I read your post on another thread where you mentioned that you have received $5K in credit since you had a credit problem mostly at 12.49%. Congrats!!! If you don't mind me asking; what credit accounts have you opened and at what apr.? did you have a BK? I was puzzling over the 2.5 year sentence. Thanks Jim
no bk, just about 10 chargeoffs that will lapse in mid 2003 i opened a cap 1 secured, then fnb (bad choice), then aria (bad choice) closed the fnb and aria after two months, then got a citibank AA which turned into a platinum select, and a recently gold visa capital one. on my equifax now, i've worked it down to 4 bad accounts, 6 closed paid perfectly accounts, and 3 currently opened accounts. i recently in the last week got my cap 1 secured to no yearly fee, 19.8%, cap 1 gold visa +100 limit, $24 yearly fee, and citibank from 17.4 -> 12.4%. I used my cap 1 cards heavily, and now put about $2k/month on my citi card and pay in full every month. my charge off profile is about $10k in debt so its nothing to be proud of, but as i said 2.5 more years, then i'll go for the good cards like amex 9.9% and such. My first card, cap 1 established in 3/00 will mark my 1 year anniversary of credit rebuilding. I'm now working on my awful experian and TU reports, by myself, with success so far. its important to work the heck out of the credit you have, then move on to better cards, when they approve you! Cap 1 seems to enjoy my frequent (2-4x) payments and perfect history with them. Same with citi, they were so nice , i'll probably always keep my citi card, because of the opportunity they gave me, as a stepping stone!! BEST OF LUCK!
Sam-- Instead of charging $2K/month on your Citibank card, you should worry about paying off the $10K in debt that you accrued, and failed to pay back.
RE: Hey Dave thanks. Really I have other living expenses, which i make up a majority of the $2k/month i charge and pay for. If i thought there were a benefit at this point in time of paying back the debts, i would, however. I think i'll just leave them be, and work on restoring my credit in my own way. I already have a 12.4% platinum card after 1 year of credit restoration, i think my choices on methodology were not blind luck, dave. My goals this year will be to increase my available credit to at least double, and i'm sure with proper tact and method, i do not foresee any problems.. thanks LKH for the support, we're here to help each other, and not criticize the mistakes some of us have made before.
Tough Luv! I agree with both sides. I think that many of us new Citibank card carriers should be careful however to not let the high limits encourage excessive usage. We were all eager to point that out when the citi card was the hot topic last fall. Let us not forget it. roni LKH wrote: ------------------------------- Instead of telling Sam what to do maybe you should concern yourself with you.
You know I think you have a point. I mean sam you did spend 10K and never paid it back, but are now so proud that you have a citicard after only a year. I am sorry I know there are times when people simply CAN NOT pay their bills, but as you put it you charge 2K a month and pay it in full, so why don't you repay your debts?? Because it won't help your credit , if that is the ONLY reason that I don't think that is right, some people actually can't afford to pay their debts, you don't seem to have that problem. You can run up both your cards and pay them off, why not stop charging and repay your debts.
Wait a minute.... YOu never, ever pay a debt unless you negotiate removal from your credit report. POINT BLANK. That is the code we live by on CREditnet. It took a while to develop that code. But it is in full effect now. The only time you vary from that code is in the mortgage crunch. You pay and then dispute and hope they dont answer the investigation which may lead to a deletion from your credit file. YOUR MORALITY POINT is a valid one. However at this forum it is not our primary concern. REBUILDING credit has very little to do with paying off old debts. Now if you feel bad because you didnot pay ....lets say your Dental bill, now that is quite another story. I strongly suggest you settle all dental bills regardless of credit restorations. LOL... Love always... roni.
RE: Wait a minute.... heh. I think you missed the point. I don't have the mad phat cash to pay off the debts. However i do have nearly $2k/month in living expenses, all of which are being diverted to my citi card, in hopes that the internal scoring system will promote growth within the corporation. It is very effective method, imo. And many of my colleagues (sp) who charge all of their expenses (car payments,ins,etc) to their pretty amex gold, and make one or two payments a month. When i called up citi to get a increase, i made it a point "Look, its pretty obvious i charge a lot to this account, and i pay it off nearly full in month, because (lie) the interest rate is too high to carry a balance,but i'd like to carry a balance (lie) in the short future for some major(lie) purchases i will be making.. can you help me?" Honestly, I feel bad nowadays when i have any balance on my cards. I hope to god, that i do not make the mistakes i have in the past. I don't use my credit cards to live a lifestyle i can't afford, like i have in the past. I think citibank has made $0 in interest from me in the last 5 months. I intend to keep it that way. Please don't see my post as "i make lotsa money now, i dont care about the debt". If i had the cash to settle, and get the debt off my report i would. But i have have many things, like a new car, a home, and the clothes on my kids back to think of first, right now, over paying those debts.
