akadaisy's ongoing thread: one year till clean

[akadaisy]

It just seemed easier to make an ongoing thread rather than post for each question or milestone, so here goes.

 

Have 1 bad TL on all three reports, an unpaid OC CO with a DOFD of 8/2009. Well past the SOL but the OC reports every month. Lots of life happened in 2009-2010 and I managed to keep everything else but this 1 account in good standing. Utilization on remaining 3 cards was STUPID high until I started really grinding on the CC debt started last July.

 

So the start of my rebuild is 7/2014 with an EQ of 650. This is with a mortgage, 2 student loans, and three cards (BOA 6.5k opened 3/2008, Citi 7k opened 2/2008, SST 1k opened 9/2005) all with no lates. Utilization was killing me.

 

Have paid off 9k of debt since then. Utilization is now under 15%. Cautiously decided to dip my toes into the app waters with the following:

* 2/27 apped Chase Amazon Visa, declined. Called recon, declined.

* 3/16 apped Barclay Rewards, approved. Called recon and upped it to 5k.

* 3/25 apped Amazon Store Prime, approved for 600.

 

After this mini spree I'm sitting at TU 690, EQ 686, EX 680. By this summer I will be at a CB approved utilization and starting 1/2016 I can begin obsolete disputes if they're still a thing then.

 

Now I'm trying to determine my strategy for the next year and determine what cards to apply for and when, which means picking a rewards path. I don't fly with any regularity but I do take regional weekend car trips about 4-6 times a year. We typically stay in midrange Hampton Inn type places, nothing more. We also love food, both out and made at home. As you might have guessed from my apps we're avid Amazon customers.

 

I applied for the Barclays rewards specifically for the 2x utilities points. We spend about 600 a month between all utilities so this seemed like an easy way to earn cash back. I wanted an Amazon card because we get some of our groceries on subscription from them every month on top of normal shopping purchases. Both of my recent approvals fit our spending habits. I just don't know where to go from here.

 

Our travel habits make me think I need to focus on rewards for gas and hotel stays, but not necessarily any particular brand. Rewards on groceries and restaurants would also be appropriate. Since we aren't airline or hotel chain specific I'm not sure what would be my best options (for either an app this fall or a round next Spring). I actually think I would benefit from the Barclay Arrival but what do I know...

 

I'm also trying to figure out if I should build a CU relationship now. I'm actually a member of one locally but their cards are meh. On my radar are Penfed, NASA, and Alliant. No eligibility for NFCU. These would mainly be for the high limit card potential but there's a good chance we would like to refi our mortgage in the next 5 years.

 

So with that dear CBers, I'd like to know your thoughts. What cards and when? CU or no CU? With no more than 2 inqs on a report should I app for something else now to build some more history before everything is clean next year? HALP!

[trinity911]

Just wanted to say hello. I will leave advice to the experts, but I will say that I got into Alliant with no problems at all.

[HoustonLynne]

Fantastic beginning on the rebuilding, OP!

 

I know your questions focused on rebuilding, but I'm curious to know if you are working on cleaning off that single derog that is holding your scores hostage with monthly updates. The possibility of rebuilding with a clean report is a world apart from rebuilding with even one blemish.

[akadaisy]

Fantastic beginning on the rebuilding, OP!

 

I know your questions focused on rebuilding, but I'm curious to know if you are working on cleaning off that single derog that is holding your scores hostage with monthly updates. The possibility of rebuilding with a clean report is a world apart from rebuilding with even one blemish.

Well, it's a Cap1 charge off; they still hold it and it's never been sent to collections. I'm not sure it CAN be cleaned up. From everything I've read Cap1 is nigh on unmoveable when it comes to baddies on reports Any suggestions there would also be appreciated though!

[Losluv]

Welcome! When is the CO set to drop off? Can you dispute it as obsolete?

 

Maybe an Amex product like the Everyday might be good for your spending patterns? I'm sure one of the experts on rewards will chime in.

[tweak]

Eventually, you may want to look at the Barclays Sallie Mae card.

5% cash back Amazon (bookstores) up to $750/mo

5% cash back gas up to $250/mo

5% cash back groceries up to $250/mo

 

You may want to wait on this, and put it on your list for after the CO is gone.

When you apply, Barclays is known to not like lots of new accounts / INQs.

It is good that you have started a relationship with Barclays now.

It is possible to get two of these cards.

 

 

Good luck!

 

[akadaisy]

 

Welcome! When is the CO set to drop off? Can you dispute it as obsolete?

 

Maybe an Amex product like the Everyday might be good for your spending patterns? I'm sure one of the experts on rewards will chime in.

