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Many moons ago I was part of CB (can’t for the life of me remember my screen name) and did a lot of credit report removing baddies and re-establishing credit. In February 2007 I opened a National City Credit card (secured that did not report as secured) and worked like crazy get all the baddies (judgments, collections, lates…you name it). By 2008 I had been approved for a Wal-Mart, Target, and Chevron cards. These were followed by two CitiCards and an HSBC card. I moved from California to NYC in late 2008 just as the financial crisis hit and did my best to stay afloat. Unfortunately, I got behind with the IRS and they filed a tax lien in 2009. This tanked my scores. I also had two unpaid items, one medical collection and on AAA that weren’t helping me out much either. I did my best to not lose too much ground while I was getting back on my financial feet. I had some savings, but initially no income, so things were a bit rocky here and there. I came back to CB in December of 2013 and decided to give it a go once again. I must say I am so inspired by all the stories and am grateful for a community that shares advice and lessons learned. Whoo-whooo! Here is where I started: December 2013 ScoreSense (FAKOs) Equifax 649 Experian 625 Transunion 667 Here is what needed improvement: Removal of tax lien Removal of Medical Collection Removal of 11 late payments from 2010/2011 spread across three different private student loans Removal of late payment from Target Removal of late payments from CitiCard (on a closed account) Increase in limits on Walmart, Chevron, Target, Paypal, Capital One (former HSBC Union Plus Card), Barclays Upromise Card (former Citicard, then BofA) New credit lines with higher limits Getting Barclays to report my account to all three CRAs, as it is my highest limit ($6,000) January 2014 I was able to successfully remove the medical collection using WhyChat’s method and some rules related to NYC residents (Debt Collection Agency license). Submitted documentation to the IRS requesting my lien be withdrawn. Decreased my credit card utilization by 10% by making payments on all my cards. Sent a request to Barlays to report my account to all 3 CRAs Disputed my lates on the Sallie Mae private loans. Reports updated to REMOVE ALL lates on three trade lines. Miracles really do exist! January FAKOs (ScoreSense) Equifax 689 Experian 664 TransUnion 700 February 2014 With my higher (FAKO) scores in hand, I called PayPal and asked for CLI and they gave me one for $1500. Raising my limit to $1600. (Many CLDs after the lien posted in 2009) Also called Walmart and got a $200 CLI, Chevron increase to $450. Not impressive overall, but helped my utilization. Using 41% of my overall available (reporting) credit. (Barclays still not on my credit report. Requested a CLI increase from Cap1, hard pull on all three (ouch), declined for no report (Equifax, but still shows a hard pull. WTH?) and no explanation as to why they pulled THREE. Grrr. Sent letter. On Feb 26th the IRS sent me a letter approving my lien withdrawal. Sent me form 10916 on the 28th. Checked online and it had not been recorded with the NYC city register. Barclays responded to my request to report agreeing they would report my account to all three CRAs and to allow at least 30 days for an update. Applied for Roaman’s card, approved for $750. No hard. Got a little excited and applied for DCU CC, Discover and re-opening of Citi. Declined on all five hard pulls on EQ. One hard pull on TU. I normally am not app happy, but I got a bit caught up in the thread that SuperCreditMan has going on…apparently unpaid tax liens are more frowned upon than discharged bankruptcy. Who knew??? (Someone on CB, I’m sure.) February FAKOs (ScoreSense) Equifax 689 Experian 692 Transunion 692 March 2014 Baddies remaining on report are: 1 Federal Tax Lien (2009, unpaid) Target - 1 30 day late from 9/13 Citi (closed) - 1 30 day late, 1 60 late from 10/13 and 11/13 Started work to get b* on Transunion to remove the one inquiry. Using MPM and SCP, should see results by 3/31/14. My Citi AA letter cited “no installment loans” on my Equifax as part of the reason for the decline. Submitted a request to SallieMae to report my student loan to Equifax. Also sent a CFPB complaint requesting it be reported. Sent a second letter to Barclays to see when the credit line would report. Also filed a CFPB complaint to speed things up. Sent a letter to all 3 CRA with a copy of the Withdrawal of Lien document and requested deletion. Also submitted an online dispute with Equifax, using the online document upload feature. Sent letter to Discover for recon. Lien was cited as reason fro denial, since proof of lien withdrawal. Sending recon letter to Citi showing removal of lien and proof of a revolving account (which was also listed as reason for denial) Target and Citi responded to my GW request for late removals with a firm “NO”….Target did refund the late fee though and agreed to remove any lates that were more than 24 months old…there are none. Applied Bill Me Later credit (Comenity), hard pull on Eq and denied due to “too many inquiries”…OUCH. March FAKOs (Equifax Complete) Equifax 688 Experian 688 TransUnion 701 Expecting Transunion b* within the next two days. Plans for April Follow up on the removal of the liens from my report. Follow up on the Barclay reporting Follow up on the Sallie Mae reporting Resist the urge to apply for new credit Wrap my head around Equifax B* Lower my utilization Pay my bills on time! :-) Request a reduced interest rate on my CCs once my utilization is lower and the lien is not reporting. My goals are to get the most favorable terms on my existing lines, increase my available credit (CLIs and paying down balances), get my scores to as close to 800 as possible within the next 8-9 months to app for a mortgage. I’ll pull my FICO once the liens are gone from all reports. Any input, advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks to BobWang, shifter, SCM and others for providing valuable input and updates. I LOVE CB!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/07/usa-banks-creditcards-probe-idUSL1N0BWM3I20130307 When the banks sell delinquent credit card debt to the JDB's they provide very little information - just a list of accounts, names addresses and SS#'s if they have it. and most times, the accounts are sold " without recourse " - meaning that the banks don't guarantee that this information is correct , and there is no recourse available to the JDB's if the accounts sold were disputed, ID theft or due to additional charges after the consumer paid off the account. The JDB's then use these records to file lawsuits and attach affidavits attesting the bank records they claim to hold. All ties back to the FTC's investigation of the Big Nine JDB's , http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2013/01/debtbuyer.shtm and class action lawsuits against Midland robo signing http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=465175&hl= and class action lawsuits against LVNV funding where 10's of thousands of lawsuits were dismissed. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-09-09/business/bs-bz-debtors-settlement-lvnv-20110909_1_debt-collection-settlement-forgives

