Thanks to everyone on this board for providing some great info. My scores are way way up, but still room for improvement. I have an observation about disputes and credit scores. Being obsessed like I am about my scores, I watch them almost daily. I have successfully removed a lot of negative baggage over the last few months. Sometimes my score jumps a ton, sometimes, it doesn't move or it even drops. It seems that with Equifax, when your item is under dispute, they don't factor it into your score, so when you successfully get it removed, score doesn't move. And God forbid, they verify it, then your score actually goes down once the dispute period is over. TU and EXP don't seem to operate that way though. Scores with them don't seem to change unless the item gets updated. BTW, I think Credit Manager is the greatest thing, even though it gives you a BS score, at least you get a decent guess where you fall. And they actually seem to pay attention to on line disputes. With EQu and TU, it seems that any on-line or telephone disputes go straight into the trash. The only way to get any attention is to write letters, fill out multiple postal forms and send $4.00 certified letters all day. 650+ across the board. thanks.
