@Eggsplorist wrote:  I immediately found out what had happened and paid the bill and all (excessive) charges to the department store. I tried to explain to them it was just a mistake and could they do anything about it. They weren't very polite in telling me, "no." I wrote a letter to both them and Fair Isaac trying to explain it was an error on my part, that I had paid the bill (plus) as soon as I realized I had missed it, and that I thought an over 100 point hit to my credit rating was beyond excessive. Their replies (both) seemed to indicate to me that my letter had been interpreted that I was denying the debt (even after I had already paid it.)  I think the people at the credit bureaus cannot remove correct information, so that may be why they're uncooperative.  It would have been nice if the store card had agreed to show it as paid in full as a courtesy to you, which I believe the credit bureaus would be obligated to show.     Some of the curt responses may be due to their being cautious of running afoul of equal opportunity laws.  There's a sad history of banks participating in segregation many decades ago by not lending to African Americans wanting to buy homes in white neighborhoods.  They may just be afraid of anything like that, even on some stupid charge card, so they just follow a algorithm approved by the legal department to avoid even the appearance of discrimination.    I would close that card if they won't show it as paid as agreed.      Even if it's year's later, I'd go the annual credit report site and look at what they actually have on file for a payment history.  Maybe it's wrong.  Someone could have hit the wrong key and wrongly recorded the debt as having been 90 days behind or never paid.  I think they're pretty good about changing specific information that's objectively wrong.   @Eggsplorist wrote: In all honesty, I don't think the reduction has really impacted me financially, but, you know, sometimes it is the "little things" that get to you.   The big thing is building wealth and income and enjoying it.  The banking industry's opinion of you is a very little thing.   ... View more

@shelby_ wrote:  i need to transfer before the 24.99% interest rate kills me. any recommendations on which card to transfer to that would allow me to pay off $2,500 worth of debt in a reasonable amount of time? preferably 18 months. thanks!  Your stated goal is to pay off $2,500 in 18 months on a 0% offer.  The absolute worst case is you stick with your 25% Chase Freedom card. $2,500 / 18 months = $139/mo.  If you stick with the 25% card, it will take 22.8 months to get to zero balance.    Suppose through careful spending and/or getting extra work or little side jobs you are able to pay $250.  With a 0% offer, it's gone in 10 months.  If you pay $250 at 25%, it takes 11 months.     The more you pay, the less the rate matters.  If you could manage to pay $500/mo, it takes 5 months regardless of whether you have the 0% or 25% card.     My suggestion: 1. Find a way to pay more per month. (This is the most important step.) 2. Call Chase and ask them if there are any promotions available to get you a lower rate.  Politely push them for any options to lower your rate.  If you want to be more aggressive, politely say you want to close the account to further charges because you're committed to paying what you owe but don't want to get in any deeper at 25%.  There's a good chance they'll lower it. 3. Unless Chase gave you a 0% offer in Step 2, apply for a 0% offer to see if you get it.     I successfully get better deals using Step #2 in the late 90s when I was in this situation.  If I could send advice back in time, though, I'd tell myself to pick up more hours bagging groceries to pay it off faster rendering interest rate moot. ... View more

@Kitten2021 wrote: Does making a plan to make monthly bill payments improve my credit score? And what are other ways to improve it? Roughly how bad is your score and how much score do you need?  For example, is your score 600 but a lender is saying you need 700? ... View more

@Lisie_52 wrote: my credit score decreased 43 points and the only thing that changed was that I paid more than the minimum on my credit card.  The utilization went from 8% to 3% on a 20k credit limit.  Why such a large drop, or that I have a decrease at all? You went from owing $1600 to $600, i.e. 8% to 3% of 20k.  Maybe their formula likes you to have a modest amount of utilization, not nearly maxed out but not nearly empty.  That's just a guess.  It makes no difference..  What matters is not carrying a balance and building wealth. ... View more

@DebbieValkyria wrote: If I cancel my credit card, my credit scores is going to get low? If you have no use for the account, I would close it without regard to credit score.   The idea that credit score matters is a myth.  Net worth, income, and cash flow are what matter to your financial world. ... View more

  @Opus 17 wrote: If you did away with credit scores entirely... For all the reasons in your post, we wouldn't want to do away with credit scores or boycott vendors who use them. There's nothing improper about businesses working out and a formula to find good customers.  The problem is  thinking it's a measure of something else, such that people buy services monitoring it and make personal decisions based on it.     If someone makes literature for kids saying an important part of being responsible with personal finances is to monitor the credit score and take action to build and maintain it, it has become a dishonest sales tactic.  How do you do that? As @tagteam posted above, the score measures how well customers use their product and how much, for how long, how recently, and which types.  It's a complicated way of saying use a lot of banking. ... View more

@Eggsplorist wrote:  For instance, they say I "have too much debt" because, basically, the ratio of my mortgage balance (which is 38% of the value of my house) to my income is "too high." Do the credit bureaus consider income? I've never noticed seeing income on the credit report. I thought they relied on information from creditors who don't necessarily know their customers' income.     BTW, if you keep the high investment returns and they compound, your mortgage payment will become an increasingly smaller percentage of your income.  The banks will love you.  The increased wealth plus the banks' love together will be worth the value of the increased wealth.  😀 ... View more