u/Familiar_Mistake1503

The rep wasn’t great, honestly. It was obviously a call center really loud in the background, difficult to understand at times, and he was pretty short and pushy. He kept trying to convince me to keep the card and told me I’d been approved for a $500 credit limit.

I told him I wasn’t interested because I believed I was only completing a prequalification. I explained that I never intended to accept the account, never signed any documentation, never received or activated the card, and respectfully requested that the account be closed.

He processed the closure and emailed me a confirmation within a couple of minutes (attached).
He also told me there would be no fees associated with the account, but obviously I’ll be keeping an eye on my credit reports and mailbox just in case. Hopefully that’s the end of it.

Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and warned me to now stay away from Credit kxarma. That definitely influenced my decision to close it.

I’ve been rebuilding my credit over the last several months and finally got to the point where I’m getting approved for unsecured cards. My thought process was basically, “Open the accounts I want now so they can all start aging together,” instead of spacing them out over the next several months and constantly resetting the average age of my newest accounts. Also, I got really bored and figured “wth” and went for approvals. (I already have a Cap One Savor and 2 credit union cards)

I was approved for a Prosper Mastercard and then an Imagine Visa. Prosper seems fine from what I’ve read, and manageable, but after digging into the Imagine card, I’m honestly getting cold feet.

When I applied, I thought I was just doing a prequalification. Instead, it immediately approved me and said my card was on the way. It never showed me a credit limit or let me review the actual account before opening it.

Now I’m reading reviews about people being charged annual fees before even receiving the card, monthly maintenance fees, trouble reaching customer service, etc. The disclosures also make it sound like the fees can get pretty expensive and the annual fee and payment is due typically before the card and disclosure arrives.

I’m planning to call tomorrow and close the account before I ever activate or use the card. I don’t really care if I have to eat the initial annual fee if that’s how it worksI just don’t want to be stuck with a card that has ongoing fees and a company that’s predatory and difficult to deal with.

Has anyone here actually had the Imagine Visa? Were you able to close it without issues? Did they charge the annual fee immediately, or only after activation? Any experiences with Prosper are welcome too.
Thanks!

I had a dispute on my checking account that capital one decided was valid! I plan on paying it off in the next month or two. Will this affect my Savor One card? The current negative checking account balance?

Edit: they approved the card while the account was negative 🤷🏽‍♂️

A couple months ago my Experian FICO 8 was 547. As of today it’s 627, and my other FICO 8 scores are now 618 (Equifax) and 601 (TransUnion) - TU hasn’t processed the new card yet.

My goal from the beginning was actually pretty simple: I wanted to finance a new truck through the dealership where I work. My desk manager kept telling me he could get me approved and knew how to structure it with the bank even with my scores where they were, but honestly I was embarrassed by my credit profile and decided it was time to really learn how credit works instead of just hoping things would improve.

Over the last couple of months I:

Paid off several derogatory accounts.
Opened a $300 secured credit union card. (Just reported)
Opened a $300 Capital One Savor card.(not reported yet)
Opened a $500 secured credit union card that hasn’t reported yet.

Started paying a lot more attention to utilization, statement dates, and how different accounts affect FICO.

One mistake I made was letting my first secured card report at about 60% utilization. I had intended paying 1/2 the balance off but got caught up yesterday and Wednesday with work and never got the chance as I knew that bank card reports last Thursday of the month. Oops. I just wanted a higher score increase by showing a lower utilization however I know now that that has no memory next month.

Even with that, my Experian FICO still jumped 30 points this month, and overall I’ve gone from 547 to 627 in roughly two months.

I know I’m nowhere near finished. I still have some older negatives that need more time to age, but it’s honestly motivating to finally see the work paying off.

More than anything, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone in this subreddit. Before finding this community I barely understood how FICO scoring, utilization, statement dates, or rebuilding actually worked. Reading through everyone’s posts and advice completely changed how I approach my credit, and it’s made a huge difference already.

Still a work in progress, but I’m definitely headed in the right direction.

Started my rebuild around the low 500 score range after charge-offs, collections, and multiple late payments in 2025 on an auto loan, personal loan, and credit cards.

Over the last 6-7 months I’ve been current on everything, paid collections and charge-offs, disputed some reporting errors, and slowly worked my way into the low 600s.

One thing that surprised me was getting hit with a 15-22 point score drop after paying off a closed credit card that still had a balance. I thought my score would go up, not down.