RE: Wait a minute.... Yes I realize what you are saying, you must negotiate before paying, I am aware of that rule NOW from reading this board But SAM worked so hard to rebuild", but in real terms he just lefthisdebts and started new, now some may think that is alright and like I said some people do hit hard times and can get back on track for quite some time. But sam can charge both cards to the max and pay them off, that to me doesn't seem fair at all.
Sam, Did you realize you posted that to me. I said to not worry about paying the debt. I never said you had "phat cash" man. I think you should use your available cash to build your credit and financial portfolio. Dont worry about the past, just dont forget past mistakes. I hope you mistakenly posted your comment to me and not shell.
RE: Wait a minute.... What does Fairness have to do with it? The Credit bureaus are anything but fair. They are quick to put negative info on your reports for a price and extremely reluctant to remove it which wont cost them a dime. Whether Sam charged off debts due to hardtimes or Careless spending it doesnot matter. He had to have a good reason. No one gets Bad credit on purpose. No one with millions on the bank will not pay a debt. He obviously didnot have the money then but he has it now. Back tracking is a Big Mistake. It will take a while I see for many of you to get that concept, but at some point it will hit home. roni
RE: Wait a minute.... Consider. I work for a dot com, could be a dot bomb soon. I don't have the money saved to live for several months with all the layoffs. I have my card, paid off , for the in case i get the big axe. Its my safety net. I'd like to be able to borrow money to pay the rent if its hard finding a job. I'd love to have a nest egg, but that isnt possible with my expeneses right now, i doubt i'll get a raise. Its getting rough in the dot com area of work now.. My cards aren't for buying stuff and paying it off slowly. its just my personal safety-net ok? I don't want my kids to end up on the street cause i cant pay rent cause the company i work for goes out of business. We all have our reasons , but take that into consideration ok? I'm not using my card to live a lifestyle i can't afford. Absolutely not. I use them to organize my bills, reduce check writing, and every once in a while buy something i might not be able to afford.
RE: yes i did. sorry i got caught up.. btwits good to see you back on the forum roni. i thought you disappeared or something!!
RE: Wait a minute.... I was referring to fairness of others not the agencies. I am sorry but it is soo easy to run up your bills stop paying them file for BK and then start all over , just too easy for people to do. Now I realize some do hit hard times and they is no other option for them, but I have known many people where that is not the case. I began building my credit about 12 months ago, I never had credit never knew that would hurt just as bad, but it makes me think here I am paying all my bills on time and sometimes giving up something to make sure they are paid on time and I bascially have the same darn scores and credit history that person A has who has charge offs or the same that person B has who files for BK, that to me isn't fair one bit.
RE: Wait a minute.... I was referring to fairness of others not the agencies. I am sorry but it is soo easy to run up your bills stop paying them file for BK and then start all over , just too easy for people to do. Now I realize some do hit hard times and they is no other option for them, but I have known many people where that is not the case. I began building my credit about 12 months ago, I never had credit never knew that would hurt just as bad, but it makes me think here I am paying all my bills on time and sometimes giving up something to make sure they are paid on time and I bascially have the same darn scores and credit history that person A has who has charge offs or the same that person B has who files for BK, that to me isn't fair one bit.
RE: Wait a minute.... Sounds like to me you are more jealous of your friends or (people that you know) than anything. This has nothing to do with Sam actually. There will always be people who take the easy way out. But if you think Bk is easy you obviously have not read this board closely. There is a price for everything. And everthing thing that seems good aint good. You should really concern yourself with your own situation. I have bad credit due to my student loans which defaulted due to a paywork problem. Besides that I only had charge off my college from discover which comes off in early 2002. But this "unfair situation" made me aware of the importance of credit. I never used credit since college cards and didnot know how important it was. Now I have the credit profile of someone who ran up 17 credit cards and did not pay over $60K in loans when my loan defaulted. Nothing in life is fair. That is why I concern myself in improving my own situation. That is more than enough for me to handle. I also offer a little advise from my own experiences along the way. That is the purpose of this forum roni
RE: Wait a minute....Roni Well I always appreciate your input on this board. I really wouldn't call jealous, just a little upset that people who have seriously damaged their credit are sitting in the same boat as me and yes it does have to do with sam 10K worth of chargeoffs. I am aware of how BK works, I know several people that have new cars and house 3 years post BK. I do try to focus on my own situation it is just when people start posting how hard they worked and they really haven't they have let their debts go and start all over again. For those who have really tried to rebuild, pay what they could and start fresh, those I can applaud, it is the majority of others that tends to bother me.
Boy have you got the wrong ide I have 3 chargeoffs totaling 10,000 from 3 years ago. I tried to get my boyfriend who is a lawyer to negotiate a payment plan. they said NO WAY. You see I was having hard times and couldn't pay. The creditors got a tax writeoff with the chargeoffs. You sound like the crooked credit card companies when you say it is too easy to BK. Do you know that you have to go before a judge and show cause to BK. Most people who BK lose their job or have medical problems. Sorry if i sound rude but I can't believe what you wrote here.
