First dispute letters

[grn910]

Hi!. Just sent out my first dispute letters ever!! I'll let you know what happens.

OK. Im in my mid 30's. I havent had any kind of credit for about 7-10yrs. Bad relationships, being too naive or nice, idiot family members, overspending & being just plain young & irresponsible is what destroyed my credit. I have about 7-9 TL's on my CR from '96 - '04 but some of the older accounts have newer dates for whatever reason so Im not sure when they originally occurred. I shouldnt have a problem disputing most of them since they are too old & have errors.(Thanks to this wonderful site). I am embarrassed to say, my credit is so low that when I tried the free trial at MYFICO I didnt meet the criteria to even get a score. My question is should I try to get a secured CC now while I'm sending out dispute letters? What else should I do to start rebuilding my credit that wont interfere w/ the dispute process? Thanks

[Trish]

Hey.......don't feel bad. We are all right there with you (or at least were at one time).....otherwise we wouldn't be here.
It does take some time but you will see results. You are already headed in the right direction!

When I first started out I had 2 positive TLs from WAY back that were closed and then (I am not kidding) over 30 negatives....my score was in the 400's......I thought I was a hopeless case.. but with the help some great people on a credit forum (which is now gone), I learned A LOT.

The first credit cards that I was able to get were these:
Chevron (rebuilder card), Crown Jewelers (NO credit check - pretty much guaranteed approval as long as you have a job and a phone number), Orchard secured MasterCard, Target and Macy's.

Those are going to be the easiest to get with really low scores. A couple of other things to consider (if you have the cash) is a secure loan through your bank/credit union.......and getting added on as an authorized user on a good friend or family members credit card (good standing with long history).

This is also a good site to look at too...Who Gave Me Credit....this way you will know (when you apply somewhere) what creditors pull which CRAs......and you can also search by state, score or creditor. It's pretty cool. I always looked through it to decide what card to try and apply for.

And yes.....it's good to dispute and get off the negatives.......but at the same time you want to start building up positive TLs. So go ahead and try applying for one or two of those.
You should DEFINITELY go for Crown Jewelers, there is no credit check and they usually start you out with a $1500 credit limit which will look good on your CRs. Only catch is you have to purchase something before they will report. I bought a very inexpensive pair of earrings and within like a week it was reporting on all 3 CRAs.

[danelleo]

Is there a website for Crown Jewlers? Can you apply online?

[Trish]

Yes, you can apply online......it's really easy.

[danelleo]

What was your experience with the Chevron card? I have never heard of it. We'd like to get a CC or SCC to start helping our score. Any advice?

[Trish]

Chevron is ok for building credit. They have high interest rates......but unfortunately that's what you have to deal with when you have low scores.

When you apply, even if you don't qualify for their regular card.......they can put you on their rebuilder card. Then once you make consistent payments on time, they should move you up to the "regular" card with better rates.

It's Chevron/Texaco cards. They have stations pretty much everywhere but you should check first to make sure.