Current FICO 8 scores:

Equifax: 611
TransUnion: 601
Experian: 597

This week was interesting. My credit union denied me for an unsecured card, then denied me for a secured card. After speaking with a manager and providing a recent pay stub showing about $14k/month income, they reconsidered and approved me for a $500 secured card. While my other credit union offered me a secured card at whatever limit I want.

Then today Capital One approved me for an unsecured SavorOne card with a $300 limit.

I know $300 isn’t much, but after where I started, I’ll take it. Between that approval, the secured card approval, and a recently reported Chase AU tradeline ($18,600 limit opened in 2015), it finally feels like things are moving in the right direction.

Still a long way to go, but progress is progress. I know the tradeline isn’t mine but it got my foot in the door to an unsecured card at least along with all my other hard work. Which is all that matters. Baby steps.

As of right now I have no outstanding debt other than auto and personal loan and no collections on my profile and only 1 chargeoff for less than $100 that’s been paid and reports as such.

Credit is no joke 🥴

I should have taken advice starting this credit rebuilding journey from this sub and not ChatGPT and Claude. Both said to pay off my closed credit card that was reporting a $2000 balance. So I did.

Today I’m down -12 points on Equifax and -16 on TransUnion. So discouraged.

That was my last revolving (even though closed) account and had I known I’d be penalized, for paying it to $0…I would have left a $100 or so dollars on there.

I have 1 open auto loan and 1 personal loan that have been current for the last 6 months and a $68 “paid” chargeoff.

I make around $23k a month and despite my personal income I can’t get my credit score higher than this it seems. I had a 3-4 month rough patch last year (divorce) so I incurred some lates as a result of that but since December of 2025 I’ve had no issues.

Would applying for a secured card at this point help? Any suggestions? Because ChatGPT and Claude have seemed to steer me in the wrong direction. Totally.

Been lurking here a while and figured I’d share a small rebuild win since this sub is what convinced me to finally stop ignoring my credit and start tracking everything (just signed up for MyFICO this morning).

Around April 15th, my FICO 8s were roughly:

• Experian: 547
• Equifax: 556
• TransUnion: ~560

As of today:

• Equifax: 613 (+63)
• Experian: 599 (+52)
• TransUnion: 599 (+39)

What I changed:

• Paid off a closed SchoolsFirst card that had about $1,800 reporting (paid to $0 about 3 weeks ago, waiting for it to update)
• Current utilization still shows 94%, but should hopefully tank once that reports
• Paid a $618 Credit One charge-off and an old $68 Orange County Credit Union charge-off from years ago
• Experian removed the Credit One charge-off completely after a dispute and updated the $68 account to paid
• Still disputing some inaccuracies, including a child support late reporting issue on a $0 owed balance

I had a job loss in 2025 that caused:

• Truck loan: 2x 30-day, 2x 60-day, and 1x 90-day late
• Same lates on my current personal loan

Both have been current since Dec 2025.

For context, I also previously had:

• 1 auto loan paid in full perfectly
• 1 closed credit card in good standing
• 1 personal loan paid/closed with no issues

Still got work to do, but seeing a 40–60 point jump in ~6 weeks honestly has me motivated.

People who rebuilt from the 500s → 600s → 700s, what gave you the next biggest jump? Was it mostly utilization dropping or just time?

Hey guys. Looking to see what everyone is averaging MPG wise with their diesel’s. I built and ordered a 2026 F-350 Longbed Lariat with the ultimate package. It just came in a couple days ago.

What are you guys averaging city and highway?

I plan on adding a Carli lift and 38’s here in a couple months however until then I’m really wanting to know what to expect range wise now before doing so. Thanks gents.

This is a semi long post bear with me!

Long time lurker, first time poster. Wanted to share what I’ve been doing because I wish I had found something like this when I started. This is a detailed post but I think it’ll help people in similar situations maybe and also if any professionals here see something in my post that I got wrong or have done incorrectly and also if my projections of where my score should land is unrealistic.

Background
I went away for 22 months then came home from a federal stint in late 2024. My credit was actually around 650 when I got out because my partner had been proactively building and maintaining my credit while I was away secured cards, authorized user accounts, things like that. Really grateful for that.

But after I got home I went through about five months of unemployment while getting back on my feet. During that time I fell behind on my truck loan, a personal loan, and a credit card. (My credit union financed a $70k truck and a $20k personal loan for me). By the time I got stable employment (I was self employed prior to going in and when I got out things got off to a slow start) my score had dropped to 547. Two charge-offs, high utilization, and some late payments that hurt badly.
Once I got settled into a stable job I decided to attack everything systematically.

