Credit Score dropped (ideas?)

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

I recently found out that my credit score dropped about 100 points in 6 months. It was over 700 and is now in the low 600s. I pulled my report, I don't see anything unusual.

Any ideas what happened?

 

[jiminy14]

Did you open any new charge accounts? This will affect your credit score especially if you already have several CC with high spending limits.

 

[CALNEVA DISNEYFANS]

High balance to credit limit. Pay down card, do not payoff and cancel card.

 

[barkley]

are you being "good" and not using credit cards? this can actualy be terrible for your credit rating. one of the factors used is debt to credit ratio, they look at how much credit you have available to use and how much you actualy use. so if you have cancelled all or most of your cards and never use them it results in this criteria being ranked lower. i've been told that it's a good idea to keep a couple/few cards active (not spend on them-just keep the account open) so that you high score for this criteria.

 

[keishashadow]

Consistently making minimum payments is detrimental.

Maxing out cards is never a good idea.

Conversely, paying off accounts & cancelling cards can also be a problem if your credit history is not "established".

High spending limits on multiple cards can be a problem too.

Many folks are surprised that medical bills & ultility payments appear on credit reports.

When you do cancel a card ask that it be noted "closed @ customer's request".

Credit scores are somewhat subjective, not unusual to see them range 20 - 30 points a month.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Are you able to get a copy of the report? I will show you where the changes occurred and hence, can make plans to correct them.

Many times, these companies make mistakes. It's better to act now on them instead of dealing with it later.

Good Luck.

 

[tinatark]

Consistently making minimum payments is detrimental.


Many folks are surprised that medical bills & ultility payments appear on credit reports.

When you do cancel a card ask that it be noted "closed @ customer's request".

Credit scores are somewhat subjective, not unusual to see them range 20 - 30 points a month.

Whether you make the minimum payment or more is not noted on your credit report - whether you made the payment or not is.

Medical Bills and Utility payments are reported when you DON'T pay - they're not trade lines, usually are collection/judgement items

Your score will not be affected whether your account is noted *closed* or *closed at consumer request* - your payment history will be more telling than a statement like one of those.

Credit Scores are NOT subjective, actually they're based on a very complicated matrix - many factors are considered.

 

[keishashadow]

Whether you make the minimum payment or more is not noted on your credit report - whether you made the payment or not is.

Medical Bills and Utility payments are reported when you DON'T pay - they're not trade lines, usually are collection/judgement items

Your score will not be affected whether your account is noted *closed* or *closed at consumer request* - your payment history will be more telling than a statement like one of those.

Credit Scores are NOT subjective, actually they're based on a very complicated matrix - many factors are considered.

Sorry, but YES, whether you pay the min or not is indeed on your report.

It is important to indicate that an account is closed per your request. If you're consolidating or transferring a couple of balances to a lower rate card, several closed accounts can set up a red flag, if not noted by the consumer.

Yes, there is a very complicated system in place to determine the actual scores and they are subjective in the sense that they can vary widely from one reporting agency to the other - always good to pull all 3 reports if there are discrepencies on even one report.

Two additional items I didn't think of when I posted earlier:
1. Each time you apply for credit it is noted in your report (along w/the standard updates your creditors do once or twice a year). Applying for "too many" credit cards in a short period of time is also seen negatively.

2. Court-ordered child support is also noted, along w/delinquencies.

I am basing my comments on over 15 years in the banking industry and many other years as a Realtor, seeing many different credit reports & FICO scores.

 

[tink2dw]

Having been in the mortgage processing business, I take over from the Realtor and Loan Officers, to get your Mortgage loan approved and funded, there is a whole long list of items that can affect your credit rating,
1.having your credit pulled by
a car dearers
b insurance agents, even if they tell you it won't, it will
c credit cards
d. OR even you!! If you look at it more than 1 a year, you will lower your scores.

I learned a new thing about credit cards!! If it says payment due may 1st,but they have a grace period for payments,anything after the 1st is still considered late even if you paid it, they will still report it late!!! So, may sure ALL payments are paid by the due date!! Especially Mortgage and Credit Cards payments.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

Thank you all for your input. I figured it out. I had recently applied for several increases in various limits to do the credit card shuffle.

To answer some questions:

Yes, I am being "good" and not using my cards with balances. However I do use several cards (retail) without balances (and pay off in 2 months) on a semi-regular basis.