TU says a fall off of 7/2016 so I will begin obsolete disputes with them 1/2016. EX says 5/2016 so obsoletes will begin in 2/2016.

[tweak]

Have 1 bad TL on all three reports, an unpaid OC CO with a DOFD of 8/2009. Well past the SOL but the OC reports every month.

 

 

TU says a fall off of 7/2016 so I will begin obsolete disputes with them 1/2016. EX says 5/2016 so obsoletes will begin in 2/2016.

 

7 years from DOFD is 08/2016.

So your early obsolete disputes would be:

TU 02/2016 (6 months early)

EX 05/2016 (3 months early)

 

The EX fall off date is often already listed as 3 months early.

 

Good luck!

[UGAFan]

Will be following along! From what I've read, it is best to wait on PENFED until you have a completely clean report. That's what I'm doing!

[akadaisy]

 

7 years from DOFD is 08/2016.

So your early obsolete disputes would be:

TU 02/2016 (6 months early)

EX 05/2016 (3 months early)

 

The EX fall off date is often already listed as 3 months early.

 

Good luck!

Ahhhh, ok. For some reason I was under the impression I could start obsoletes based on the fall off date listed on a report if one was there.

[HoustonLynne]

 

Fantastic beginning on the rebuilding, OP!

 

I know your questions focused on rebuilding, but I'm curious to know if you are working on cleaning off that single derog that is holding your scores hostage with monthly updates. The possibility of rebuilding with a clean report is a world apart from rebuilding with even one blemish.

Well, it's a Cap1 charge off; they still hold it and it's never been sent to collections. I'm not sure it CAN be cleaned up. From everything I've read Cap1 is nigh on unmoveable when it comes to baddies on reports Any suggestions there would also be appreciated though!

 

Oh yeah...given all of these circumstances, I'll simply commend you on not losing sleep over it at this late stage. No point.

 

If it were a paid CO, it would (IMHO) be worth the postage to GW the dickens outta them, but you're on the final stretch of the journey.

 

Given the monthly updating, I would scrutinize the data they're furnishing to each CRA, in case there is an error worthy of dispute.

 

Otherwise, carry on, soldier!

[lilyflower]

Hmm, okay, I need some more info, how high IS your utilization? It seems like if the only baddie you have is a 6 year old CO your scores should be a bit higher than that unless you have really super high utilization or a near maxed out card.

 

Cap 1 COs are near impossible to get off - your best bet is to sadly wait until you can dispute obsolete. I speak from experience on this.

[akadaisy]

Hmm, okay, I need some more info, how high IS your utilization? It seems like if the only baddie you have is a 6 year old CO your scores should be a bit higher than that unless you have really super high utilization or a near maxed out card.

 

Cap 1 COs are near impossible to get off - your best bet is to sadly wait until you can dispute obsolete. I speak from experience on this.

 

Utilization is currently around 13% after the two TLs added in March. Before those were added I was at 18%.

 

One card (citi, highest apr) was fully paid down last fall and gets PIF each month, about 5% utilization reporting. Next highest rate is the 1k card reporting 15% utilization. BOA is my lowest apr card at 7.24% and is being paid off last. Currently reporting 34% utilization which I know is dinging me.

 

The two cards with balances are on track to be paid off by July so I anticipate a decent score bump from that. My handful on inqs will hit six months in September so I expect a point or three back from that. My ballpark estimates are that I could have all three CRAs right around 700 by the end of 2015.

[akadaisy]

Oh yeah...given all of these circumstances, I'll simply commend you on not losing sleep over it at this late stage. No point.

 

If it were a paid CO, it would (IMHO) be worth the postage to GW the dickens outta them, but you're on the final stretch of the journey.

 

Given the monthly updating, I would scrutinize the data they're furnishing to each CRA, in case there is an error worthy of dispute.

 

Otherwise, carry on, soldier!

The only things I can see that might be considered fishy are

 

1) they charged off for 1010 or so in 2/2010 but the total amount due reporting is 1.5k or something similar (on a tablet and reports are on my laptop). I'm not sure if this is legitimately allowed since they're an OC.

 

2) The payment history being reporting is odd, but they're not messing with the DOFD. Compare the details from two EQ pulls (copied and pasted from a post I made elsewhere with the same question). Even with the DOFD remaining the same, the reporting looks to my untrained eye like they're trying to make the CO look "fresher" by updating it to be dated to 4 years before the reporting month, each month they report.

