Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 -- Now this! "CLOSED BY CONSUMER FOR INSUFFICIENT CREDIT LIMIT" I LIKE THAT!!!
Here's my analysis: The CC companies don't hire people to post demoralizing messages. They hire them to do other things, but they pay some of them well, and those well-paid people post messages on their own to discourage and intimidate people in debt. Why would they do that? Out of sheer malevolence. They enjoy the fact that they're making good money and other people aren't, or that they're paying low interest rates and other people aren't. Also, some well-paid people tend to have a lot of time on their hands. So they go to a website where people post about money, the only thing they really care about, and they pretend to be experts. I'm sure there are many posters who don't get paid by banks, but there's no question in my mind that there are some bank employees out there who derive a malicious pleasure, a sense of superiority, and a sense of purpose from harassing consumers in debt.
Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 -- N [QUOTE start a new thread with my self-employment question. [/B][/QUOTE] StarStuff, Thanks again for the compliment, I truly hope we are helping you. Re: se;f-employment and CCs...I am self employed as a consultant, and for the new cards I've acquired I've put down my "company name and my office phone number, but no one has ever called to verify. Even on my mortgage, they did not call, so your chances are good they won't call. A tip though, if you have a 2nd phone line (for internet, let's say), use that number as your "business number". But with your credit history I am assuming you receive multiple "offers" in the mail for new CCs. I would reply to the one with the best "BT" offer. It will be almost certain that there will be no employment verification. BTW, if you're thinking about "freelancing", go to http://www.sologig.com and register. In your field there are many opportunities. Good Luck on both fronts!!
Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 Bizwiz, now I owe you two dinners! I now have all three of my CRs: TU I got for free online with a credit score of 601, but not FICO (you guys -- I mean we guys -- call it FACO, right?). No negs, everything accurate. Said the #1 reason for lower score was total account balances too high, #2 reason oldest revolving account not established long enough, #3 reason too many accounts with balances. I ordered my Equifax CR with FICO score from www.myfico.com using the PVN814 code to get it for $9.95. FICO is 663. No adverse info, everything accurate. #1 negative factor, "proportion of balances to credit limits on your revolving/charge accounts is too high." Expected this. #2 negative factor, "You have too many bankcard charge accounts." Says I have 7, average U.S. consumer has 4 or 5. Seems to indicate that if I pay off and close 2 or 3, it would raise my FICO score. But this would probably only be true if I also lowered the balances on my other accounts first, to lower the balance-to-CL ratio. If I understand the advice I've gotten so far from CNet, that is. EX arrived today, free CR due to adverse action from Chase (rate hike originally posted on this thread). No FICO or FACO score. Need advice on a couple of items: 1) EX is the only one that is reporting my only collection account. There were originally two, and I have seen them both reported separately on previous CRs, but I can't remember which one(s). Anyway, neither is listed on TU or EQ, and EX is only listing one though two were incurred on the same date (med bills from an actionable slip-and-fall). There is now just one being reported as opened 1997, reported 1999, last reported 2000 (when the case was settled and I paid off all med bills remaining). Question: When does the SOL of 5 years in NY state for listing items on CRs begin? Do I count from the time it was incurred, reported or last reported? If less than 5 years, should I try validation in hopes they'll just eliminate the TL? Or is it old enough and my other history good enough that it doesn't matter all that much? 2) TU and EQ have my employer listed, but EX has "Self-Employed." I don't know where that came from, however at the moment it's more truthful than the others, since I was laid off in July. However, technically I am still employed by my former employer since I'm going to be doing some short-term part-time work for them in October. Question: Should I try to correct this information or leave it alone? Is it relevant to my credit score? Another question: Should I spring for another ten bucks and get my EX CR with FICO from www.myfico.com? Is it at this point going to be all that valuable a piece of information in my dispute with Chase's credit increase? EX is the CRA Chase reported as the one that furnished the information they based their decision on.
Thought credit was A-1 I believe its 5 yrs for paid collections. Is it showing paid? I would try a simple not mine dispute with Ex first. If that doesn't work, then advance to more stuff.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 StarStuff: Re: 1) Reporting "SOL", you are on the "cusp" re: FCRA rules, which changed in 1999 regarding "Aging". The SOL for reporting in this case SHOULD BE the date the account was "CHARGED OFF". Which should be roughly 180 days AFTER your first "deliquency". JLYNN'S ADVICE IS HIGHLY VALID, DISPUTE AS "NOT MINE" W/ Exp. Try it and see what happens. 2) Employment Listing(s): Leave them alone right now, don't wake "sleeping dogs: BUT.... THERE MAY BE A PROBLEM HERE, (especially re: advice I gave you re: BT). I noticed on another post you obtained your credit reports due to "unemployed, and seeking work in the next 60 days". THIS MAY RAISE A FLAG, THEY MAY UPDATE YOUR REPORT TO "UNEMPLOYED". I should have thought of this one previously. If the CRA does "update" you to unemployed, it may prohibit you from acquiring another card for a BT!! 3) $10 for score: Don't bother right now, put the $10 as extra on a CC payment. You have a fairly good idea of your scores and reports. Most likely it will not give you any information which will help your situation. 2 out of 3 showing 100% accuracy is a good predictor that your score will be very close. So..watch any reports that you recieved due to "unemployment", if any show up, THEN UPDATE to "self-employed". Dispute your medical CA (on-line) if you can as "Not Mine". You'll also receive a new report with the results. Please verify if you acquired any of your reports using "unemployed" as reason. Beleive me, it's not worth the $9 you save to throw up an "unemployed" red flag! Hang In There; As the framed message right above my laptop says: "Persevarance" "The difference between a successful person and others is NOT a lack of strength, NOT a lack of knowledge, but rather a LACK of Will!