I am of the school pay them off and leave the oldest ones open. I have about 10 cards (mostly retail) showing up as "closed at customer request" on my report from my *younger days*.

I pay more than my minimum on all my cards every month.

I have yet to read anything that says pulling your own report more than once a year is bad for your score instead saying pull your report and pull it often to check for errors.

 

[minnie1928]

d. OR even you!! If you look at it more than 1 a year, you will lower your scores.

If you inquiry your credit, it is not considered a chargeable activity. There are 2 types of charges: 1. Hard pulls and 2. Soft pulls

1. Hard pulls are when you apply for credit and the bank (or whomever) checks your credit.
2. Soft pulls are when you look at your report,when another company checks your report for marketing purposes, my employer also looks at employee credit scores randomly, etc. It is listed on your credit report, but it's not counted against you.

Think about it....in this age of identity theft they are not going to penalize you for watching your score. I frequent www.creditboards.com a good bit (trying to clean up mom's credit) and there are people there that pull their report every day! And their scores don't reflect it.

 

[deltachi8]

I pull mine (credit report that is) every day, and my scores are not effected by it.

 

[geetey]

Where do you find your credit score? We rotate pulling our credit reports (1 company at a time, every 4 months), but I haven't even found a spot that says this is your credit score. Am I missing it?

 

[MagicalMom]

Where do you find your credit score? We rotate pulling our credit reports (1 company at a time, every 4 months), but I haven't even found a spot that says this is your credit score. Am I missing it?

You can get your score from myfico.com. It will be a soft pull & not affect your credit at all. You can get more info from creditboards.com.

 

[pongoperdigirl]

As working in the banking industry as well I must say that I have not seen once where it is noted on a credit report as to whether or not you make a minimum payment is noted, it only shows whether or not you are current. I think it all depends on the agency that you are pulling from.

Cancelling cards is not the best idea, as it lowers your capacity and capacity is one of the factors in your credit score. Also cancelling a trade line that has been open a long time can be detremental.

 

[HayGan]

Sorry, but YES, whether you pay the min or not is indeed on your report.

What your minimum payment is not the payment you actually made is reported on your credit report. As you know it is used in calculating debt ratios. Any lender will base your debt ratio on the minimum that you owe not the actual payments that you make.

 

[keishashadow]

I've seen people be told to close large (unused) credit lines before a mortgage company will finance.

Also, worked w/a couple buying their 1st home. They were so close on debt to income the mortgage rep warned them not to charge anything. He stressed over & over than they had received a preliminary pre-qualification, not a pre-approval. Of course, they went out & bought furniture for the new house before the approval & "poof" up in smoke went their home...but they had very nice furniture to put into their apartment.

 

[tink2dw]

Yeh, people buying a home or refi-ing seem to think it's time to lease a new car,too, poof no home loan. Or they decide it's time to change jobs again, poof no home loan.

If your are Purchasing a home or refinancing do yourself a favor and freeze your credit cards in a bowel of water and keep them there until the escrow company tells you the house is your AND you have the keys in your hands or they call you to come pick-up your check Please just hold off on changing anything till you have that check!!!

Of course there is more to qualifing for a mortgage than just your credit score. Your credit score helps to get you more choses of Loan programs. You must have enough income to cover the cost of the mortgage and your other debt. Your loan officer needs to help find you the best loan program for your situation. And lastly once a program that fits is found your credit score helps to get you a good Interest rate.

Good luck with your Credit Scores!!

 

[CajunDixie]

Whether you make the minimum payment or more is not noted on your credit report - whether you made the payment or not is.

A huge factor in credit card debt is the balance to available credit ratio. For example if you have a card with $2,000 CL (credit limit) you should only have a balance of $500 or less for a better score than a balance of $700. The min. payment doesn't matter, it is the amount of the available balance that you use. I've seen it suggested that every 4-6 months you charge about 25% of the CL then immediately pay it off for the best score possible for that TL (tradeline).

Now if you're buying or refinancing, then yes lenders will look at all your bills and figure out what you can afford to pay monthly. BUT that is a separate issue from your FICO score.

 

[tinatark]

If you do not make at least your minimum payment, and your account is 30 days past due, it is reported as such. If you consistently pay within your grace period, but still late, it will affect you if a creditor asks for a reference from that lender. There were many people, in my 15 years as a credit manager, who were denied for in house credit line increases due to payment history - many people know 30 days delinquent is the *magic* number for reporting - will pay just before that.