Okay, I'm hoping that someone can give me a little insight about this: Approximately 18-months ago, I pulled my reports and my FICO score was in the mid-500's, which was to be expected. I had some lates after a job loss in 2001 and I had three CA's reporting on me (well, those were unexpected...but okay, whatever.) and I was pretty much maxed on the majority of my accounts. Flash-forward to today: I have no CA's on my report. I have a solid payment history, with the exception of accidental 30-day on two accounts (I'm going to try to "Goodwill" those with letters tomorrow) in December 2002/January 2003. Many of my balances are around 50% of limit and I have actually paid off several of my accounts on-time and as agreed. Literally, the only "negative" are the couple of lates from nearly 3-years ago. And yet, my FICO is STILL in the mid-500's...with EXP@516!!!!! I pulled my reports yesterday, fully expecting to be around 620-ish...I nearly fell over. I know that one of my best friends has had a really hard year and is in CA hell. She's in the middle of just trying to keep the bullets flying over her head while not getting hit -- 90/120 days late, charge off's, etc. -- and she is at 500. 516?!?!?!?!?!?! Can someone help me figure this out? Sheila
Hi Sheila, Don't be in a hurry. Let's hold off on those goodwill's for now, while we explore a few issues. Regarding those "accidental" lates; is there any way you can attribute any part of the problem to them, such as not receiving a bill on time, or them not posting a timely payment. Are these accounts still open and being used? The trick to FICO is getting every single last negative on your CR exterminated. It's not unusual for the last derog to render a 100 - 130 point score boost. Take your time dear. : )
No, there really isn't any way I can blame it on them. T'was my fault. One of the accounts is still active. The other is "closed by credit grantor", which is NOT the case (Emerge/PVN) and has been disputed, but to no avail. I asked it to be closed (years before I found this place) after they refused to work with me on the interest rate. Sheila
To clarify, is there any possibility the reported "30 day lates" are, say, with checks received after the due date, and with a late fee assessed, but not fully 30 days late, as measured from the due date (not the statement date)?
No....they're your typical "I neglected to pay the damn bill and doubled up on the next one" type of late. I'm all for trying to get them taken off as a "they screwed up" mistake, but it really was all me. I know that I've disputed several things and have been successful in having them removed, even though they were legit, but I don't know how successful this would be to try anything like that. Sheila