Received TU free as "unemployed, planning to apply for job w/in 60 days." Question: I've read on several other theads about employment/income verification that what you state is almost never verified. So why not state employed at whatever salary makes you looks able to handle debt load, especially if going for BT? Also, info on employment in all CRAs was in section that said it wasn't released to CC companies; FAQs said employment info came from CC apps, that it was up to CC companies to gather that info from people. So how/why would I "update" from unemployed to self-employed on CR? Anyway, I can claim to be employed by same employer that laid me off in July since I will be working for them again in October, even though only a few hours total doing some training. But I'll still be an employee. Paid for EQ CR with FICO and that was actually best report of all. It shows employer name. I think one reason for 663 FICO was one account from 1986 (student loan) that put length of longest account at 17 years. Otherwise, longest is about four years. EX was from rate hike so was free, but no FICO. Also shows employer listed (spelled wrong, but listed). Also, EX has the medical collection acct. listed. It was paid, not charged off, in 2000 when I settled with insurance company. $%!%$! hospital and surgeon were both told up front that I had no insurance and the property owner's insurance would pay for the bills, and I had my attorney verify that they'd be paid in full as soon as the case was settled. They turned the accounts over to collection anyway. Should have told them to go to the devil after that, but I pay my debts.
Re: Thought credit was A-1 -- Now t 2*I have paid off and closed two accounts, a JCPenney's and an Associates Visa, about two years ago. 4*Pricing rate of 9.49 percent (prime plus 5.49 percent) had been raised to 23.99 6*I called Chase Cardmember Services and was informed that a routine review performed in May had indicated that I had little or no available credit, and that a notice of the increase had been sent to me with my May statement. 8*my states that I would retain Preferred Customer Pricing unless a) I failed to make at least the minimum payment due on any of my accounts, b) I went over my Chase account credit limit or c) any payment to Chase was returned for insufficient funds. 10* I've been a Chase cardmember for three years and have never missed a payment. In fact, I often made more than minimum payments on many of the cards at different times, Chase included. 12*If doing all the right things still gets you penalized so heavily, what's the StarStuff +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2*Were they charge offs or collections? 4*Why? 6*Sid you see it? 8*cardmember agreements are made to be broken. 10*They don't care about any of that all they are looking for is a way to milk you out of more money. They found it in your utilization of credit which according to fico gives them an excuse to fleece you like this. 12*The credit industry is not into giving incentives the're into milking you for all they can get. The tools they use are credit reporting and F I CO. Nice little milking machein they have wirking for them NO? ------------------------ PS New Member Must Reads.--------------------------- http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=350770#post350770 http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=314910#post314910 http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=352826#post352826 Sample letters http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/index.php?s= WhyChats statute of limitations http://community-2.webtv.net/Y-chat/WhyChatsCredit/ http://community-2.webtv.net/Y-chat/WhyChatsCredit/ statute of limitations http://www.edebtnetwork.com/content/collection_laws.asp """"```--~~~~~~~~~--```'""'''
Re: Thought credit was A-1 -- Now t Well, I got a letter from Chase today in response to the letter I originally sent to Correspondence and Inquiries. It said, "We are currently researching your inquiry and will notify you of our findings as soon as they become available." I don't know if that's good news or not, but at least it's not their standard "this is our policy and screw you if you don't like it." I already got that one after the phone shouting match with the CSR supervisor. So I suppose I should take this as progress. Still no response to my PFB letter, either by phone, e-mail or letter. I'm wondering if I should call the Chase Specials department yet or wait for another week or two, or see if I get any positive response from my initial letters.
Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 -- Now t Glad to hear from you StarStuff, I was wondering what happened to you! Hope the letter is a positive sign, actually sounds like a letter you'd write when you know you've screwed up.......they're just letting you cool down a bitbefore they respond fully. Re: PFB, I haven't had any success with that method either. There are so many letters out there I think it has started to lose some of its effectiveness. Hang In There, sounds like you're making progress!
Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 -- N Hi, Bizwiz, thanks for caring. I just got another letter from Chase with the same old refrain, i.e. they selected my account for this rate increase because the balances were high and several revolving accounts. They keep referring to the June 2003 Change in Terms Notice which I never received. My original cardmember agreement is all I have to go by and they still have not sent me any copy of their change in terms notice they claim to have sent in my May statement. I'm getting very discouraged. How many more hours am I to spend composing carefully detailed letters that just get ignored? At this moment I'm afraid to call their Specials department because I'm so angry and upset I don't think I could maintain my composure. A huge part of my anger and frustration is the lack of resources with any clout to turn to. These people have made an agreement with me that I abided by, but they change terms without getting any proof on notifying me and apparently can legally force me to abide by their outrageous terms. I have disputed their rate change yet they continue to impose that rate and are charging me interest on the increased amount added to my account every month as a result of that increase. Is that legal? Aren't amounts in dispute supposed to be exempt from being charged interest until the dispute is settled? I'm feeling very beaten up right now. Very discouraged.
Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 -- N Would it help if I started calling you "StarTUFF" instead! Hang In There...I know exactly how you feel. But the most important thing to do is keep at it. Battles are won and lost over endurance mostly. As for the "legality" of the rate increase, they probably can. Usually there is fine print somewhere that they "reserve" the right to do something like this. The "option" given consumers is to "cancel and pay in full". Although LEGALLY they were supposed to OFFER this option. StarStuff, Have you "requested" a copy of this "new" Change Of Terms", or have they sent you one yet? I seem to remember you are somewhere in Upstate New York, I will try to research the state banking regs for NY. Somewhere in all this I "feel" a regulation violation. Hang In There, sooner or later you will catch a break and you will feel on top of the world.
Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 -- N Why not look up all the Congressmen and Senators who are on the banking committee and write to each and every one? Maybe file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as well. Maybe something will move them.
Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 Thanks again, Bizwiz; as always, you're a great spirit lifter. A family member has offered to make me a personal loan to pay off this account. I am wondering how best to handle this. Should I contact the Specials department and demand a return to my previous terms and retroactive credit to my account of all interest charges made at the 23.99% rate, then tell them I will pay off the account in full and cancel my account if they refuse? Should I approach them with a more negotiable attitude, telling them up front that I intend to pay off the account and cancel if they don't work with me? Or should I just pay off the account without dealing with Specials at all and keep it open, charging the occasional $5 or $10 and paying it off entirely before any interest accrues? My impression, from the reading and suggestions I've gotten from this board, is that although the first two options would be most personally satisfying, the third would be most beneficial to my FICO and the most effective way to keep any other of my CC companies from taking the same tack as Chase. I still maintain that they violated the cardmember agreement and probably also violated some portion of the FCRA that requires them to give me notice and the option to pay the account in full and/or cancel the account if I refused to agree to their change in terms. I would still like to press this issue and Hedwig, it's a good idea to try to find out who in Congress is working on anything having to do with credit and consumerism. But I am really sick of this stress and would like to get my personal nuts out of the fire in the short term.
Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 I can understand the stress. You just said something about your anger and frustration coming from not having someone with clout, that's why I suggested the Congressmen. Of course, you could write one more letter, recap everything, ask for them to rescind the terms and refund the excess interest. Tell them if they do you'll leave the account as it (then if you want to pay it off in a month or so go ahead, but you could keep it as is). Tell them that otherwise, you'll pay it off and only use it for things you can pay each month. That keeps the account history. DON'T say you're going to close it. Play up how you've really liked this account and their customer service, but you just can't pay that much interest. Then all you have to do is make copies and send to the Senators and Congressmen. In fact, on the bottom of the letter, put CC: and all of the names. That way Chase knows you sent the letters out and it's not a lot more stress on you.
Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 Good advice, Hedwig. Bizwiz, I neglected to answer your question about whether I requested and received a copy of the June 2003 change in terms notice they claim to have sent. I did request a copy of this and was told by the CSR I first contacted about this problem that she would send me a copy. I haven't received it, however; I only received one of their standard letters ignoring my arguments and stating that they were increasing my rates because of the high balances on my other accounts. I reiterate: There is NOWHERE in my original (and still, my only) cardmember agreement with Chase a statement that they will increase my rates if my balances reach a certain level. There is very clearly spelled out the conditions under which I will retain Preferred Customer Pricing, and as I have explained in previous posts I adhered faithfully to these conditions. I will certainly send copies of my letter to Chase to the banking committee members if that will help. How do I find out who these people are? And which BBB should I complain to? New York's? Delaware's? Both? National?
Re: Re: Re: Re: Thought credit was A-1 They (CREDIT CARD COMPANIES) have a right to change the terms for ANY REASON with 20-30 days notice!!!
