Hi everyone, newbie here. I've been reading through the FAQ and a lot of the posts - very informative! I never thought there would be much I could do to improve my credit beyond letting time pass by. I'm looking for some advice on how to proceed. I've pulled all 3 reports and scores (Eq=597, Ex=630, TU=620), and now have some questions: 1. Experian and TU have a host of incomplete and/or inaccurate address listings for me (Experian in particular seems to have gotten hold of every "ship to" address I ever used for a catalog order, which of course included work addresses). Folks here seem to have had success in the past by just calling to have this fixed, is that still the case? 2. My employer info on Equifax hasn't been updated in nearly 20 years(!), and Experian's is incomplete. Should I care about this as much as my home address info? 3. I rediscovered an account I had completely forgotten about - a Filene's account that was joint with my then-bf, opened in 1997. It's listed as being in good standing as of 4/2004, no credit limit listed, $0 balance. If I've forgotten about the card, it's likely he has too, but he has *such* a poor credit record right now (past collections and into lawsuit territory) - I'm concerned that maybe some of his creditors will discover my name in his CR and come looking for me for items I've never been responsible for. Should I go ahead and close this account out? 4. Owing to a really bad time a couple years back when I was in consulting, my two Amex cards (green and Optima) were charged off. The Optima account has now been fully paid (and is listed as paid and closed on Eq and TU, Ex doesn't show it at all), and the green card account will be as of this June (I have made all of my agreed-upon payments timely to the collection agency). Should I wait until June to send a Goodwill letter, to see if Amex will have mercy and strike the charge-offs, or go ahead and try now for the Optima account at least? 5. MBNA and Discover both closed my accounts last summer even though I had resumed making on-time payments after the 2003 debacle (both still carry a balance). Should I attempt a Goodwill letter with them for the earlier latenesses, even though the accounts were closed "at creditor's request"? Has anyone had any luck in getting someone to at least reduce interest rates on a closed account? Many thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!
1. Experian and TU have a host of incomplete and/or inaccurate address listings for me (Experian in particular seems to have gotten hold of every "ship to" address I ever used for a catalog order, which of course included work addresses). Folks here seem to have had success in the past by just calling to have this fixed, is that still the case? Step One: OPT OUT! 1-888-5OPT-OUT (wait a couple of weeks for it to process) Step Two: Dispute addresses that are inaccurate. Some have success over the phone. If the phone doesn't work to your liking, send a letter disputing inaccuracies, using a copy of a utility bill and a copy of your DL with your CURRENT address. 2. My employer info on Equifax hasn't been updated in nearly 20 years(!), and Experian's is incomplete. Should I care about this as much as my home address info? Not as important. If they have a listing you've never worked at, then ask for removal. 3. I rediscovered an account I had completely forgotten about - a Filene's account that was joint with my then-bf, opened in 1997. It's listed as being in good standing as of 4/2004, no credit limit listed, $0 balance. If I've forgotten about the card, it's likely he has too, but he has *such* a poor credit record right now (past collections and into lawsuit territory) - I'm concerned that maybe some of his creditors will discover my name in his CR and come looking for me for items I've never been responsible for. Should I go ahead and close this account out? Is the account closed? If it's closed and shows in good standing, I'd leave it. Make sure you've OPTED OUT, as mentioned above. If not closed, close it...or remove yourself from the account. 4. Owing to a really bad time a couple years back when I was in consulting, my two Amex cards (green and Optima) were charged off. The Optima account has now been fully paid (and is listed as paid and closed on Eq and TU, Ex doesn't show it at all), and the green card account will be as of this June (I have made all of my agreed-upon payments timely to the collection agency). Should I wait until June to send a Goodwill letter, to see if Amex will have mercy and strike the charge-offs, or go ahead and try now for the Optima account at least? Does the Optima list as a collection account that was paid and closed? Does it have lates? A goodwill letter might be the way to go. As far as the Green, I would personally never make an agreement with a CA. Did you get the agreement in writing? I would have sent them an agreement first, with payments that are reasonable and demanded a "delete when paid in full agreement." If your agreement was verbal and over the phone, I would suggest sending them a letter requesting deletion when paid. 5. MBNA and Discover both closed my accounts last summer even though I had resumed making on-time payments after the 2003 debacle (both still carry a balance). Should I attempt a Goodwill letter with them for the earlier latenesses, even though the accounts were closed "at creditor's request"? Has anyone had any luck in getting someone to at least reduce interest rates on a closed account? Haven't had much luck with OC's. Try asking them, you never know. MBNA and Discover are both monsters though...I haven't heard of anyone getting away with much from them.
Re: Re: Making my first moves... Okay, I've opted out, and this morning closed the old joint Filene's account. The inaccurate addresses are next on the to-do list. Okay, after having spent more time going over the dates, amounts listed, etc., I realized that the Optima account is *already* gone from my CR. The two Amex accounts listed are actually both related to the green card - the charge balance I had is the account listed as "charged-off/paid/closed," while the Sign & Travel revolving balance is still listed as a charged-off account with a balance (this is the balance I'll be done paying this June). Since both accounts are tied to the same card, I suppose there isn't much I can do until the remaining Sign & Travel balance is paid off as well, is there? As to not making an agreement with a CA, well... if I'd known then what I know now...! I did have an agreement in writing with the CA for a monthly payment, whihc does not include a statement about a deletion when paid in full. Now I have another question, which will likely sound monumentally silly in light of all the other advice about not dealing with CAs, but what the heck: I have actually been dealing with the same account rep at GC Services from the beginning (2 years now), calling each month to set up my payment. Along the way, I appear to have developed a cordial "business" relationship with this rep (we always have a brief chat when I call). In light of this, would it be worth my making a personal appeal to him *first* for a deletion when I make my last payment? My thought is that some nameless individual receiving a letter from me might be less sympathetic, but then again I don't know how much ability account reps have to set up such arrangements. Comments?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Making my first mov Absolutely! Give it a shot! Some account managers have pretty good pull.
