c/credit-advice

Warning: that credit monitoring service I used just sent my info to the wrong address

I signed up for CreditKarma's free monitoring back in March and they mailed a letter with my full SSN to an old address from 2019. The current tenant opened it and called me. I had to freeze all three bureaus and file a fraud alert. Anyone else have a monitoring service mess up like this?

That whole 'don't close old credit cards' advice finally clicked for me

I was skeptical for years about keeping my first credit card open with its tiny $500 limit. Figured it was just a waste of a card I never used. Then I applied for a car loan last spring and my score came back at 780, and the loan officer straight up said my average account age of 12 years was the main reason. Felt dumb for almost closing it back in 2019. Has anyone else had a similar moment where an old piece of advice turned out to be gold?

Hit 680 FICO after a year of on-time payments and it kind of changed my mindset

I was talking to my landlord last week about renewing my lease in Austin and he mentioned my credit score from the initial check, which made me realize I actually moved the needle. He said 'you're finally in the range where you qualify for better rates' and that simple comment made me rethink how I treat every single bill now. Has anyone else had a random conversation that made credit stuff click different?

Took me 4 disputes and 6 months to get a single wrong late payment off my Equifax report

Back in March I noticed a Capitol One card from 2019 showed as 60 days late on my Equifax report. Thing is, I never even had a Capitol One card. I opened a dispute online, they verified it as correct in 2 weeks. Did it again by mail, same thing. Called them, they said send proof. I sent them a letter from Capitol One saying I never had an account with them. Third dispute, they came back saying they'd remove it. Checked last week and it was still there. Fourth time and a CFPB complaint finally got it gone. Has anyone else had Equifax just ignore actual evidence like that?

After trying two apps for 60 days, Credit Karma totally beat out my Discover score tracker

I spent 2 months checking both Credit Karma and the free Discover credit score thing they give cardholders. Discover only showed me one bureau, Experian, and it was always 30 points higher than what lenders actually pulled. Credit Karma gave me TransUnion and Equifax side by side, and those matched closer to what I saw when I applied for a car loan last fall. The VantageScore on Credit Karma was way off from FICO, but at least I could see trend lines and alerts for free. Discover's app was cleaner but basically useless since it missed half my accounts. Has anyone else found Credit Karma's VantageScore to be useless for actual loan shopping?

Heard a guy at the coffee shop say credit cards are a scam

Was waiting for my order and this guy goes on a rant about how he pays cash for everything and thinks credit cards are just a trap for interest and fees. But like, I've built my whole credit score from 580 to 720 using a single card with no annual fee over 4 years. Does the cash-only approach actually work for building credit, or is he just ignoring the long game?

Just found out authorized user accounts can backfire hard

So I was reading through my credit card agreement yesterday and stumbled on something I never knew. I added my niece as an authorized user on my card last year to help her build credit. Turns out if she maxes out her card and misses a payment, it hits MY credit score too. Not just hers. I had no clue until I saw it in black and white. She's responsible so it's fine but man that could've been a disaster. Anyone else find this out the hard way?

Hit me last night that my oldest card was dragging me down

Tbh I had this Capital One card from 2018 with a $500 limit and no perks. I finally realized keeping it open just for the age was actually hurting my utilization ratio more than helping.

TIL that paying off a $300 collection in full dropped my score 15 points

I had a $300 medical bill from 2022 I finally paid off last month thinking it would help my credit. Just checked my FICO score and it dropped 15 points because the collection agency updated the account as recently active. Has anyone else gotten penalized for actually paying old debts?

My credit score dropped 42 points over a $17 library fee I forgot about

I was sitting in my car outside the DMV in Phoenix last Tuesday, checking my credit score before applying for a car loan. Saw it dropped from 718 to 676 and almost had a heart attack. Called the credit bureau and they flagged a collection account from the Phoenix Public Library for a book I returned 3 days late back in 2019. The original fee was $17 but with interest and collection costs it ballooned to $89. I paid it right there on the phone and asked them to delete the account. Has anyone else had a tiny debt blow up like this on their report?

My uncle the accountant said "keep one card at zero balance" and it boosted me 40 points

He told me to stop putting $20 coffee runs on my everyday card and let that one report a $0 balance each month. FICO jumped from 680 to 720 in about 3 cycles. Anyone else have a random relative give them something that actually worked?

Is it better to pay off a collection or just wait it out?