Hello all, I am wondering if anyone else has experience/advice to offer on this predicament. I have 6 cards, listed below for reference: Bank of America Cash Rewards Visa Sig $10k/9.99 (6/2010) Citi Diamond Preferred MasterCard $10.2k/11.99 (10/2012) Chase Freedom Visa Sig $10k/15.24 (1/2012) (Call in to the EO about reducing the APR, given how much I spend, good luck to me though with Chase's stubbornness) Amex BCE $12.6k/10.24 (9/2011) Barclay Ring MC $5k/8.0 (4/2012) Discover IT $19k/11.99 (9/2012) (Yes, subprime Discover loves to give me $4-5k soft pull increases every few months!) Anyway, the Diamond Preferred is a good "backup" MC to keep in my wallet in case a purchase gets declined on a Visa card. I would like to have the World benefits, and mainly, I want it because there's no reason with my profile, limits, etc... for me to not have it (I had a Dividend card I closed because I got mad at Citi two years ago, which had a lower limit and was still a World card). I've seen some people meet success just requesting a World card via phone (as I did with my previous card), but this time I am having no luck. I've called the regular numbers, and even the EO & Twitter. When I find someone who even understands what I'm asking, they just start rattling off a list of annual-fee carrying airline cards I can convert to that are World cards. They've also told me you can only get offered the upgrade, which just doesn't sit right with what else I've seen. My conclusion is that Citi is pushing World/Sig away on no-AF cards, as it seems like anything without an AF (TY Preferred Visa, DP Visa, Simplicity Visa), is marketed as a regular Visa, while the AF cards are marketed as Sig cards. Does anyone have an idea as to what I can do? Can I convert to a Dividend card if it isn't offered anymore? Is there anything I could do to get this converted to a World card? Thanks, A very frustrated smc733