 

**Report pulled 07/2014 shows**

 

* Date of last payment 08/2009

* Date of first delinquency 08/2009

* Date delinquency first reported 02/2010

* Payment history shows "on time payments" 02/2010-06/2010 and charge off as of **07/2010**

 

**Report pulled 03/2015 shows**

 

* Date of last payment 08/2009

* Date of first delinquency 08/2009

* Date delinquency first reported 02/2010

* Payment history shows "on time payments" 02/2010-02/2011 and charge off as of **03/2011**

[HoustonLynne]

Oh yeah...given all of these circumstances, I'll simply commend you on not losing sleep over it at this late stage. No point.

 

If it were a paid CO, it would (IMHO) be worth the postage to GW the dickens outta them, but you're on the final stretch of the journey.

 

Given the monthly updating, I would scrutinize the data they're furnishing to each CRA, in case there is an error worthy of dispute.

 

Otherwise, carry on, soldier!

The only things I can see that might be considered fishy are

 

1) they charged off for 1010 or so in 2/2010 but the total amount due reporting is 1.5k or something similar (on a tablet and reports are on my laptop). I'm not sure if this is legitimately allowed since they're an OC.

 

2) The payment history being reporting is odd, but they're not messing with the DOFD. Compare the details from two EQ pulls (copied and pasted from a post I made elsewhere with the same question). Even with the DOFD remaining the same, the reporting looks to my untrained eye like they're trying to make the CO look "fresher" by updating it to be dated to 4 years before the reporting month, each month they report.

 

**Report pulled 07/2014 shows**

 

* Date of last payment 08/2009

* Date of first delinquency 08/2009

* Date delinquency first reported 02/2010

* Payment history shows "on time payments" 02/2010-06/2010 and charge off as of **07/2010**

 

**Report pulled 03/2015 shows**

 

* Date of last payment 08/2009

* Date of first delinquency 08/2009

* Date delinquency first reported 02/2010

* Payment history shows "on time payments" 02/2010-02/2011 and charge off as of **03/2011**

This isn't my strong suit, and I'm still working on coffee #1 for the day.

 

So I sent up a flare to ICAN to see if she can take a look. I'm sure she'll make an appearance eventually.

[lilyflower]

 

Oh yeah...given all of these circumstances, I'll simply commend you on not losing sleep over it at this late stage. No point.

 

If it were a paid CO, it would (IMHO) be worth the postage to GW the dickens outta them, but you're on the final stretch of the journey.

 

Given the monthly updating, I would scrutinize the data they're furnishing to each CRA, in case there is an error worthy of dispute.

 

Otherwise, carry on, soldier!

The only things I can see that might be considered fishy are

 

1) they charged off for 1010 or so in 2/2010 but the total amount due reporting is 1.5k or something similar (on a tablet and reports are on my laptop). I'm not sure if this is legitimately allowed since they're an OC.

 

2) The payment history being reporting is odd, but they're not messing with the DOFD. Compare the details from two EQ pulls (copied and pasted from a post I made elsewhere with the same question). Even with the DOFD remaining the same, the reporting looks to my untrained eye like they're trying to make the CO look "fresher" by updating it to be dated to 4 years before the reporting month, each month they report.

 

**Report pulled 07/2014 shows**

 

* Date of last payment 08/2009

* Date of first delinquency 08/2009

* Date delinquency first reported 02/2010

* Payment history shows "on time payments" 02/2010-06/2010 and charge off as of **07/2010**

 

**Report pulled 03/2015 shows**

 

* Date of last payment 08/2009

* Date of first delinquency 08/2009

* Date delinquency first reported 02/2010

* Payment history shows "on time payments" 02/2010-02/2011 and charge off as of **03/2011**

This isn't my strong suit, and I'm still working on coffee #1 for the day.

 

So I sent up a flare to ICAN to see if she can take a look. I'm sure she'll make an appearance eventually.

 

 

My brain isn't working yet either so I'm going to give this a bump for you

[akadaisy]

This isn't my strong suit, and I'm still working on coffee #1 for the day.

 

So I sent up a flare to ICAN to see if she can take a look. I'm sure she'll make an appearance eventually.

I appreciate it! If it turns out I have a dispute to stand on I'd be thrilled. Right now it's a long game of hurry up and wait...

[akadaisy]

 

This isn't my strong suit, and I'm still working on coffee #1 for the day.

 

So I sent up a flare to ICAN to see if she can take a look. I'm sure she'll make an appearance eventually.

I appreciate it! If it turns out I have a dispute to stand on I'd be thrilled. Right now it's a long game of hurry up and wait...

 

 

So, you've got me wondering if I might actually have something disputable with Cap1 here, so I'd appreciate any input.

