Anonymous
Post 05/15/2013 13:46     Subject: Re:repairing credit
Anonymous wrote:Canceling a credit card can also hurt you if it was an older card. Having it on your credit history shows you've been that much more credit worthy for that much longer. Also, as PP said, you want to keep your ratio of total credit available to outstanding debt on those credit cards low. I think they like to see that you only use 1/4 of your available credit. So if you have Card A with an available limit of $4000, and B with an available limit of $8000, and you regularly charge $3000 or so to Card B, and never use Card A and decide to cancel it, that's bad bc you've decreased your total available credit by enough to affect your total ratio. N you're better off keeping Card A open to keep that ratio better. You're even better off if you use Card A too every once in a while for a small purchase and pay it off full and on time, bc that will be another instance of responsible use, and that will increase your score.


Very helpful. thanks.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2013 13:44     Subject: Re:repairing credit
Canceling a credit card can also hurt you if it was an older card. Having it on your credit history shows you've been that much more credit worthy for that much longer. Also, as PP said, you want to keep your ratio of total credit available to outstanding debt on those credit cards low. I think they like to see that you only use 1/4 of your available credit. So if you have Card A with an available limit of $4000, and B with an available limit of $8000, and you regularly charge $3000 or so to Card B, and never use Card A and decide to cancel it, that's bad bc you've decreased your total available credit by enough to affect your total ratio. N you're better off keeping Card A open to keep that ratio better. You're even better off if you use Card A too every once in a while for a small purchase and pay it off full and on time, bc that will be another instance of responsible use, and that will increase your score.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2013 13:41     Subject: Re:repairing credit
Anonymous wrote:It decreases your credit score because it decreases the available credit you have. I don't think it's a big deal though, if you have a large amount of credit relative to debt, it's not going to make much difference for you. If you only have one credit card and that is the only available credit you have, and you close the account, it could make your score go down.


Aahh. That makes perfect sense. Thanks.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2013 13:33     Subject: Re:repairing credit
It decreases your credit score because it decreases the available credit you have. I don't think it's a big deal though, if you have a large amount of credit relative to debt, it's not going to make much difference for you. If you only have one credit card and that is the only available credit you have, and you close the account, it could make your score go down.
Anonymous
Post 05/15/2013 13:27     Subject: Re:repairing credit
why does cancelling a card hurt your credit? I've never heard that before. I have excellent credit (over 800) and cancel cards periodically. Does it help if you hold onto a card for certain magical period of time and then cancel?
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2013 11:00     Subject: repairing credit
Time, it takes time.As time passes, the less the late payments affect the score.Don't add him on yours.His score will rebound unless he does something else to it.And I'm sorry, but I think he will-he already messed up at least twice.
Anonymous
Post 05/11/2013 10:25     Subject: Re:repairing credit
When DH and I were looking to improve his credit, we ended up opening a secured card with Capital One. It's been great. He started with the $300 or so max that they would allow him and then after a few months of paying it on time they let him increase a few hundred, and then again a few months later. I will say he also paid close attention to how much he spent to make sure he was spending enough, and to pay as soon as they posted the bill (before the actual due date) because Capital One gives 21 days grace period interest free. Within about 6 months we saw some improvement and it's been going up ever since.

As I remember there is a difference between prepaid and secured, where secured will effect your credit and prepaid usually will not.

DH looked around a lot for the best card and we've been very happy with CO. There haven't been any surprise fees or anything.

Good luck, OP!
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2013 16:20     Subject: Re:repairing credit
Do you have a card that he isn't listed on that you've had for a long time? Add him to it, if so. That helped my DH's score go up b/c he got the benefit of my longevity.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2013 16:03     Subject: repairing credit
Time and paying on time from now on are the best ways. No quick fixes to credit repair. They will count less as time goes on. Your situation is slightly strange though because I happen to have a lot of credit cards and the second one is past due they robo call every number on file repeatedly.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2013 15:55     Subject: repairing credit
He just needs time to reestablish a good payment record. Is there a reason you NEED to improve his score? Buying a a car, house, etc. otherwise maybe DH doesn't need to be managing any more credit cards...
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2013 15:51     Subject: repairing credit
Anonymous wrote:Why the hell did he cancel the card?


Not helpful.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2013 15:43     Subject: Re:repairing credit
Yes, PP's, I am very aware that he needs to make his payments on time and I am also aware that cancelling the card is worse for his credit, however, it's been done, so my question is, what is the best way to repair the damage? Any others with any input? Thanks.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2013 11:30     Subject: repairing credit
He should begin paying everything on time. FYI, canceling credit cards actually hurts your credit.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2013 11:01     Subject: repairing credit
Why the hell did he cancel the card?
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2013 08:17     Subject: repairing credit
So, DH just realized that his autopayment on his credit card was set up so the payment was being made late every month. This has been going on for at least six months (don't ask me why it took him this long to realize this). So in addition to paying a $35 late fee every month, his credit score is completely shot, like in the toilet. When he figured it out he cancelled his credit card. What is the best and quickest way to repair his credit. Would it be better to get a secured credit card in his name, or better for him to open up a regular credit card with me as a cosigner (I don't even know if this is an option with his score). Also, does anyone know how long it takes to recover your score from something like this? Thanks!