My 350th Post!! Final step for the DW for 2014. Approved for $13K on their 11.99% Diamond Preferred, HP on EQ. Her Scores: Exp : 789 TU : 798 Eq : 806 Over the last fourteen day app spree, she's scored: AMEX EDC - $9,400 to $28,200 NFCU Flagship - $10,000 NASA Visa - $13,000 BECU - $25,000 BOA - $8,200 > $16,400 USAA - $16,000 Citi - $13,000 For a total of $104,000 in new credit! She did apply for a second NFCU card, that's still under review. Off to the garden till next year for some CLI requests. (I know, a lot of GIF's, just celebratin' a little , ok, a lot! )

http://creditcards.citicards.com/usc/doublecash/2014/Aug/external/default.htm?BT_TX=1&ProspectID=7BAEA0FFC79342CAA8E7EF7FE1D51644

My DW emailed the Citibank CEO asking for a goodwill deletion. They called her to get account info, then responded by letter a few days later that stated in part: Do you think hey misunderstood our request? We are asking for deletion from the Credit Bureaus, not from their own internal records.

AAOA already destroyed due to new accts. This is one of the last links left. App is in and new EX Pin pulled. All I have to do is call it in. Do I really want to though? Just did the WEMC Platinum in May, spend complete.

I paid this debt off in settlement before I knew about the wonderful creditboards. I was bullied by Rubin & Rothman LLC associate that they will sue blah bah blah, that kept calling my phone, and eventually I agreed to pay $10,000 on $20.000/50% debt over a 6 months term. I paid the debt off as agreed. but Citi Card still reporting negative on CRA account... To add insult to injury I was hit with a Forgive Fed. Debt by the IRS ($7,600) for both NYC Federal ($1,212.58 paid) & NYC State ($1,000.3 still pending just received it last week). Collectively I paid more than half. If I knew what I knew now I would have just negotiated a deal with Citi Bank and paid for deletion... Any input will be greatly appreciated.... DOFD: 2008 SEP 80 Citi Card/CitiBank Address Identification number: Blank Status: Piad in Settlement. $20,339 written off. Status Details: This account is scheduled to continue on record until June 2015. Date Opened: 06/2004 Reported Since 06/204 Last Reported: 03/2010 Credit Limit/Original Amount: $18,210 High Balance: $20,339 Status Details: This account to continue or record until June 2015 Comment: Account paid in full or less than full balance -RealMcKoy

Hi My journey to repairing my credit. I have noticed that 4 negative TL that have blank 'Address identification number' on my TU. I'm wondering is there anyway I can dispute these negatives base on the fact that the TL isn't tied to any of the several addresses variation reporting on TU? e.g, CHASE BANK USA, Address Identification number: BLANK Stauts: Closed. $1,289 past due as of Dec 2010 Date Opend: 10/2001 Last Reported: 12/2010 Original Amount: $4,422 Comment: Purchased by another lender. I've don't recall having a Chase account. I think the account is an account Providian alleged I owned at some point (Providian--->WAMU--->Chase). The account was sold to Equable Finance. INC. And I was taking to court over the debt maybe two years ago. I won the case because they were not able to furnish any agreement with my signature to actually prove the account was owned by me. After several letters to Equable Finance. INC. I was able to have them remove their negative TL off all three CRA. The problem is Chase is still report the alleged debt the three CPA which is greatly impacting my credit score. Any advice on how I should go about having Chase delete the negative TL. Citi Card/CitiBank Address Identification number: Blank Status: Piad in Settlement. $20,339 written off. Status Details: This account is scheduled to continue on record until June 2015. Date Opened: 06/2004 Credit Limit/Original Amount: $18,210 High Balance: $20,339 Last Reported: 03/2010 Status Details: This account to continue or record until June 2015 Comment: Account paid in full or less than full balance I paid this debt off in a settlement before I knew about the wonderful creditboards. I was bullied by Rubin & Rothman LLC associate that they will sue blah bah blah, that kept calling my phone, and eventually I agreed to pay $10,000 on a $20.000/50% debt over a 6 months term. I paid the debt off as agreed. but Citi Card still reporting negative on CRA accounta... To add insult to injury I was hit with a Forgive Fed. Debt by the IRS ($7,600) for both NYC Federal ($1,212.58 paid) & NYC State ($1,000.3 still pending just received it last week). Collectively I paid more than half. If I knew what I knew now I would have just negotiated a deal with Citi Bank and paid for deletion... Any input will be greatly appreciated.... Macys Address Identification Number: Blank Status: Account charged off. $445 written off. pass due as of Jan 2012 Status details: This account is scheduled to continue on record until Aug 2017. This item w as updated from our processing of your dispute in Jul 2006. Date Opened: 10/1998 Last reported: 1/2012 (This information is incorrect) Comment: account closed at credit grantor's request I have made several attempts to resolve this debt with Macys the original debt amount was $245.00 cant remember the year.. but the debt have been sold the a CA that does not report to the CRA. I sent a letter request a paid for deletion and they never responding, and sent a DV and they never responded. I am frustrated because I don't know what my next option is in order to exonerate negative TL from all three CRA. Visa/Dept Stores National Bank (Bloomingdales visa I think) Status: Account charged off. $4,143 written off. $4,143 past due as of Mar 2012. Status Details: This account is scheduled to continue on record until Dec 2016. Date Opened: 05/2003 Reporting since: 03/2010 Credit Limit/ Original Amount $4,600 Recent Balance: $4,143 as of 03/2012 Comment: Account closed at credit grantor's request. I have yet to be contacted by a CA or JDB over this debt. I have reached out to Bloomingdales and they say they don't have any record on file for me... Which throw me into a loop, because they are reporting negative TL on all three CRA.... HELP! PS:My goal ultimately is to repair my credit so I can purchase a home in the near future... for the pass several years I have been a cash on carry type of gentleman.... but I want to change that aspect of my life. Thanks in advance, -RealMcKoy

