hi all, \n\nmine credit card company AMEX has closed mine account , acocrding to them, it "may" effect mine credit score with credit agency.\n\ni have a question. will it effect mine credit score if any CC company closed our account?\n\nthere is no late payment and i always pay at least the minimum due, reason they closed  is becasue they said they can't find mine tax return transcript with IRS. ( I am still checking with mine employer about this).\n\npls advise\n\nthanks
199159
yes, anytime you or the credit card company closes an account it can reduce your fico score.  your score will also be reduced if you use more than 30% of your credit limit.  there are so many ways that your score can be reduced.  msn has some really great articals on ways to help you keep a good fico score.
475309
The above information is good.  However, please remember not to CLOSE your creit card accounts.  Keeping them with a low balance (or zero balance) is fine.  Despite popular misconceptions, open trade lines (with clean history and low balances) do NOT hurt your credit.  Instead, they establish good credit history which is important for your score.  Below are some general tips for building credit:\n\nDO NOT:\n\n1. Do not open unnecessary credit card accounts or other loans.\n2. Do not close existing credit card accounts.\n3. Do not let individual credit card balances exceed 30% of the credit limit.  Two credit cards each at 25% of the credit limit is much better than one credit card at 50% of the credit limit.\n4. Do not allow unnecessary credit inquiries – meaning, you should not have people pulling your credit unless there is a very good reason.\n\nDO:\n\n1. Do make timely payments on all mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards.\n2. Do request higher credit limits on your existing credit cards.\n3. Do make sure that each of your credit card accounts report the credit limit to the credit bureaus.
570003
whatever you do don't pay it off. something that old no longer has any effect on your score so just leave it and be thankful. charge offs look bad on a credit report bcuz it shows that not only did you not pay on time, you barely paid at all and the only result was to charge off your account in hopes of retaining some money back. should you decide to pay off the card think about this. once you pay off that balance, the bad credit history from that point up until now will come with it. You will actually lower your score drastically by paying off your old debt. leave it alone a nd move on.
408897
Answers like timdaniels' really bug me.  Quit advertising your company and just answer his question!  \n\nPersonally I do NOT believe debt settlement only "recognized" alternative, and it can actually hurt your credit score.  \n\nI've posted a link that explains the new laws.  If it still looks like the answer for you, talk to an attorney.  Many will give you a free consultation and explain how it will effect you.
74587
If half of you paid any attention he was talking about his bank account...\n\nno closing your account will have no effect on you credit report so long as you do not have a negitive balance when you close it.\n\n...see simple and to the point!\n\n-Good Luck
388887
Yes it will keep your fico score down as long as they continue to report it every month.\nYes its possible you can get a new credit card but the rates will be higher.http://www.hsbcusa.com/personal/credit_cards/orchard_mastercard_product_info.html\n4.You can try to wait them out and it will get a little better but your score will stay low as long as they report on you even if you have good accounts.\nTo be honest its no way to beat the system you have to pay your debts or your credit will be bad and you will have a low fico score.\nI just went through the whole thing, I only had one bad account a credit card charge off. All of my other bills were in good standing but I saw my score drop to 558. I waited and disputed the original creditors and got them removed. The collection agency that bought the account started to report as my score increased back up to 640 the collection agency would report it as late derogatory, charge off. I was back down to the 550 range. You have to be careful because if the balance is high enough they will sue you in court and possibly garnish your wages and enter a judgment on your credit report. It was a headache for me so finally I just settled the debt and disputed it off my credit report. Good Luck! and here is a link that may help you find some information on disputes and debt validation etc.\n\nhttp://credit-repair-basics.credit-repair-forums.com/
151895
Yahoo just had something on the homepage about devious "junk buyers" buying old debt for pennies on the dollar and then trying to make you pay even after the statute of limitations had passed-I know there is limits but as to what they are I can not 100% tell you.  \n\nAnd actually it is never 'removed' from your credit report, but companies only 'pull' a 7-10 year history, so it does not show, the debt is always listed on the report, so it never really disappears, just hanging out in old debt land, and if you go for a Senate Hearing or something they will pull it up.\n\nThe report said something about the basement buyers buying the debt and then reporting it as a 'new' debt to get it back active on your Credit Report, which is against the law.  The report also said they target those that paid some debt, because they were more worried about the ramifications of the credit report.  I will research and see if I can find the article-it was an informative read.