 

Here's the July 2014 Report

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3t6uvfb2h0c7tvs/Screenshot%202015-03-31%2011.52.48.png

 

And March 2015

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t96ay8k64m5ewgx/Screenshot%202015-03-31%2011.54.40.png

[akadaisy]

Alrighty, it's a new month and I decided to take a fresh look at my debt paydown plan.

 

Originally I was paying highest interest first since that was saving me cash. In my case, the highest rate is my loan from last July and I was slicing it down while paying minimums on my lower rate CC debts. Overall utilization was 18% as of mid-March but one card was about 35%. Two new TLs added in March brought overall util to about 13% but that one card was still way high.

 

Now that I'm about 2/3 of the way done with repayment the money I'm saving paying the highest interest rate first isn't as much of an impact. I reran the numbers and it would cost me $30 in interest to pay off the CC debt first rather than the loan. I decided it was worth $30 for the score bump so I altered my paydown plan to focus on the cards first and loan last. After this week's payment to BOA my overall CC util will be under 5% and that card will drop from 35% to 9% utilization. This card reports when the statement cuts and will be on the 12th, so I'm thinking that by mid-month this should give me at least a 5-10 point lift on FICOs (but I'm hoping for 20...). Fingers crossed!

[HoustonLynne]

 

 

This isn't my strong suit, and I'm still working on coffee #1 for the day.

 

So I sent up a flare to ICAN to see if she can take a look. I'm sure she'll make an appearance eventually.

I appreciate it! If it turns out I have a dispute to stand on I'd be thrilled. Right now it's a long game of hurry up and wait...

 

 

So, you've got me wondering if I might actually have something disputable with Cap1 here, so I'd appreciate any input.

 

Here's the July 2014 Report

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3t6uvfb2h0c7tvs/Screenshot%202015-03-31%2011.52.48.png

 

And March 2015

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t96ay8k64m5ewgx/Screenshot%202015-03-31%2011.54.40.png

 

I had asked ICAN to stop by, and she did. But she replied to my PM to say she wasn't well versed in this specific issue. She was hoping someone would come along who was more comfortable giving feedback. I'll look at these two images and see if anything speaks to me, and you might consider sending a PM to funkiehouse. He's good with a lot of technical issues on reporting.

 

And of course you should do a lot of searching on CB. There's a search box upper right. I prefer to site search on Google, but we've had issues those links getting rerouted (by a bot) to p0rn sites. If you see that still happening, message breeze to be sure she knows it's an ongoing issue.

[akadaisy]

I had asked ICAN to stop by, and she did. But she replied to my PM to say she wasn't well versed in this specific issue. She was hoping someone would come along who was more comfortable giving feedback. I'll look at these two images and see if anything speaks to me, and you might consider sending a PM to funkiehouse. He's good with a lot of technical issues on reporting.

 

And of course you should do a lot of searching on CB. There's a search box upper right. I prefer to site search on Google, but we've had issues those links getting rerouted (by a bot) to p0rn sites. If you see that still happening, message breeze to be sure she knows it's an ongoing issue.

I'm right there with you preferring a Google search specific to the site. So far none of them have turned up anything more helpful than "Cap1 can be a total PITA". Definitely no pr0n though!

[akadaisy]

EX is up 4 points today. Nothing has changed since last week when I signed up, no new lines and my existing accounts don't report until mid-month. With an AAOA of 8 I don't think the extra month of age really helped me out so I suppose it's due to the CO and associated lates being another month older. I'll take it. I also used their score simulator and it says that the CC payments I've got going out this month could in fact bump me up another 20 pts. I'll believe it when I see it...

 

I called earlier this week to cancel my 7 day trial membership in hopes of getting a retention offer. Sure enough, 6 months for $9.95 per. It's coming out of my entertainment budget Today was the first day outside of my trial and I've confirmed the pending charge at the retention rate.

[akadaisy]

I like to hit the pre-quals for kicks and giggles once a week to kind of gauge where I'm at in the eyes of the more major players. Not apping for anything but I like seeing what they think. This week I got a bite from Cap1, 3 pre-qual offers sitting right there and not with the highest APR they offer. Considering they are the owner of my only bad TL this strikes me as hi-lar-ious

[txdad]

You and I seem to be sitting about the same place. Thought I was making headway with Cap1, then no go. Now to work on my small medical collections to see if that helps as well...keep it up! Good luck!

[akadaisy]

You and I seem to be sitting about the same place. Thought I was making headway with Cap1, then no go. Now to work on my small medical collections to see if that helps as well...keep it up! Good luck!

I noticed that both our Cap1 COs happened right around the same time. Considering it's unpaid and reports every daggum month like clockwork my scores are actually pretty OK, so yours will likely jump a bit if you get the medical collections taken care of.