25 F who is working towards clearing all my CC debt. Unfortunately life happened, I left a toxic household and end up with more debt than I wanted.

Currently what I have left:

Chase: $1295 (Paying full off by November) + $640 on my PayPal (should be done by December).

I have one missed payment on my credit profile from 2 years and six months ago. Tbh I wish I can go back in time and fix this. I reached out to the credit company about a goodwill request but they denied.

Lastly I have 26K in loans. I'm about to graduate from school in May 2027. I am expecting a guaranteed low six figs once I do. I already created a plan for this.

I have been paying the minimum to make sure I don't gain interest which is about ($200 a month).

If you guys have any advice to become more successful and managing my finances for the future. Please let me know! I've been reading about what other people have been doing when it comes to their finances and kinda taking it.

Unfortunately, I never hand anyone to teach me this, so I had to kinda figure all these stuff out by myself.

As the title states I recently had my credit card account closed by capital one after being with them for 2 years. I’ve never missed a payment or paid late, Only issue I had was when i tried to make my most recent payment and I selected the wrong account in which I called to notify them and was told by the rep to redo the payment with the correct account and wait for the first payment to reject which I did. Fast forward to today I checked my account and it says restricted. I called capital one to find out what that means and the rep tells me the account was closed because of a failed payment and I explained to her the situation and told her that I already called and spoke to another rep and she tells yes she can see it in the notes on my account however the decision to close the account is above her and out her hands however the decision is final and that I’m more than welcome to reapply for a new credit card.

My question is how bad does this affect my credit and what should I do now? The balance was paid in full every month so I have no debt with them.

They offered 3 payment plans but it is still unaffordable for me. I tried messaging them and they say they aren't able to lower the lowest repayment plan. Is that true? On the bottom of the 3 payment plans it literally says something like contact support.

I needed a balance transfer card to move some debt around. I first applied for the Chase Slate, as it offers 0% APR for 21 months. I started my banking relationship with Chase in 2014-2015. I've had a checking/savings account and the Amazon Prime and Freedom credit cards for over 10 years. I was approved for $2,600.

I felt it wasn’t enough for what I needed to accomplish, so I found the Wells Fargo Reflect, same APR promo as the Slate. I started my banking relationship with them in 2010. Only have a checking account with them now. Had their Propel card way back in the day. It converted to an Autograph and was later closed by WF because I didn’t use it.

I applied for the Reflect about 30 minutes after my Slate approval. I expected an approval at or below my Slate credit limit, but I was surprised by a $6,500 approval.

This was my first time applying for two cards back-to-back. I usually wait 6 months or more before applying for another credit card. I even mulled it over during the WF application process, but I decided to just send it. Worst case scenario I get denied and my credit score takes a temporary dip.

So if you’re wondering whether you should do something like this, here a use case of it working out. Of course, your results may vary.

700 credit score. 17 active credit cards. $80K credit line.

I won’t get super into detail, but I do want to start to build my own line of credit due to some family issues to ensure financial independence. I was recommended to pull my credit ASAP to see if I can qualify for the cards I’m considering (Amex blue cash, Chase Freedom Flex) and I’m really lost on
A: Where to pull my report for free
B: how Fico and Vantage compare in what will give me a better picture of what I can qualify for
If anyone can give me some advice I’d greatly appreciate it

Hello all ! My student loans have tanked my credit. The first year after graduating. I was not paying attention to the emails about my loans. I know that was stupid and I’m paying the price for it. My loans are in default status. If I go back to school, will that defer my payments. And by going back to school, will that take away the default status of my loans ? Then that would help my credit score go back up and I have more time to come up with money to pay it

This woman in the application specialist department emphatically insisted all I can do is wait on a letter or an email and said she didnt see anything on here end about identity verification or fraud alerts or anything, and I have basically not been able to get anything applied all year, every single form of credit I apply to I trigger some sort of robot KYC thing that complains about ID verification, it happed with zippay, affirm and Chase

Chase waited forever to send the letter that routed me to the right department, that was 2 weeks of waiting, and even that was at least a chance to fix it, but it timed out, I was working and couldnt make time to do it, I forgot about it. I have the sneaking suspicion that Chase just isn't going to be quick about this or let me know, are you sure there isn't a number I can call to escalate this to get to the part where I can fix this if its just identity verification nonsense because I'm like 98% sure it is. And I don't want to be given the run around by a level one support person on the phone, and I don't want it to time out like Chase did. 

