question about credit

The new Carolyn Warren book (which, full disclosure, I blurbed) has a chapter on how to deal with this, including scripts for what to say when you call and write the credit card companies. Barnes & Noble should have it.

ali r.

The power that credit "reporting" agencies have over our lives should be a top priority for reform in Washington, right after health care.

Unfortunately, unless you can disprove Macy's claim that you were 60 days late, this little "blemish" will stay on your credit record until 2017.

Welcome to the world of non-spotless credit. Let me take your hat and coat, and take a seat. You'll be here for quite a while.

Tripel - this doesn't sound too bad-
(1) Most card issuers do not report negatives to the bureaus until 90dpd or some even 120dpd so there is a good chance the rep you spoke with was incorrect or bluffing. Obviously pay the bill in full and then obtain a copy of all 3 of your bureaus to see what's there. You need to check ALL THREE - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. TripleAdvantage is a service offered by Equifax but gives you all 3 reports as well as your "PLUS" scores which are essentially your FICO scores (you have 3 - one for each bureau).
2. If you do have a 60 it will hurt your FICO scores but probably only a little bit because (a) FICO places less emphasis on store cards than regular credit cards since your situation is not unique and (b) 90 is when a derog really becomes serious. 30's and 60's are often considered "sloppy payers" and the models take that into effect.
You should be OK but get your reports and scores. Also, your instinct might be to close the card but actually it's better for you to keep it open so your utilization doesn't suddenly increase. Also a 60 on active card is most likely less serious in the FICO logic than a 60 on a closed card.

To your 2nd question: if it's on one of your bureaus -- which again is quite unlikely -- you won't be able to get it removed. That would violate the contracts the bureaus sign with the issuers.

wow, thanks for all the great feedback.

Bernie -- I thought you could get it removed if it were on the bureau report? The creditor could have it removed, no? That's what I found doing some research on sites like this one...
http://bettercreditblog.org/sample-negotiation-letters/
and various legal sites offering credit clean up services?

My plan is to wait a week and call Macy's again -- yesterday they weren't showing any posting when I paid in full and closed the card, but they said it may still appear. Then I'll check with the 3 agencies, then I'll start in with these letters, and failing that try one of these legal avenues to get this cleaned up.

It is simply atrocious to think that after a decade plus of spotless credit that making the mistake of getting a card from freaking macy's for $30 off a freaking scarf could cost me tens of thousands .... This system is simply fucked, pardon my french.

NYCMatt
1 day ago
ignore this person
report abuse The power that credit "reporting" agencies have over our lives should be a top priority for reform in Washington, right after health care.

Unfortunately, unless you can disprove Macy's claim that you were 60 days late, this little "blemish" will stay on your credit record until 2017.

Welcome to the world of non-spotless credit. Let me take your hat and coat, and take a seat. You'll be here for quite a while.

This is completely correct. the hardest thing for prospetive buyers/renters to overcome is credit hitory. it should be fixed. moreover, it is a shame that renters in this city, who pay more in rent than most peoples mortgages, get no credit for paying on time, every time year after year.

tripel - it shouldn't affect your renting of an apartment. When we run credit checks on applicants, we get a thorough report showing which accounts are delinquent and by how many days - not just a fico number. As pointed out above, yours is not an uncommon situation and easily explained to a landlord.

That said, simply opening a store credit and maintaining it spotlessly is a bad idea if you are looking to buy. Nearly every credit inquiry decreases your fico score, some more so than others, and if you drop below certain thresholds your mortgage rates increase. But for a rental you should be okay.

Tina
(Brooklyn broker)

in brooklyn maybe honey but try it with a manhattan landlord.

Then welcome to Brooklyn, tripel. We understand.

so, sorry, but just to completely clarify -- if the report does go to the agencies and end up on my record then there's definitely NO way of having it removed?
thanks

Tripel- again even if (very unlikely) this made your bureau at 60 days it's not going to be a big deal because you have otherwise strong credit and it's fairly common for someone to lose track of a department store card & the FICO algorithm knows this. It sounds like you worrying for nothing on this. (And I have worked in personal credit for a long time).

No - you won't be able to get it removed because it happened. You'd be wasting your energy. And be careful with "credit doctors" - most (not all) of them are shady and take advantage of people they know are vulnerable and actually FOR PROFIT. The best thing you can do is uderstand what drives your FICO score by going to Fair Isaac's website. Can I ask you: do you know your FICO scores? Are they above 700? Above 750?

Bernie123
6 minutes ago
ignore this person
report abuse Tripel- again even if (very unlikely) this made your bureau at 60 days it's not going to be a big deal because you have otherwise strong credit and it's fairly common for someone to lose track of a department store card & the FICO algorithm knows this. It sounds like you worrying for nothing on this. (And I have worked in personal credit for a long time).

