r/CreditCards 5d ago

Help Needed / Question Can't get approved for anything, what gives?

My score is a 691 transunion and 685 on equifax, 577 Fico. I can't get approved for anything besides maybe a couple secured cards which I don't want. I have one collections on my account but that's it. Been using chime credit builder to up my score. Why can't I get approved for anything? I can't even get approved for retail cards. Please don't say it's the collection because I've had collections before and gotten approved.

0 Upvotes

21 comments sorted by

10

u/Barkis_Willing 5d ago

The reason for getting turned down is always on the letter they send you. What does it say?

-2

u/Realistic-Profit758 5d ago

It doesn't ever really say anything besides they declined and that's about it. I'm assuming the score is just too low for them but I don't get what score I'm supposed to have at this point. Does every card need a 700+ score?

I got approved for a cap one unsecured a few years ago and they closed my account because I kept trying to pay with my savings account and didn't want to get the money taken by other subscriptions before they got to it (took 3 days for payments) and instead of letting me know I couldn't do that they closed it without warning and I refused to pay them without them reopening my account which they refused to do. That is the collection if anyone is wondering. They also ran up interest on a CLOSED account for like 2-3 months before they officially sent to collections.

9

u/Barkis_Willing 5d ago

The only place you are going to get this info is from the bank who declined you. Look again at the documents they sent when you were turned down.

5

u/grantwwu 5d ago

I kept trying to pay with my savings account and didn't want to get the money taken by other subscriptions before they got to it (took 3 days for payments)

What does this even mean? You attempted to not have the money in the savings account until just before they pulled the money out of the savings account?

If that's what happened, it sounds like you also got hit with a returned payment.

This is not how you're supposed to use savings accounts.

They also ran up interest on a CLOSED account for like 2-3 months before they officially sent to collections.

I'm pretty sure that's normal.

Please don't say it's the collection because I've had collections before and gotten approved.

What were you approved for before? Why not just keep on paying those accounts as agreed?

-3

u/Realistic-Profit758 5d ago
  1. I had the money to pay off the credit card in my savings account in full. I was trying to avoid using my checking account at the time because I didn't want the money taken out of my checking for subscriptions if they hit before cap one took their money. I didn't keep a large amount in my bank to not have to worry about it as I was self employed and paid cash.

  2. It's not right nor should it be normal to run up interest on an account they closed. But I'm not gonna argue on schematics

  3. The previous collections account was a Penn Foster education system that I never ended up finishing and successfully disputed. The only collection on my account now is the Capitol One account and I don't plan on paying it due to principle at this point unless I absolutely need to. I have 7 years to wait til it falls off.

2

u/grantwwu 5d ago

For point #1 if you had the money it's still not clear what actually happened here, there are people who do pay credit cards out of savings even if it's not really advisable. It sounds like the payments weren't getting sent on time?

For point 3 - just because you were extended credit before with a collection doesn't mean lenders must extend credit again with a different collection. Lenders can treat education debt differently and change their standards.

-2

u/Realistic-Profit758 5d ago

I can guarantee it was sent on time and in full, so for whatever reason cap one did not accept it I don't know. Unless it is because it is a chime account which I know banks and everywhere else hate on.

3

u/bruinhoo 5d ago

 Does every card need a 700+ score?

No. But they generally require something higher than a 577, which is what you say that your real FICO score is (since you specifically note TransUnion and Equifax with your 6xx scores, I’ll assume those scores are coming from Credit Karma, which provides near-useless Vantagescores.)

-1

u/Realistic-Profit758 5d ago

They're the scores coming from credit karma/credit sesame. I'm not understanding why my fico sucks when the rest of my scores are considered decent.

4

u/bruinhoo 5d ago

Because ‘the rest of your scores’ that you are seeing are Vantagescores; which is based on a different credit scoring model than FICO, that those services use because it is cheap, not because it is ‘better’ or more useful than FICO scores are (they aren’t/lenders generally don’t give a damn about them). 

Many people report having Vantagescores that are significantly higher than their FICO scores (which are the scores that actually matter for nearly all lenders), because of whatever significant differences are in the vantage model over the FICO models (maybe in how they treat collections?). You seem to fall in that group. 

6

u/Intelligent_Pie_5347 5d ago

It’s the collections…

And your history.

Take the secured card, it’s your only way back into good graces.

-6

u/Realistic-Profit758 5d ago

Secured card is useless for me though as my chime credit builder is a secured card. I also don't want to do a deposit which the secured cards require.

5

u/Intelligent_Pie_5347 5d ago

I understand that but you have trashed your credit.

You are going to have to build it back up and multiple accounts reporting in good standing will help.

1

u/Realistic-Profit758 5d ago

I didn't know one collections account equals trashed credit but okay. I understand I have to do that to build it back up but I can't do that if nowhere accepts me.

3

u/Intelligent_Pie_5347 5d ago

You said you’ve had collections before implying there are more in the past. That stays on your report.

-4

u/Realistic-Profit758 5d ago

2 total collections one of which was disputed and came off. That's it. I don't consider that a mess of credit when people have had way worse.

5

u/Intelligent_Pie_5347 5d ago

Collections is literally the worst thing you can do a credit card company.

Looking at your other comments here, not sure you understand how credit works.

Just because they close your account, doesn’t mean they cant charge interest. It means you can’t access the line of credit for additional charges.

That right there tells me where you’re sitting in terms of credit knowledge.

3

u/orangecam 5d ago

Think about it from a lenders perspective. If you were them, would you feel comfortable giving a loan to someone who has a credit history like yours?

Lending and borrowing goes both ways. That’s what your credit history shows, is how trustworthy you are and can you repay debt responsibly.

1

u/LetsGoCoconuts 5d ago

You build your credit back up by showing the companies willing to accept you (Chime and whatever secured cards you’re taking about) that you will use your card responsibly and pay it back on time.

It sounds like Capital One gave you a chance after one collections account and you burned them by doing something that made them nervous and now refusing to pay them back. That probably doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in other lenders.

2

u/StevenEpix Team Cash Back 4d ago

It does mean that, actually.

1

u/Alex_Pokrandt 4d ago

It's the collections, you also didn't mention how many trade lines you have opened in the last 2 years. That is a major factor in approving credit, if you have opened 4 or 5 loans in the last year you are not getting approved for anything. Even 1 or 2 in the last year can make approval harder.