For the record what happened is I tried to submit my selfie/id already on the phone and the browser just never updated, it never redirected back to the application, so I called the main application line to see what the status was. So I already tried to put the selfi/id and it still went to pending. 

I paid my statement off last night on the 26th my statement is due October 28th so now if I want to use my card today on the 27th do I have to pay it again or does it go to the next cycle?

A couple months ago, a family member made some small purchases in a rideshare app with a Discover/Cap One card I never use anymore. This wasn't fraud obviously, but I wasn't aware of it and I never check the card. Then the predictable thing happened: I got an email from a credit bureau stating that my FICO score had dropped by over 100 points. Cue a panic login to an app I never use and the discovery that I have a 30-day late payment. My first ever. Needless to say I will keep a keener eye on my dormant cards in the future...

I paid it off immediately, and now I'm in a tricky situation. My FICO 8 score was something like a 765, revolving utilization always 10% or less across four cards on relatively young accounts (oldest is from 2023). I only kept the Cap One card around for its age, and now I've been burned bad.

Initially, I waited for Discover to merge with Capital One before sending a goodwill letter. But now that three weeks have passed since the drop in my credit score, I've noticed a discrepancy in the three bureaus:

• Equifax: 765 (VantageScore)
• Experian: 692 (FICO), 646 (VantageScore)
• TransUnion: 761 (FICO)

So far, the missed payment has only been reported to Experian. If I send a goodwill letter, I am worried about the real possibility that Capital One will simply use this as an opportunity to report the missed payment to all three bureaus, risking my tidy reports. On the other hand, I could simply be biding my time for the moment that the other bureaus pick up on the missed payment. Is there some convincing case that I can make to Capital One that I'll get more cards from them and in general be a moneymaking customer? Or should I just let it go and try to rebuild my credit? Both Chase and Amex have the lower report, but neither have lowered my spend ceilings.

Any guidance would be very appreciated!

I received a motion for summary judgment and have a court date in NYC set for tomorrow. I answered the original summons with the generic denial option because I understood that it's required to avoid a default judgment. However, I didn't realize my court date would come up so quickly. I plan to appear and ask the judge for more time to acquire a lawyer / legal assistance. Wondering if anyone has experience with this. How likely is it that I'll be given the additional time? And how much time is typically given? For more context, I plan to try to settle, but I don't feel comfortable having those conversations directly with the attorney until I'm able to at least consult with a legal professional. Thanks in advance!

My sister needs a used car fast she doesn’t make a lot of money to save up she can do monthly payments but she has 1-2 things on her credit which is the student loans and a discover card that said it’s dropping next year. She’s with a credit union but everytime she applies for something they say no. She’s 20 what should she do.

I’m sharing my situation because I’m trying to determine the best way to get Verizon to formally recall a collection account.
I previously disputed a $72.41 balance involving billing, service suspension, and cancellation concerns. Verizon referred the balance to a third-party collection agency.

I submitted a formal Notice of Dispute to Verizon’s Executive Relations team because I wanted an explanation of how the remaining balance was calculated, especially considering my previous payments, account credits, and service history. During the investigation, Executive Relations confirmed they were working with a Financial Liaison to address my concerns.

After reviewing my dispute, Verizon confirmed that the entire $72.41 balance had been “adjusted to zero.” However, they never provided a clear explanation or reconciliation of the original charges.