Thank you CB'rs for all of the great info! I've been lurking for a couple of weeks and have already read PsychDoc's transcripts, ordered reports, triaged them, opted out, disputed old names and addresses, sent out a couple of Goodwill letters. I would have never known how to attack this without this great resource! Now I need to take my clean up efforts to the next level. I have two CO's that I would like to have deleted that were incurred when I lost my job in 2009 and had to relo to a new city and support homes in both locations. Need some advice on how to approach these. Chase - AU of DH's Account; DOFD 06/2010, paid in settlement after charge off. Paid 95% of full balance of $29,596. EQ - Showing as Charge Off, Account Paid for less than full balance. Says 120 days late during entire time we were paying under the settlement and the CO shows up when last payment was made; EX - Does not show up on report TU - Says Current; Paid or Paying as Agreed, Closed 2/2011, Paid 7/2012, Settled less than full BLNC; Closed; Monthly Payment History shows 120 days later during entire time we were paying under the settlement. No Charge Off. Citibank - My account; DOFD 5/2010; paid in settlement after CO; Paid 90% of full balance of $30K EQ - Showing as CO; Account paid for less than full balance, Paid CO, Last payment 03/2013. Payment history - Says CO entire time we were paying under the settlement, then shows current again after last payment made even though account has been closed since November 2010. EX - Paid in settlement, $30,659 written off (we paid-off $27K!!!); Says CO entire time we were paying under settlement, says account didn't close until last payment made in 5/13; Balance history shows no actual payments (even though they were being paid), but shows balance decreasing TU - Pay status says account paid in full; Was a CO; Shows no payments for a year, then shows full balance as scheduled payment and $0 as amount being paid even though we were paying and the balance was decreasing I live in PA and know that there is a 4 year SOL here. Would like to address these now, but I need some advice from some of you gurus on what you think the best approach would be? My head is spinning at the options I've read about - Nutcase? Whychat? PFD? Jack Attack? Any help or guidance is much appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help!

Earn 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after you make $10,000 in purchases within 3 months of account opening.2 Plus, earn up to $200 in statement credits on purchases within 12 months of account opening.3 Enjoy these VIP benefits for an annual fee of $450* https://creditcards.citicards.com/usc/Travel/AA/2013/q3/Exec/GA/default.htm?BT_TX=1&ProspectID=8289431BF5BC49478648B92A43DF07A8 Just sharing for those who might be interested.