The biggest issue I’m told was child support reporting. Keep in mind I have 4 late payments each between my credit card, truck loan and personal loan all that hit 90day lates back in December of 2025 but all current since then.

I have two child support accounts reporting through my county:

Account 1: Had a monthly obligation that was administratively suspended when I went to federal prison. The child support agency sent me a letter signed by their own Director confirming the suspension. When I got out nobody told me payments were reinstating. The first Income Withholding Order sent to my actual employer showed $0 current child support. The obligation wasn’t formally reinstated until an Amended IWO about a year after my release. Yet the credit bureaus show a 180-day delinquency on an obligation their own documents confirm wasn’t active during that period.

Account 2: A judge signed a court order setting my child support to $0 per month commencing January 2021, continuing until further order of the court. There is literally no monthly payment ordered. Ever. Yet this account shows a 180-day delinquency. The credit report itself shows $0 scheduled payment every single month while simultaneously showing 180 days past due. That’s an internal contradiction on the face of the report itself. You cannot be late on $0.

Since I started working in July/August of 2025, child support sent an order to my work for the monthly payment which is now why it shows current since. They just pull from my paychecks. It’s kinda a needless mess prior to then.

What I did about it
I built a complete dispute package using the agency’s own documents against them:
\-The Director’s signed letter confirming the suspension
\-The actual court order signed by the judge showing $0
\-Four Income Withholding Orders showing $0 current support
\-An Amended IWO showing exactly when the obligation was reinstated and I sent certified mail dispute letters to all three bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion citing specific FCRA violations:

15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b) — failure to follow reasonable procedures to assure accuracy
15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a) — failure to conduct reasonable investigation upon dispute
15 U.S.C. § 1681n — willful noncompliance and statutory damages

I also sent a demand letter directly to the child support agency citing their liability as a data furnisher under § 1681s-2(a)(1)(A) and § 1681s-2(b).

The key thing I learned: Most people only dispute with the bureaus. The bureaus send an automated verification request to the furnisher who rubber stamps it and sends it back without any human ever reviewing it. The cycle never breaks. Going directly after the data furnisher simultaneously and filing a CFPB complaint is what breaks that cycle hopefully if they don’t comply with accurate reporting.

Other things I did simultaneously…

Paid off two charge-offs that were on my report ($618 dollars on a card that had a $300 limit and $68.00 old unpaid bank fee that was linked to an old company I owned)
Paid my recently closed credit card from nearly $1,900 down to $0 last week before the monthly reporting date. Hoping this should drop my utilization dramatically to $0 as I now have no cards practically. (Hopefully)
Got removed as an authorized user from a charged-off account that was showing over 100% utilization on one of my bureau reports also.
Maintained perfect on-time payments for 6 months on my active loans. I currently have only 1 credit card with a $200 limit and $0 balance, forgot about that one but it’s in good standing.

Where I started vs where I expect to be…

Today: 547 score, over 100% utilization, two paid charge-offs, paid off credit card, currently still 2 180-day delinquencies on two accounts I hope get fixed. I certified mailed in disputes to all 3 credit bureaus with exact documentation.

Expected in about 30 days: Score update reflecting $0 utilization on the card and possibly fixing of child support reporting.

If child support disputes succeed: Potentially 650-680+ according to Claude ai and ChatGPT 🤷🏽‍♂️

Key lessons learned

1. The data furnisher is the key.
2. Use their own documents against them.
3. I didn’t need outside evidence. The agency’s own Director’s letter and their own enforcement orders contradicted their own credit reporting. That’s the strongest possible dispute their paperwork against their reporting.
4. Cite specific FCRA statutes.
5. File CFPB simultaneously.
6. A federal regulator watching means a human has to respond not an automated system. This is what breaks the loop for people who’ve been going in circles like myself.
7. Time your payments to reporting dates.
8. Call your creditors and ask when they report to the bureaus. Pay before that date and capture the full improvement on the next cycle.

Still to come..

CFPB complaint once bureau responses arrive in about 30-45 days if the reporting agency and bureaus don’t fix their updates.

Goodwill letter to my credit union asking them to remove late payments once I hit 9 months of consecutive on-time payments.

I know a lot of my dragged down score is my recent late payments 6 months ago however I’m really hoping that by getting the child support reporting corrected and my utilization now to $0 and charge offs paid my score jumps up considerably. Thoughts? And any help or if I missed something is appreciated!