General My credit ratings went up again today,,, AMA?

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yuki2054

graded martial artist
Nov 8, 2016
3,226
1,773
My credit ratings with the three major uk credit reference agencies (Transunion, Experian and Equifax), went up today. They are still poor, 1/5 in each. But a few months ago they were worse.

So at least my regular payments on my debts, is beginning to pay off?!
 

RaginCajun

The Reigning Undisputed Monsters Tournament Champ
Oct 25, 2015
36,970
93,839
Have you thought about becoming a rapper? You got the skills to be the next big mc and then you will be swimming in money and hoes.
 

Never_Rolled

First 10,000
Dec 17, 2018
5,798
6,349
I made a thread about credit. I have no car or mortgage payments. I ended up getting a credit card to build credit. When I used it my score went down. I payed it off and my score went back up. Crazy system. Have credit and don't use it they raise your score. Have credit, use it, pay on time they drop your score. I have done nothing different but have a card I don't use and my score went up.
 
M

member 3289

Guest
I made a thread about credit. I have no car or mortgage payments. I ended up getting a credit card to build credit. When I used it my score went down. I payed it off and my score went back up. Crazy system. Have credit and don't use it they raise your score. Have credit, use it, pay on time they drop your score. I have done nothing different but have a card I don't use and my score went up.
30% rule, brah
 
M

member 3289

Guest
Yes found out after. I maxed it thinking I was doing the right thing paying it off the next month. Is it better not to use it at all or keep below 30% and use it, pay it off every month?
Just keep your balance at 30%. Spend as much as you want.

I'll use a simple example. Let's say your limit is $1,000. Always keep your balance (what you owe on the card) at $300. So if your minimum payment is $15, make sure you spend at least $15 and make that minimum payment every month.

A credit guy explained it to me in a funny way. Banks want to know you're responsible enough to pay them back but still dependent enough not to pay everything off.
 

yuki2054

graded martial artist
Nov 8, 2016
3,226
1,773
I did have like eight cards total credit, =£13000, but then i spent it all in about a month, or two, on girls, then i fell unwell and went in to hospital, so i couldn't repay them. So they all closed. but one, and two of them defaulted///
Yes found out after. I maxed it thinking I was doing the right thing paying it off the next month. Is it better not to use it at all or keep below 30% and use it, pay it off every month?
I have been trying my best to pay them back, and i have got the debts down to 2/4 thousand, but i still have a couple of defaults on my file, which will stay there for six years dammit!
 

Never_Rolled

First 10,000
Dec 17, 2018
5,798
6,349
Just keep your balance at 30%. Spend as much as you want.

I'll use a simple example. Let's say your limit is $1,000. Always keep your balance (what you owe on the card) at $300. So if your minimum payment is $15, make sure you spend at least $15 and make that minimum payment every month.

A credit guy explained it to me in a funny way. Banks want to know you're responsible enough to pay them back but still dependent enough not to pay everything off.
I would kill me to have a balance every month. Would it work the same if I spent the $300 every month and paid it off every month?
 

yuki2054

graded martial artist
Nov 8, 2016
3,226
1,773
I think it's okay to have a small balance. But the main thing is to not let it get out of hand....
 

Never_Rolled

First 10,000
Dec 17, 2018
5,798
6,349
I did have like eight cards total credit, =£13000, but then i spent it all in about a month, or two, on girls, then i fell unwell and went in to hospital, so i couldn't repay them. So they all closed. but one, and two of them defaulted///

I have been trying my best to pay them back, and i have got the debts down to 2/4 thousand, but i still have a couple of defaults on my file, which will stay there for six years dammit!
There's a process you can do on your own. My friend who is a lawyer did it on his credit. There are sites that can help but basically you write them and ask for proof of docs you originally signed and some other things they need to keep those bad debts up. He got most of them wiped off and he legit faulted as you did because they didn't take the time or couldn't produce the legally required docs. This was some years ago so maybe they have better record keeping? I'm pretty sure the credit repair people do the exact same thing for high fees.
 

SuperPig

Enjoy yourselves
Aug 7, 2015
30,979
51,737
I would kill me to have a balance every month. Would it work the same if I spent the $300 every month and paid it off every month?
Yes and no.


Depends on your credit score goals in a sense.

I'm driving right now but I'll try to come back to this later.
 

yuki2054

graded martial artist
Nov 8, 2016
3,226
1,773
There's a process you can do on your own. My friend who is a lawyer did it on his credit. There are sites that can help but basically you write them and ask for proof of docs you originally signed and some other things they need to keep those bad debts up. He got most of them wiped off and he legit faulted as you did because they didn't take the time or couldn't produce the legally required docs. This was some years ago so maybe they have better record keeping? I'm pretty sure the credit repair people do the exact same thing for high fees.
Yeah, i looked in to one of those credit repair 'agencies', and it's a scam. Basically they say the will guarantee for your score to improve over time, with one caveat.... that is that the credit reference agencies don't change their algorhyms, oh yes and you can't make any more credit applications. Basically do nothing, and they say your score might get better, and if it does, they take the credit.

Well i know enough about credit cards, to get 9 of them with £14k credit, without ever having had a stable period of employment.

I keep a track on all of my scores, Transunion (Noddle), Clearscore (Equifax) and Moneysupermarket,com (Experian).