I burned Citi, BofA and Amex almost 7 years ago. My spouse tried to add me as an AU to AMEX and it was a no go. (No shock but worth a try.) Can I be added as an AU to our BofA AMEX or will I be declined because of BofA and/or AMEX? Same question with citi. Do they blacklist AUs like AMEX or only primary account holders. I tried multiple searches for the answer to these questions but it is impossible to search for AU. TIA

Wish I would have known about this link before I applied for my 30k miles card last month. Here's the link if you're interested. I have not verified it because I have not applied but it seems kosher. With this and the US Airways card from Barclays you could eventually have 80k in American Airlines miles after the merger. http://www.aa.com/pubcontent/en_US/disclaimers/BP-PLATHV.jsp

I'm still in shock. My BB store card with a toy limit of $400, that was never eligible for CLIs while at Capital One, just got a CLI to $5,000 via the Citi EO. Here's the story: Almost two years ago I opened a BB retail store card thru Cap1. Our family already had two individual RZ MC cards thru Cap1, and this account was opened with high expectations at time of sale inside a local store. Sadly, the approval was for a Plan B $400 account that could not be upgraded or receive limit increases while at Cap1. As we all know, Citi bought the BB card portfolio from Cap1 earlier this year. With the switch to Citi, I tried my luck last month to get a CLI. Although my scores are similar across all bureaus, TU is the only one where a very old paid public record was successfully removed. Citi's system pulls EQ for me every-time, and my CLI in Sept was denied. I called for recon, no luck - Citi told me there are no manual reviews and re-trying would just result in the same decision and an additional hard pull. After reading this morning of others who have had success with Citi's EO, I gave them a call. After providing my card # I was transferred to a very nice lady within the EO who services BB customer issues. I told her that I was requesting that Citi pull TU for a CLI request for my BB store card. The idea seemed foreign to her and she told me that they don't do that at Citi. I explained to her that I read online that other Citi customers have contacted the EO and they had the power to fulfill such a request. My reason for requesting a TU pull was honest and straightforward: that I had EQ on ice as I am trying to limit inquiries to that specific bureau. She told me there wasn't much she thought could be done, but she would go ahead and forward my request on to the appropriate dept. and see what happens. A few hours later she calls me back with the good news. I logged in online and my BB store retail card is now actually useful with a 5K limit. Thank you Citi!!!

At the beginning of September I opened up a Chase Freedom ($1200) a Citi Preferred Diamond ($1500) and a Green Card AMEX (I've had a balance as high as $2200). I've used all the cards but PIF all of them, usually multiple times within the billing cycle. Now I'm coming up to 61 days and am wondering if I should start asking for some increases with Chase and Citi. Can anyone shine some light on this for me? I applied to TrueEarnings AMEX (I'm a Costco member) but was denied, one of the main factors was my limited time (I had applied for TE at the same time as the Green), would now be a good time to reapply (I hear 61 days as a magic number with other AMEX stuff, don't know if it applies here). I'm just trying to up my CL with my current cards and I want in either a TruEarnings or BCE with AMEX as my daily card. I will make payments to take all my current balances down to $0 prior to any requests.

With the fraudulent charges from Capital One days, in June. I log into my account and I see no changes. Called them two weeks ago, they said "just wait" (basically.) Capital One sent me new card, Citi re-issued me a new account number (again).... What is happening there???????? Are they maybe just waiting the full one month, or three months like it was in 2008 with Rushcard and then on Day 91 all the charges get reversed and I receive the credits, and I am "back on track" on my credit repair??? Should I call them again?? Again.. WHAT are they doing??

So I decided to ask for a CLI on my BB former Cap1 now Citi 500.00 dollar limit store card and received a little present today in the form of a HP on TU. When I asked for the CLI online, I don't recall if they said there would be a hard pull or not. If they would have said it was a HP I would not have requested the CLI. I got a "we need to review your account" message at first, and then today I got another message letting me know I will know the decision for my CLI by mail in 7-10 days. At least I can B* it but I also wish they would have been more clear.

Has anyone had any luck recently getting CITI to pull Transunion with EXP on the Freeze? I know some have had luck calling or emailing Donna in the Citi Exc. offices. Not sure if this method still works??? Can anyone provide an update?