No - you won't be able to get it removed because it happened. You'd be wasting your energy. And be careful with "credit doctors" - most (not all) of them are shady and take advantage of people they know are vulnerable and actually FOR PROFIT. The best thing you can do is uderstand what drives your FICO score by going to Fair Isaac's website. Can I ask you: do you know your FICO scores? Are they above 700? Above 750?

all of that is true, but don't think for a SECOND that it won't effect his standing with some landlords. it is a RECENT deliquency, which is a negative. pay it off and get a letter from the creditor saying it has been paid off. and look for landlords who are a bit more understanding. most aren't

"the hardest thing for prospetive buyers/renters to overcome is credit hitory. it should be fixed."

And increasingly, prospective employers are looking at your credit, too.

funny story...i had a client recently, a DIRECTOR on permenant staff at the UN. PHD in economics (Harvard), foreign service career (from another country, but still)....with a mid 550's credit score. needless to say, he didnt get the apartment. how does someone like that end up with a credit score you would attribute to a drug addict?

jim - because foreigners can often get away with not paying their rent, etc., which is why so many buildings will not rent to them - especially foreign service personnel - perhaps cannot be sued in US courts.

former foreign service person, current director on permenant staff at un. many many years of established residency in this country. he just had shitty credit. it had nothing to do with his visa.

jim - of course he had a visa - that wasn't my point. Foreign nationals working for their governments here in the US often have problems renting because of the "cannot sue" problems. Maybe he had taken advantage of that in the past, which IMHO would have negatively impacted his credit. (as in merrily charging away and possibly not paying?)

read again:

permenant established residency in this country
permenant staff at the UN

He IS NOT a risk because he is from somewhere else. he is a risk because he is a deliquent when it comes to paying bills on time. which, to me, given his eduation and position, is unbelievable.

Fair Issaac won't disclose exactly how FICO is computed but they gives guidelines and TIME ON BUREAU is a major input. Anyone new in the country is going to have a low (poor) value. That said it's only one variable and I know many people newly arrived in the States who seem oddly "blessed" with strong FICO scores right away. (This is one reason why major retail lenders rely more on their own internal proprietary models than FICO; some also have special treatment for newly arrived individuals - realizing that there is an opportunity there.)

jim_hones10
30 minutes ago
ignore this person
report abuse former foreign service person, current director on permenant staff at un. many many years of established residency in this country. he just had shitty credit. it had nothing to do with his visa.

please read the above. over 20 years of abysmal credit history.

its amazing how few people here read the threads they comment on

bernie, to your Q -- i haven't had my scores pulled in a couple of years (been looking to buy for a while, only got close then), and my credit was excellent then (above 700), and I havent had any blemishes until now...
thanks

jim: my point was that as far as FICO is concerned the clock starts ticking when you first get credit (credit card, student loan, mortgage etc). The more time on bureau the better so maybe he had a lousy score because he had very low (or even no) time on bureau. If his time on bureau was 20 years as you say and he had a FICO of 550 I have news for you: he's a terrible credit risk, regardless of his position at the UN, and he surely earned it through his actions.

Tripel: that's great. Your scores should have only improved since then. If I were you I would shell out the ~ $20 and sign up on TripleAdvantage and get your full bureaus and scores once a month for a few months. I doubt you'll see the Macy's 60 and if you do I doubt you'll see your scores dip much.

i just did the equifax 3 in 1 dealie and im 766, which i guess is great.
having opened a new account recently is the only factor listed as "hurting my score" ...wish I'd known that -- I never wouldve gotten this damn card (just to save $20 Grrr!)
so, now i need to keep an eye on it to see if this 60-day late thing pops in there to hurt me. And if it does, I'm screwed right? Cant get Macy's to take it off?
thanks for all the advice

Right watch the report next month. IF the Macy's thing is there you're only screwed a little bit - again going 60 days late on a department store card is not the worst thing and your credit is excellent. Just make sure the account is now in good standing. And no - despite all the people out there who might claim otherwise (mostly for their own benefit) - you will NEVER be able to get the bureaus to remove a legit late payment. But don't worry - many would kill for your credit. Good luck.

thanks again for the helpful advice

cant stop kicking myself for opening that stupid card ..why did i do that?? freaking holiday shopping... that's it, no more presents for anybody

"funny story...i had a client recently, a DIRECTOR on permenant staff at the UN. PHD in economics (Harvard), foreign service career (from another country, but still)....with a mid 550's credit score. needless to say, he didnt get the apartment. how does someone like that end up with a credit score you would attribute to a drug addict?"

You think that's a "funny" story?

I guess it would be downright HILARIOUS if he had a medical disability!

To answer your question, I can't speak to his experience, but I can tell you about a growing number of people this is happening to: people with multiple graduate degrees and solid work experience who lost their jobs, were unemployed for more than a year, and started falling behind on everything.

60 days behind on everything is all it takes to trash a good credit record that took decades to build.