The fact that i have been steadily paying down my debts, from £14k a year ago, to £4k now, means that, even though i do have two defaults, i am still paying them off.

I think some, or lots, of people max out their cards, and then cut them up. Hoping that somehow the debts, will mysteriously disappear. Well it doesn't. And at least by paying off a little each month, it still shows responsibility.

We have to remember that these credit cards cater for a wide spectrum of customers. From the bat poo crazy, to the wealthy but stringent millionaires. And guess who the cards make the most money from? And it's not the stringent guys!

Basically that's what i have learnt from UK credit agencies anyhow. Good luck!
 

Never_Rolled

First 10,000
Dec 17, 2018
5,798
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You can do it all on your own. There are forums on credit repair. If I were in your shoes I would give it a shot. I received letters from law firms that wanted to charge me to collect money the state owed me. I filled out the forms myself and got paid without third party fees. Many things you can do on your own but people exploit a niche to make it sound complicated to extract money from you. Credit repair is one of those.
 

yuki2054

graded martial artist
Nov 8, 2016
3,226
1,773
You can do it all on your own. There are forums on credit repair. If I were in your shoes I would give it a shot. I received letters from law firms that wanted to charge me to collect money the state owed me. I filled out the forms myself and got paid without third party fees. Many things you can do on your own but people exploit a niche to make it sound complicated to extract money from you. Credit repair is one of those.
true. I think i basically have to wait another 6/12 months, and then my score should be OKAY.
 

Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
Long term credit score raising...

Open lines of credit. Leave them open.

Pay off your balances to keep monthly reported usage down.

Own a home -- this is what pushed me over 800. You can do it without that, but that's the easiest way to get over those last 20 points.

Quarterly, ask for credit line increases on your credit card(s) whether you need it or not.

Short term, opening those new lines will drop you a few points but that doesn't matter.

Never open any new lines of credit or make big purchases right before car or house or yacht buying. You need the credit pull to look pristine to get the best rates on those big longer term items.


If you are somebody that already has a bunch of credit and you are trying to repair it, you probably have balances. You simply must get them down. But you can lower your total utilization by continuing to pay AND ask for a credit raise.

Pretty much never close a line of credit. Cut up the card. Stop using it. Let them drop you after 5 years of never using it. But never beat them to the punch.
 

Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
I would kill me to have a balance every month. Would it work the same if I spent the $300 every month and paid it off every month?
You don't need to carry a balance for past the due date for your utilization to be reported.
My pay off date is the middle of the month yet credit companies are getting my previous month's usage when the cycle roles over near the beginning of the month.

I charge $1000.
On the 15th my autopay is going to zero that out. But the bill is still $1000 and is reported to companies that I have a $1000 balance.
This can work for or against you.

I once had a single month of 25k on my card. I was going to zero it out but suddenly I get a creditkarma notice that my score dropped from utilization. I did indeed zero it out and two months later the score went right back up to where it always was. This was a 9 point fluctuation btw. So not the biggest impact but over time I suspect that it would continue to pull my score down. I promptly increased my credit limit just for this reason even though I don't plan to change my spending or paying behavior.
 

Never_Rolled

First 10,000
Dec 17, 2018
5,798
6,349
You don't need to carry a balance for past the due date for your utilization to be reported.
My pay off date is the middle of the month yet credit companies are getting my previous month's usage when the cycle roles over near the beginning of the month.

I charge $1000.
On the 15th my autopay is going to zero that out. But the bill is still $1000 and is reported to companies that I have a $1000 balance.
This can work for or against you.

I once had a single month of 25k on my card. I was going to zero it out but suddenly I get a creditkarma notice that my score dropped from utilization. I did indeed zero it out and two months later the score went right back up to where it always was. This was a 9 point fluctuation btw. So not the biggest impact but over time I suspect that it would continue to pull my score down. I promptly increased my credit limit just for this reason even though I don't plan to change my spending or paying behavior.
Your last scenario is what happened to me. I maxed it out Karma sent me a notice. I was ignorant to keeping it down to a %. Mine dropped a lot more but came back like yours after I had a zero balance. I haven’t used it since. I essentially pay cash (debit card) for everything or autopay from either a personal or business account. I have no big ticket reoccurring bills. Just normal utilities 6 cell phones etc etc. My father likes to use free money whenever possible but I like things paid off. He worked on Wall Street so that actually made me lazy in that regard. He does all the family investing. I just figure if I don’t have the funds available I can’t afford it.
 
M

member 3289

Guest
Long term credit score raising...

Open lines of credit. Leave them open.

Pay off your balances to keep monthly reported usage down.

Own a home -- this is what pushed me over 800. You can do it without that, but that's the easiest way to get over those last 20 points.

Quarterly, ask for credit line increases on your credit card(s) whether you need it or not.

Short term, opening those new lines will drop you a few points but that doesn't matter.

Never open any new lines of credit or make big purchases right before car or house or yacht buying. You need the credit pull to look pristine to get the best rates on those big longer term items.


If you are somebody that already has a bunch of credit and you are trying to repair it, you probably have balances. You simply must get them down. But you can lower your total utilization by continuing to pay AND ask for a credit raise.

Pretty much never close a line of credit. Cut up the card. Stop using it. Let them drop you after 5 years of never using it. But never beat them to the punch.
Wow terrible advice