My CS jumped from 350 in July 2014 to 736 today. Background: I made two mistakes at the same time back between 2010 - 2014 when I was just starting my credit journey. Mistake #1 was falling prey to peer pressure at my first job (Express) to open a store card and purchase store clothes to 'look the part'. I spent about $200 on clothes, never received the card in the mail, and ignored it. Yikes! Also, I developed sudden anaphylaxis attacks that send me by ambulance to the ED for treatment probably about 7 times. I didn't realize my parents' insurance wasn't covering these bills and came down with multiple (15+) counts of bad medical debt. And to compound it, I dropped out of school for a semester and my student loan went into default for a little while.
After reading PF for months, I decided to do something about my credit, which I was being denied even the worst credit cards for. I had to clean up this mess. I relied heavily on CK. I disputed every medical debt I could, claiming I had no knowledge of the accounts. I have disputed every chance I get these accounts, and they have slowly, ever so slowly fallen off. I still have 2 stubborn debt accounts that will fall off in 2020 or so. Also, whenever I have an attack and need medical attention, I file with the hospital for bill forgiveness, as I am a poor student. I really wish I had known about this in the first place!
The debt collector that acquired my Express debt was ruthless and unforgiving. They harassed me for years and threatened to take me to court. I knew I originally did owe the debt (which with interest had ballooned to $500), so when I had the money I just paid them off. I tried to negotiate a Pay-for-Delete, including via certified mail, but no dice. The debt still is on my report, showing that it was paid.
I had one credit lifeline from Victorias Secret I had opened and immediately paid off in 2010. I contacted them, and it turns out that it would still report for another year or two, but my credit was so low they could not re-issue me the card or let me use it. Bummer.
I read up religiously on how to use scummy credit cards, and how to avoid paying interest and fees. The only card that would accept me was an expensive fee scummy company with a secured card. I had to spend $250 opening that card, with a lousy allotment of 250. But every month, I bought a coffee, or something small, and paid it off by phone right away, navigating crazy menus to avoid their insane payment fees. The card was designed to scam people of their money, but I managed it with just the opening fee. My score began to jump up. After 6 months, I had made it to about 560.
OK, much better! I still wasn't getting any dice from regular card companies, even secured cards. I took a leap of faith and visited my student credit union and explained my situation. I showed them my financial aid package, good grades, and asked for their most basic card. They had to speak to the manager, but I was approved, thank god! I got a tiny, no points credit card with a $1000 limit. I did the same as my crummy secured card - I bought small things and paid the off, and watched my score inch up and up.
Next plan was to re-open my VS card. I had made it to about a 600 score and managed to be approved for a 500 line, with an insane interest rate. OK, cool. I did the same with VS as my other two cards, bought something small, paid it off monthly, score continued to rise. I ended up closing my secured account because of the scummy company, and I wanted my 250 back, so you can see that steep dip in the line graph. I knew I could come back from it now that I had my store card, and my credit union card.
Then it just was a game of continuing to buy and pay off my cards, never carrying a balance, and disputing medical debt when I could. I forgot to mention, I got back in school and got my loans out of trouble and into forbearance.
Eventually, I started applying for new cards, sometimes I was denied, sometimes not. I would take into consideration why I was rejected from certain companies. I always kept my card balance down, and every 3 months or so I apply for a new card. I went from a shitty secured card from a scam company to being approved for a $10k line from Amex, a $3800 Discover It line, the Chase Freedom card, and several other cards. I use them responsibly, and always pay off my balance. And now I get to reap the points and cash back rewards and watch my score rise! :)
Oh, and that small dip in October 16 was from closing my old credit union account, as it wasn't offering me rewards. Thankfully I shot back up again quickly. I am hoping as the last of my medical debt falls off as well as my paid collection in 2020 that I will hit close to 800, right on time for applying for a home loan :D
Thanks guys again! I never thought I would get out of that horrible hole.
Submitted February 01, 2017 at 12:23PM by FitnessNurse2015 http://ift.tt/2kSBG2J