I appreciated the adjustment, but I specifically requested that Verizon formally recall or fully withdraw the collection assignment.

Instead, Executive Relations responded that the collection had not been reported to the credit bureaus and concluded that no further action was necessary.

My biggest concern is that the collection agency could simply update the balance to $0 while the collection account itself remains active or eventually appears on my credit reports.
I’m not seeking a paid, settled, or zero-balance collection entry. I want the collection assignment formally withdrawn, particularly since Verizon eliminated the entire disputed balance without explaining the original charges.

I’m planning to contact Verizon’s Recovery Department to pursue a formal recall and obtain written confirmation.

TL;DR: Verizon referred a disputed $72.41 balance to collections, then adjusted the entire balance to $0 without explaining the charges. Executive Relations confirmed it hasn’t been reported to credit bureaus but never addressed my request for a formal recall. My concern is that the collection agency will simply update the balance to $0 instead of withdrawing the collection entirely. I’m seeking guidance from anyone who has dealt with this process.

Cap One/Discover is the only cards that will not approve my goodwill letter. I only have 1 late payment with Discover and my account has switched over with $0 balance. I have 3 late payments with Capital one and I have been with them since 2016. Any tips?

Side note: It looks like they are tracking via case numbers. They may be tracking multiple submissions.

Recently I have made a plan to be debt free hopefully by 30 (I am 28). I have three credit cards. One that had a $6000 balance that I paid off in full as a lump sum this month because I was so sick of the amount of interest it was accruing. My other one has a much smaller balance of less than $1000 that I plan on paying off in a few days. My third one has no balance. I’m not going to close any of them though because I know that’s also bad for credit. After that I will be making extra payments on my car loan and then after that moving to my student loans which are already below $10,000 at this point. I was very excited by the prospect of being debt free and having extra money to put into savings, but my credit score went down after paying off that large credit card (I did not close it) which got me worried. I think it’ll probably go back up a little soon once it gets reported that my credit utilization went down. I have no immediate plans to make a large purchase like a house or a car, so I should have time to rebuild it after all the debt is paid off, but I have heard that it can take a long time for the score to go back up to what it used to be. Is making a small purchase on one of my cards and paying it off each month enough to build my credit back up after everything is paid off? I get that you need to be utilizing credit to prove to lenders that you can be trusted, but it just feels so discouraging that I’ll get “punished” in a way by being debt free. Is there a way for me to do this that will impact my score less while still paying things off quickly and avoiding paying an excessive amount of interest?

Hey everyone! I recently graduated college and started working full-time a few months ago. After paying down a high credit card balance and being added as an authorized user, my score increased from 661 to 763.

I currently have nine tradelines:

- Three joint student loan accounts

- Three individual student loan accounts

- One primary credit card: BoA Customized Cash Rewards, opened October 2022, with a $10,300 limit

- One authorized-user department store card

- One authorized-user credit card opened June 2016

I’ve never missed a payment. My credit card balance is now paid off, but I still have substantial student loan balances.

My goal is to prepare for a mortgage in roughly 2–3 years. Robinhood recently denied my Gold Card application because the “number of credit bureau tradelines, excluding authorized user tradelines, is too low.” That confused me because my student loans are also in my name, although I only have one primary credit card.

I’m considering adding the Wells Fargo Autograph and Active Cash over the next six months. Both fit my spending, and I’d pay their statement balances in full. After that, I expect to avoid additional credit applications before buying a house.

Would adding these two cards meaningfully strengthen my credit profile over that timeline? Beyond adding credit cards, what should I prioritize over the next 2–3 years to improve my mortgage qualification and get the best rate possible? Would you approach anything differently given my current profile?

I have a $382 Power bill that went to collections with Credit Systems International on 8/26. It's already on my credit report and my score dropped 42 points right after it showed up.