500495
As mentioned above, there are a lot of good answers listed here.  To reiterate, it will have a positive AND negative effect on your credit becuase it plays with factors of the FICO equation.  Part of the FICO equation looks at how many creditors you have, part looks at how old the active creditors are, and part looks at how much credit you've been extended versus how much you've actually used.  No one in the general public knows 100% what the actual FICO eqution looks like because it is considered proprietary information of a very classified nature.  Fair & Issac will not release the full equation fearing that nefarious people would be able to manipulate it to their benefit and screw over a lot of companies while still maintaining an 820 score.  In 2000, the high courts forced Fair & Issacs to release generalized information on the equation...the courts argued that people's misconception about their credt and what affects it is needlessly hurting even good credit people's scores.  \n\nDone with the info/history lesson...here is the affect it will have:\nCancelling older cards will hurt your credit because it is cancelling long established accounts, regardless if the cards cancelled have balances or not.  \n\nCancelling the cards increases your debt ratio (amount of credit available versus how much you've used).  The closer you are to your available credit roof, the lower your score will drop.  \n\nThe score will look to improve on eliminating the number of creditors, but you're hitting the American average of 4.  If you have other store cards, then the closer you get to 4 creditors, it will help your score a tad.  \n\nAs many have said, what you want to do is not a bad thing but could have a slight, temporary negative impact on your score.  If you chose to cancel a card, aim for the newest cards and the cards with the smallest available credit.  \n\n**Possible idea that may have the least impact on your score**\nAssuming your credit is good because you have been paying your bills on time.  Total up all the available credit all four cards are giving you.  If you're comfortable with that available amount, call your two oldest cards and ask get them to respectively increase your credit limit.  If they increase to an amount you're comfortable with, cancel the newest two.  This way, your available credit limit stays the same, your creditor number drops and your debt ratio is minimally impacted.  Thus, your score should be only minutely affected.
651004
Your score will dip no matter what you do. For how long depends on how you deal with cleaning up you credit.\n\nIf you pay the accounts without using a pay for delete agreement, they will just notate your reports as paid collections. Which will be just as bad as having the collection on your reports.\n\nIf you use a pay for delete agreement, when they delete the account your score will dip from losing the history of the account. But you scores will probably rebound sooner than having a paid collection. \n\nIf you are dealing with collection agency's, you should send a debt validation first. When they properly validate the debt (and you are still in SOL) send them a pay for delete letter. \n\nInclude in that letter that they will not only delete the tradeline they have placed on your reports, but they will also not sell the debt, sell the remainder of the debt (if you request to only pay a percentage of it - which you should request) and will not continue to collect the debt. (collection agency's have been known to do all of those - even when the debt is paid.) \n\nIf the debt is out of the statute of limitations (SOL) for your state, you have the right to "not pay" it. After you send the debt validation letter and you know it is out of SOL, you have the right to send them a SOL letter. And, if they are reporting incorrectly on your reports (which they probably are) you have the right to dispute the account with the credit bureaus. Requesting that the accounts are either corrected, or if not, deleted.\n\nI would also suggest trying to get a secured card or two. If you do that now, you would have a years history on it/them which will help you when you want to get that loan.  \n\nOnly use the cards occasionally for small amounts, a tank of gas etc. and pay in full when you get the statement. Then, keep the cards in your sock drawer for about 6 months before you use them for another small amount.\n\nYou might check out Orchard Bank, HSBC or Bank of America for secured cards.\n\nYou might also want to check out the link I have provided. Learn how to deal with your baddies and how to up your scores.
456672
Because to them there is no such thing as 'your credit and his credit' until you're legally divorced. It's a joint account to them. If I were you, I'd call them and cancel the card, and any other card that he may have jointly with you. (Any card that you both signed for),\nTell them you want to cancel the joint accounts, or have your name removed it. I'd close them though, just to make sure no one at the company gets confused and expects you to pay for his stuff.\nYou may or may not want to tell them you two are separated. I'm not sure about that. \nJust try canceling the card first without telling them and see if they'll close it. If they won't, then tell them you're separated and not responsible for his debt. Then, get a lawyer quickly. I've seen a case not long ago where a man ran up $30,000 in debt in his wife's name and caused a big ugly scene.  She eventually won in court, but man, it was ugly!
176921
Everything that you buy on credit or when to open the account you need to provide your social security number to do a credit check (not only credit card but even the utility bills or cell phone)gets reported to the credit bureau. If you have a report against you that means they reported a late (over 30 days) payment. I know that you do not like to hear this but if you have a late payment over 30 days, that gets reported and affects your credit score. If you only have one payment over 30 days it's not that bad though. Your credit score number gets lowered and the lower the number the higher the interest rate when you apply for credit in the future and if you have missed payments with a pattern of late (30 days or worst, 60 days) payments you might not be able to obtain jobs in certain fields or rent an apartment not to mention obtaining credit... Advice is be as conservative as you can from now on. It is not relevant to pay more than the minimum required amount on a credit card or other loan, so do not think that this help in any way. What is important is to send the payments religiously before the due date ( mail it at least 5 days in advance) or pay by phone or Inet and if it happens that you passed the due date, as long as it is before they issue a new statement, and is under 30 days, pay it even though with penalties. Hope this explanation helps you.
