I used to call every card offer a trap, then I actually read my credit report in March

Diana Burns · 2026-10-03T14:35:05.725791+00:00

For a long time I just paid minimums on my one Capital One card and ignored the mail, mostly because a guy at a dealership back in 2019 scared me about inquiries. In March I pulled my free report from AnnualCreditReport.com and saw a 30 day late from 2022 on a store card I forgot existed, plus my use was sitting at 78 percent. I paid that card down to about 12 percent over two months and my score went from 612 to 689, which I did not think was possible that fast. The late mark still stings and I know it hangs around for a while, but I finally get why people harp on use rate so much. Does anyone know if calling the store card company about a goodwill removal is worth the hassle, or am I wasting my time?

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I used to call every card offer a trap, then I actually read my credit report in March | Credit Advice - Thought Shares