I had a $340 medical bill go to collections last year and I'm torn on what to do. Paying it might bump my score but also resets the clock, while leaving it alone could just fade away after 7 years. What did you guys do when you had a small collection hanging around?

Frozen credit reports are the best thing I never did sooner

I got spooked after my wallet fell out of my bag at a gas station in Tulsa last spring. I froze my Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion reports the same day and it took maybe 20 minutes total online. Has anyone else found a specific order for freezing that makes it go faster?

My grandpa's 'never close a credit card' advice cost me a better score for years

He told me in 2018 to keep my first Capital One card with a $300 limit open forever, but it took me until last year to realize the low limit was actually hurting my utilization ratio every single month.

I finally stopped paying for credit monitoring services after my score dropped 40 points anyway

I used to pay $30 a month for a fancy credit monitoring service, but after it dropped my score 40 points for no clear reason last month, I just switched to the free ones from my bank. Has anyone else found the paid stuff is actually worse than just checking Credit Karma?

Question about how a secured card helped me rebuild after a mess in Denver

So I messed up my credit pretty bad a couple years back - missed payments, collection calls, the whole deal. Moved to Denver last March and couldn't even get approved for a basic apartment without a co-signer. A coworker told me to try a secured card with a $200 deposit from my credit union. Six months of paying it off in full every month and my score jumped 80 points. Has anyone else had a secured card actually work that fast or did I just get lucky?

Hot take: Paying off collections doesn't boost your score like everyone claims

I settled a $500 collection from 2018 back in March. Everyone on this sub said my score would jump 40 points. My score went up 8 points. That's it. Meanwhile a friend of mine left a $200 medical bill unpaid and his score went up 15 points after it fell off naturally. I think paying collections is overrated unless you're applying for a mortgage next month. Has anyone else seen tiny gains after paying off old debts?

Got a collections call over a $35 medical bill I never knew about

I was checking my mail last week and saw a letter from a collections agency for a $35 ER visit from 2022. I had no idea the hospital didn't bill my insurance right and just let it slip through. They sent it to collections without ever calling me or sending a single notice before that. I paid it right away but now my credit score dropped 45 points for a tiny mistake. How do you even catch these little things before they hit your credit? Is there a way to fight a collections entry for an amount this small?

Paid a $35 annual fee for three years before I finally called and got it waived

I just called my credit card company and asked nicely if they could remove the fee this year, and they did it in two minutes - has anyone else had luck getting fees dropped just by asking?

Just realized closing my oldest credit card tanked my score by 40 points

I had a card from 2012 that I never used. Figured I'd simplify my wallet and cancel it. Did not think for one second about average age of accounts. Lesson learned the hard way - now I just stick it in a drawer and buy a pack of gum every 3 months. Anyone else make this mistake with an old card?

Friend told me to freeze my credit card for 3 months to rebuild my score

A buddy from my poker game swore freezing my Capitol One card in a block of ice would force me to stop using it and boost my credit. It actually worked, score jumped from 612 to 648 in 90 days. Has anyone else tried weird DIY credit hacks that ended up working?

My old credit card company shut down my account after 12 years with no warning

Got a letter in the mail last Tuesday saying my oldest credit card account was closed due to 'inactivity.' I had used it maybe once every 4 months to keep it alive, but I guess that wasn't enough. Took a 40 point hit on my credit score overnight because my average age of accounts dropped from 8 years to 3 years. I called them and they said there was nothing they could do to reopen it. Has anyone else had a long term account get axed like this and found a way to recover the score loss?

Closed a store card after 3 years and my score dropped 40 points - anyone had this backfire?

Got denied for a card because I paid a medical bill 2 days late

I had a $300 urgent care bill from a visit in March and forgot to pay it until April 3rd. Paid it right then, but the late payment showed up on my credit report anyway. Applied for a travel rewards card last week at my local Chase branch in Austin and got flat out rejected because of that one 2 day late payment. Has anyone else had a single late payment wreck their score way more than it should?

Appreciation post: The free credit monitoring from my bank actually caught a problem

I signed up for the free credit monitoring through my Chase account 2 years ago just because it was there, never thought I'd use it. Last month I got an alert that a new card was opened in my name at a furniture store in Dallas where I've never lived. Called the number on the alert and they walked me through freezing my credit right then. Has anyone else had their bank's free service actually find something real before they noticed it themselves?