106949
Without knowing which specific creditor you're inquiring about it there is not going to be a definate answer. From experience GEMB, Juniper, some Citi, & Target generally report the first half of the month. Household bank generally reports about 10 days after the billing period. American Express reports typically one week following the reporting month. As far as you wanting to pay below 40%, why wait until the due date is approaching? Why not submit payment now? Waiting until due date will allow the creditor to report the outstanding balance at payment closing. If you go ahead and pay down then the next report they send to the reporting agencies will be less therefore allowing for less utilization for reporting. Also for what it's worth, FICO is known to prefer utilization to be below 30% not 40%.
549203
Your credit score won't be affected unless you make late payments.  You're okay.\n\nGood Luck!
427268
I can save you the money by giving my answers to his questions:\n\n    * A dirty little trick that credit card companies use to lower your credit score to keep their competitors away from you; learn if you're a victim of this, including how to fix it.\n\nThis trick is cards like CapitalOne don't report your credit limit, only your high balance.  This can make your utilization appear higher.  To see if you are a victim of this look at your credit report and verify that the reported credit limits match your actual credit limits.  Fix it by either getting rid of those cards or disputing the information with the credit bureau.\n\n    * Which errors on a credit report are a waste of time to fix and which are a high priority (helping you to raise your score by 5, 10, 15, 20 points at a time).\n\nBad advice, if you see an error go ahead and get it fixed.  The low priority items are inquiries greater than 6 months ago and pretty much any incorrect but positive item.  Negative items are obvious, late pays, etc.\n\n    * How to build credit (if you have none) and rebuild credit if you've gone through a divorce, bankruptcy, or other major delinquency.\n\nSmall secured bank loan, secured credit card, small car loan.  Make sure they report.  \n\n    * Why you should NOT become a cash-only citizen; at the same time, learn how to keep credit active without putting yourself into debt.\n\nCredit is handy, no reason no to keep some credit cards around, no need to do more than place an occassional charge on them to keep them active.  No need to ever pay interest.\n\n    * How paying collections can HURT your credit score.\n\nIt re-ages your account.\n\n    * How to prepare for a loan by improving your credit score.\n\nReduce utilization (either increase limits or pay down cards), age off inquiries (more than 6 months and they don't matter).  Dispute off negative items.\n\n    * How to maintain a high credit score for the rest of your life!\n\nPay your bills.
124248
Most of the people answering in the credit section have no clue about FICO credit scoring.\n\nIf you have a "dormant" (your term) credit card that you have had for a long time and it is not reporting any late payment then having that account and not using it will be a positive factor for your score. The thought that you can have too many cards and that is risky isn't proven in the credit scoring model used by FICO. People who get into trouble usually carry balances on all their cards. If you have lots of accounts with zero balances that shows credit responsibility.\n\nFrom a practical standpoint having 3-6 revolving accounts(with near zero balances) and 1-2 installment accounts(car, mortgage) will be "optimal" for attaining an Excellent credit score (720+) If you have more revolving accounts then you might consider which ones you don't ever use and close them.\n\nGood Luck
265428
Yes, that is the best way to use your credit card. HOWEVER, check with your credit card company and see when they update your credit report.  \n\nExample: You carry a $505 balance on your $500 credit limit card. The company updates your credit on the 19th of the month. You pay on the 20th and run the balance up again to $504. You make a payment on the 7th and again run the balance up to $504 by the 19th. \n\nThe balance on the card as of the 19th is what is reported. If you are consistantly over or at your credit limit monthly this will lower your score. If you setup a plan to pay in your mind based on the "update date" you'll keep your credit score as high as possible.\n\nRemeber it's best to keep your balance at or below 30%-40% of your credit limit.\n\nCONGRATS & GOOD JOB ON PAYING OFF YOUR CARDS EACH MONTH!\n\n______________________________\n\nCAROLINE SIMMONS\nREALTOR® & Affordable Housing Specialist\nO. 866.894.3601 ~ C. 404.787.8685 ~ F. 404.745.8019\nE. caroline@premyiergroup.com\nW. http://www.premyiergroup.com
246014
You responded to my question on authorization denials- whether they needed to be reported to the card holder or not.  Your answer was the most articulate and seemingly knowledgeable I received- I'm not in the banking industry so have to take your word for it.\n\nYou're looking for some wisdom eh?  Write a book in the spare time you play talking to countless throngs that use venues like this as entertainment.  You're much to intelligent and well written to waste your time drumming up silly questions just to fill a void of loneliness.\n\nI don't mean to preach to you and perhaps I exceed some kind of protocol here but there was something in your posting that sparked me to write.  \n\nHave you read the book The Celestine Prophecy?  Don't even think DaVinci code here.  Proph is a fun book and will make your brain ticker melt down with possibility.  \n\nThanks for answering my question.  I hope you meet someone out there who fills your void.