I just have to say thanks again for everyone's help in the past, this site is made up for some great folks willing to share their knowledge and experience. Thanks again! Question 1: So I've started my credit clean up, I've successfully gotten many derogs removed but I've had a few come back from the CRA "verified" but that's it. They simply say they've verified it, provide nothing else despite my requests for proof. So I send a second dispute letter via Certified Mail, and Transunion just responded with a letter quoting the FCRA and said they were done with their responsibilities. My question is where do I go next? Do I just start over at step one and re-request validation and continue to do so until I get the desired results? Or do I push my original dispute until they actually verify or delete? Question 2: My old lady has pretty nice credit (especially when you compare it to mine!). All her scores are over 700 and we just finished disputing the 1 derog she had on all three CRA reports (and it's successfully come off). She just finished paying off 95% of all her trade lines and in the next month that'll be at 100% paid off (she will be 100% debt free, even her car is paid off). The question is what can she do to now get her scores over 800? Is it simply a matter of time or should she be positioning herself with better credit companies, spending and paying off, etc etc. I'm just curious on a path to go from good to exceptional credit. Currently the cards she has: -First Premier (was her first card when she rebuilt her credit, low limit, crappy APR, yearly fees etc - but has the longest history). -Providian ($2700 limit - highest limit, crappy APR) -Cap 1 ($500 limit - decent APR) -Mervyns Store Card -Gap Store Card -Khols Store Card -Dell Financial Account All accounts are paid in full except the Providian which has $1500 on it and the Dell account which has $450. She also just got approved for an AMEX Blue but has no idea what her limit or anything is because she hasn't gotten the card yet. I theorized she might ditch the cap1 and FP cards and seek out more cards with more prestiege, but I have no idea if that counts. Not counting the AMEX (which is unknown) I'd estimate that she has about 8k in total credit (I dont know all her limits by heart so I cant say for sure), should she attempt to get more open credit? She also only has like 3 inquiries on all three reports combined. Any advice on getting her to 800's would be more appreciated. Thanks again folks!
First, you don't "ditch" or close an account, until you have used it to advantage to open a more preferred account, unless maybe there are various excessive fees. What offers is she getting? From who, and at what terms?
Ontrack, She gets offers all the time from companies that aren't significant enough to remember their names. I do however remember some offering 9.9%, but she always shows them to me and there is something that I don't like about them (either a no name company, or annual fee, etc). So I always end up telling her to toss them. The only account that she has with excessive fees is the First Premier card, it's her lowest limit card (around $250 iirc) the only reason I've told her to hold on to it is because it's her oldest established tradeline. I hope that answers your questions and thanks a bunch for your time! -Russ
"No name" may not be bad at this point. 9.9% if it is fixed, and not a teaser rate, isn't bad, either. You are probably looking for an account with a CL possibly in the $2k to $6k range, to establish some history beyond the sub-1k and store cards. You might want to wait for the AMEX to show up, use it some over the next 6 months, and then see what offers you are receiving. There is no point in accepting an offer that does not advance you toward your goal. Better to let her current accounts age, let the inquiries age, and build a little more positive history. You do want to research the company and make sure they do not act in a predatory manner. Check BBB, consumeraffairs.com, and ripoffreport.com. Annual or monthly fees , or high interest rates, generally indicates they are targetting "sub-prime" consumers, who may have little choice. You are trying to break out of this market, and if her scores are in the 700s she should be able to do so.
Ontrack, Thanks so much for your advice, as always! So to make sure I understand, the path to 800 is just good credit practice? Charge a bit, pay it off (all at once or over time?) and work the length of time with the account? When you trade up for better accounts does that actually help your scores? Or is that just getting a better credit profile personally? -Russ
Anyone have any suggestions for what I should do for Question 1? Should I start these disputes over from the beginning or keep hammering at the existing ones? How do I respond to TU who says they're done with their responsibilities?
russ, regarding question 1. you have some options, and depending on how "hardcore" you want to get you can tailormake these ideas to your situation. First, are your derogs paid? If they are, it is usually easier to get them removed. If they are not, they can be sold, resold, and then sold again down the line, depending on if they are past the SOL. I think a lot of people don't realize this, but even if you get deletions, especially from a CA, that debt can come back to haunt you when it gets re-resold, usually at the the worst time. If you are feeling fearless, you can do the nutcase letter along with the BBB, and Atty general. Maybe one of those will stick. Also, you can get your old lady to put you on as an authorized user on one of her better cards, preferably one with a long credit history and no negs. One other note 800 is pretty hard to achieve, especially since now they are talking about changing the fico formula. You should at this time also try to develop pos tradelines (credit cards, credit union (personal loan), and other lines of credit (make sure to pay everything on time). If you are the forgetful type (like Me) you can sign up for a bill pay service that will pay your bills for you when they become due. good luck
ofhumbon, Thanks for the response! A couple of the derogs are paid, a couple are not. What's really frustrating is I am starting to see things pop back on. Well not really see it but my TC alert service is telling me they are but I don't see them on my report when I pull a new one. I've been disputing with the CRA's (all three: TU, Exp, Eq), should I be disputing with the original creditor first? I've seen a couple of your posts when you refer to the "nutcase letter along with the BBB, and Atty general" but I have no idea what that all means (sorry, I'm slow with this stuff). Is there a link you can give me where I can go read on that? Thanks again so much for your help! -Russ
