, and I missed that date and didn't pay until 11 Jan, it would have been recorded as a payment for the statement with the 07 Feb due date.

But for some reason, it changed.

And, because that one "activity period" seemed to stretch for 35 days, that meant that the due date for Mar was 30+ days after the due was for Feb, cause the due date for Feb didn't change, it was like the "activity period" for Fed was only about 23 days.

Does this make sense?

FedUp2003