Hey All Just a quick update, I decided to apply for the Citi Platinum Select / AAdvantage World MasterCard yesterday for the 50,000 mile promo they had offered. http://www.aa.com/pubcontent/en_US/disclaimers/BP-PLATHV.jsp I received the dreaded 7-10 day message and figured it was a loss. Next morning I looked on my reports and saw they did a double pull Experian/Equifax and was even more upset. A short while ago I missed a call from Citi with a security code asking me to call back and provide that 4 digit security code. I did as requested, they verified my information and asked if they could call me back at the number on my application. I agreed, and hung up. Five minutes later they called and asked me for my 4 digit security code, verified some more information and then said Congratulations, you have been approved for an $11,500 starting credit limit. I about fell out of my chair. So, one more good credit line with a high limit, bonus miles, and some other nice perks of the card given I have a large number of miles with American already such as reduced redemption cost. Now, I am really really done with my little app spree. Now where did they put that garden area?

For the past few months, I have been receiving "pre-selected" offers in the mail to apply for the Citi Diamond Preferred Card. I know this is not the same thing as "pre-approved" but I am wondering if I am likely to get approved if I apply for it? Here are my FICOs: EX: 635 EQ: 662 TU: 644 I would just be using this card to increase my available credit line and maybe as a way to get in with Citi and convert to a better card later. I likely would use it because it seems to be a balance transfer card and does not offer any rewards on charges.

I have a credit card with Best Buy that I have had for over 4 years. They just switched their credit provider to Citi and unfortunately HSBC closed my account. Citi did pick up my account so i didn't lose the credit over all but now it looks like a brand new card on my credit report and lowers my average open credit age which in turn hurts my credit. I'm in the middle of building/rebuilding my credit so this is actually kind of a big hit, what can I do? Is there any way for the credit report companies to recognize the new account with the same age as the old account??

Just in the last week I've had all kinds of weirdness happen with my credit monitoring/ daily puller accounts. MyPrivacyMatters through EliminateIDTheft has locked me out of my account because they can't figure out how to charge certain credit cards. I called customer service and was told, very nonchalantly, that their system has problems processing MasterCard, AMEX, and/or anyone with Hotmail accounts. So, I gave them a VISA card, they said thanks, hung up and I'm still locked out. And they don't seem to answer ANY emails. Worst customer service ever. Call 'em and see. USAA errored out continuously over the last couple of days. No explanation; no one knows why. CITI charged me twice for an account that they can't seem to locate. All my cards and accounts check out fine. I'm not sure what kinda karma backlash this is. And no, I'm not a hardcore puller, I don't pull for *B* or anything similar, and I don't have a lot going on with my reports. Anyone experiencing anything similar??

I recently had myself removed as an AU on my wife's Citi card since we were moving a balance there and I didn't want the utilization tanking my scores. On MPM the account reports to all 3 with the new balance and payment but shows "Responsibility: Terminated". I'm waiting for the next billing cycle to see if it updates again and will also get paper copies before I proceed, but I am wondering if others have seen this before. Is it just a matter of disputing the trade line off directly with the CRAs? Also, had I know this, I probably would have timed it better... remove AU before the BT. You keep all the history and don't get the ding from the utilization.

Hi There, Hope everyone is having a great day... Was just curious (something to reach for) what is the most desired prime card out there these days... ? Who is offering the biggest Bang for our good credit scores. Best Rewards, Miles, Case Back, Customer Service and such. Opinions...

I have an account that JUST went into collections. It is a Sears/Citibank account now being handled by UCB (United Collections Bureau). I called Sears (CitiBank) to discuss options and I was dismissed and immediately forwarded to UCB without discussion. A UCB agent offered a 50% settlement and the credit report would read "settled in full". From my research, that's not really much better than the active collection. The debt. It's mine. $3100. It's legit. Life happened, an oversight happened. Although 50% sounds great, I would rather pay 100% if it means deletion from my credit report. The agent said that UCB is only collecting on behalf of Citi and does not do any reporting of its own. Not sure how true that is. UCB received the account on June 28, it hasn't been in their hands 30 days yet. Not sure if that gives me any leverage or advantage to take care of it right now or what. As of right now UCB is not on the credit report but I have a feeling I won't be so fortunate next month. What are my options at this point? Do I roll the dice by paying and trying a GW delete after? If I do that, is it better to pay in full or to settle? Advice is appreciated. Thanks.