Hi! I began my journey when my fiance and I bought a new truck together in November and was informed that because of my low score we did not qualify for Fords 0% for 3 years deal. Also found out that his score is 100 points higher than mine. They didn't tell us what our scores were, just that his was 100 points higher than mine. I found PG and pulled my reports, to discover two things. One was a 30 day late from JCPenney three years ago, the second was a 30 day late from WFNNB/Victorias Secret from five years ago. That was it! The reason my score is lower than his is because of my high utilization and these two derogs. I wrote a letter to JCPenney, per their request, explaining that I had never been late, later to find out here that I basically wrote a Goodwill letter and didn't even know it! lol! They wrote me back a couple weeks later, apologizing, and have removed their 30 day late from all 3 CRAs. WFNNB/Vic Sec. is the one I want your thoughts on, please. I opened this account in September 1998. I KNOW that I gave my correct address because I had just bought my first house in July of 1998 and had the pride of homeownership going in high gear. I used the card in September and never received a bill. I would think about it when doing my bills but then after about 6 weeks completely forgot about it. I went to my father's for Thanksgiving and as I was leaving he says, "Oh! Here! This came in the mail for you,". Guess what it was? That's right! The bill! So, I called them and said, more or less, "What am I supposed to do now?! How did you get this address?! I've NEVER lived here!" They told me to mail payment in, which I did in full, and that since it was their fault, no problem. Unfortunately, I did not keep my notes on this. And, now...it is my problem. Geez. I called Exp. today and had them delete my father's address (which, btw, is the only CRA reporting the wrong address and 30 day notation). I also went online today to dispute the 30 day late as never late. Considering that this is 4 & 1/2 years old, how bad is this hurting my score? What are the odds on getting the 30 day off? Last item, does it matter how I begin paying off my cc's? For example, I have one with $800, one with $4,400, one with $1,400 (and yes, there are more unfortunately) I have about $1,500 just sitting in my checking account. Should I put it all on one? Spread it out to get as many below 50% as possible? Does it matter? Thanks for all your help! Your posts have been most helpful.
