1) Average Age of Open Credit Lines: It isn't just your oldest Line Of Credit that matters. They seem to be average, and that is what counts on your credit score. For me, my oldest card is CC1 that I just paid, with BoA, and it is 8.5yrs old. I suspect my newest card opened last year brought my average down to 5.9yrs, so I get a rating of C instead of A. I guess that's another danger of opening new accounts?
2) Open Credit Card Utilization: This one did upset me a bit: With my credit card utilization at 0% since I paid of CC1, it actually *hurts* my score to have it at zero. Yeah, really. What's wrong with that?! But anyway, my credit limit will be $9,000 as soon as the closing of my Dell LOA posts. That means that to get a 1-20% utilization rate, I should leave a balance of $90 to $1800. Right now since my Dell LOA is still posted, I get a range of $120 - $2,400. As an experiment, I'll make sure from now until June or so, I leave a balance of $120 or more. But don't worry, that is getting paid before the payment is due (probably the day following the statement-close date), so I will not be charged any interest. I hate paying interest.
These are just the "negatives" they are holding against me according to their report card. I'll go over the rest of the items tomorrow.
Interesting...I never knew that it hurts to open a new account. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteOnly for a little bit. I guess that's why they recommend you don't open new accounts right before applying to new loans (like mortgage or car loans).
DeleteCan I ask you kind of a personal, "I really shouldn't ask this" type question? Has your mother apologized for stealing your identity and creating debt that you had to pay? Or does she think she did nothing wrong and feel entitled to do what she did because, after all, she raised you and took care of you?
ReplyDeleteTo be clear, my mom and my sister are both fraudsters. My sister has stolen thousands of dollars from my grandmother, my mom stole some of my student loan money, and my mom actually ruined my library record before I was even old enough to read. Although not financially damaging, it was a form of identity theft and I have no idea why the library permitted it. I also have no idea how your mother opened those cards with zero proof that she was the owner of that social security number.
I believe the only reason my sister hasn't stolen my stuff is because I have nothing of value. I am honestly scared for the day when I begin to accumulate wealth. That's why I'm hightailing it the hell out of here long before that happens.
To answer your first question, no, she hasn't. They don't see much wrong with it. As for your other question regarding credit cards, I opened my Chase card without ever looking or speaking to another human being; just machines verifying my DOB, SSN and address. All of which could be done by anybody, when you think about it.
DeleteOn a separate note, glancing through your blog, you could get a pseudo Experian report by going to websites like Quizzie.com, which pull your report to give you a FAKO score. I just joined today, and pretty much most of the info is there. They allow you to pull the reports every 6mo.
I don't need the report or score. I need to dispute incorrect items, and you need a report number to do that. Unfortunately. Experian's online dispute process is blocking me
DeleteMy credit scores are abysmal.
They provide contact info in there as well. Just sayin'. Perhaps they can supply a way to go around it through a different path.
Deletehttp://alturl.com/94x5p
(Oh, and my mistake, it's Quizzle, not Quizzie)
Thanks. It worked and I got to dispute everything.
DeleteSorry for banning you from my blog, btw. I thought you were being mean when you were actually trying to help.
No hard feelings! I don't intend to be mean as much as just being direct and a bit oblivious. Didn't even know I was banned, haha. Guess I don't pay enough attention. Glad it worked for you, though.
Delete