The debt is mine and I want to pay it, but I'd like to get it deleted, not just marked paid. My plan is to offer around $250 and ask them to remove it from all three bureaus in exchange, with the agreement in writing before I pay.

A few questions for anyone who's dealt with CSI:

Have they agreed to pay-for-delete for you, especially on a non-medical debt? Did they put it in writing? I've heard they don't do email, so did you get a letter or fax? Did you settle for less than the full balance, and how much did they accept? Did anyone have luck going back to the Power company directly instead?

Any tips on what to say on the call would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sources:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/archive/newsroom/the-cfpb-amends-card-act-rule-to-make-it-easier-for-stay-at-home-spouses-and-partners-to-get-credit-cards/

https://money.usnews.com/credit-cards/articles/what-annual-income-is-required-for-a-student-credit-card

I recently found out that stay at home spouses are entitled to put their partner’s income down on a credit card application without notifying them or including them as an additional user on the card.

This is a quote directly from the Consumer Finnacial Protection Bureau’s website: “For credit card applicants who are 21 or older, the Bureau’s revision **allows card issuers to consider third-party income if the applicant has a reasonable expectation of access to it**. Although today’s rule applies to all such applicants regardless of marital status, **the Bureau expects that it will ease access to credit particularly for stay-at-home spouses or partners who have access to a working spouse or partner’s income**” (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 2013).

Additionally, for college students without a *traditional* income (IE: Without income from a job), they are entitled to put down residual money they have from scholarships and grants after paying tuition. As stated by U.S News: “On a credit card application, you can often include various income sources, **such as income from** a part-time job or **scholarship funds, as part of your total income”** (U.S News 2026).

I think this is really important information to know for people who are trying to get more financial freedom, but don’t have access to a traditional source of income. So I thought I would share for anyone who is trying to get their own credit card, but has no income and wasn’t sure how to go about opening one.

So ive been on a journey to get my credit fixed and in a better place the last year and a half. Because of mistakes in the past the only cads offered to me for the longest time where from predatory lenders. I ended up getting a credit one card because at the time I didn't know there reputation like I do now. That being said recently I did receive a offer from Citi and got approved for it which was a big surprise seeing that it was for 7000. They also approved me for another card from then. My question would be should I do the balance transfer and pay off the credit one card and then just make the payment on the Citi card so that I can be out from under the Credit One card and be done with it?

As I’m paying off collections I come across LVNV with whom I have multiple collections from. If some of them are expected to be aged off with in the next 3 months but others in years. If I contact them in regards to the newest ones will they restart the time on the ones about to fall off?

I went through a very rough stint of unemployment & was homeless for a year. During that time my credit score fell very badly- two closed credit cards, behind of student loan payments, & other loan account closed.

Now i’m employed making around $6k per month. What actionable steps to rebuild my credit? It’s between 550-580 depending on the reporting agency. Here’s what’s going on:

Amex credit card: settled the account, shows as closed on my report Capital one card: transferred to debt collector, offering 40% off & will be removed from credit once paid since the debt was transferred ($2600 to settle) Amex loan: closed account that i haven’t paid yet Student loans: back in good standing Car loan: in good standing but im getting screwed over on the rate. Almost 30% APR because i got this car during my awful financial crisis after a wreck and it’s all i could get.

What to do to start rebuilding? I feel very embarrassed because im typically responsible with my finances but i made such a mess. I have no credit cards right now and about 5k saved.

I’m trying to settle my balance from an old utility bill LJ Ross owns the debt I asked them for a settlement and they said the original creditor doesn’t offer that what should I do now ?

When I first purchased my car, I was working a lot of overtime in the oil fields pre-Covid unfortunately about two or three years ago the oil industry slowed down, so I’m only working my 40 and I’ve tried to negotiate with my credit union on lowering my car payment and for some reason, they tell me that they can’t Because I have a special loan but I feel like they’re lying to me so they can keep me as a customer and I cant keep up with the car payment anymore… any advice helps !!