topic Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 22:00:46 GMT

I Last checked my Eqifax Fico score 7 months ago. It was suggested that I start using my credit card and pay the balance immediately to show activity. (was not using credit card) Well I have done just that and my score has not moved, not even 1 point, still exactly the same as 7 months ago. In fact my credit report says " ... no recent activity on card ... " I have been using the card for 7 months! It was said in forum, after about 90 days of credit card activity, my score would improve. Should I appeal this score? I have a 20 year credit history, average age of account is 10 years, only 2 delinquent accounts 60 days late, both very old, one of of which is 6 years 1 month and the other 5 years 9 months old.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

tboy1977 — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 23:49:27 GMT

preach to the choir. i have 18 months of history post bk and i cannot see six hundred points to save my life.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:28:58 GMT

To expand on my question above, my report states that there is no recent activity on my credit card ( part of the scoring model?) yet the report is accurately showing the last activity under that account is August, 2012.

I think the scoring model is incorrect since it egnores my last 7 months of activity on that account.

How do I report this, to whom?

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

llecs — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 01:17:51 GMT

Going back to the basics....

Were both scores pulled via myFICO.com?

Were any accounts added within the past year besides the CC?

Did any accounts disappear off your CR?

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 02:33:38 GMT

Ilecs:

In last 7 months, both reports purchased from myfico.com and both from Equifax.

No accounts added in last 6 years.

An old paid off account from over 10 years ago dropped off, and in the meantime, my credit history increased from plus 19 years to plus 20 years and my last delinquent account became older by 7 months to 5 years 10 months.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

llecs — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 02:55:26 GMT

The older account dropping may or may not be an issue. Depends if it was the oldest installment, revolving, or whatever it was. Also depends if AAoA changed.

Do you still happen to have the older myFICO EQ report? If so, start by comparing the positive and negative items listed on pages 2 and 3 of your FICO report. These are a rank, in order, what helps and what hurts the most. Start with these as a guide. Focus on #1 and #2 on that list, whatever it may be.

Do you have any other open CCs aside from the one? What's the util on that card?

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 02:57:49 GMT

...the old 10 year account that was removed, was prior to the credit reports purchased in last 7 months.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:13:38 GMT

Yes, the two reports in last 7 months are identical, except that that I have a longer credit history and 7 more months since last delinquent account. Nothing else changed.

In the last 7 months I began using my credit card to show activity. The scoring model: #1 Good. #2 Very Good. #3 Great. #4 Great. The report says I have no activity on my credit report, which is wrong. In fact, the report states under that account, my last activity was August, 2012.

The scoring model is not reflecting my 7 months of activity and is wrong.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:23:38 GMT

I can see that the scoring model is not reflecting my 7 months of credit card activity because it states ... " you have no recent activity on your credit card " I believe that is why my score is identical to 7 months ago.

This is wrong and I want to report this and have it corrected. How do I do this?

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

llecs — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:27:39 GMT

What's the #1 and #2 negative reasons on your FICO report (pg 2...if you don't mind me asking)?

If payment history is "good", then there is a baddie or baddies present that are holding things back. Look on your Accounts page. You mentioned a negative account. Look on the Accounts page and look for any account with a red flag. Those with a red flag are holding your score back in some way or another.

If "very good" is listed for Amount of Debt. There could be utilization issues holding your score down. What's your current util?

Where is the lack of activity ranked at? #3? #4?

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:47:43 GMT

"you have a serious delinquency .... " I have 2 accounts listed with 60 day lates, one is 6 years 1 month old, the other is 5 years 9 months old.

"There is no recent activity on your credit cards." That is wrong, I have 7 months of activity on my credit card.

Two accounts listed with red flags, the two just listed above, both old, one 6 years 1 month old and the other 5 years 9 months old.

I have 3 open accounts, all current with no delinquencies. The last delinquent account reported is 5 years 9 months old.

Postives: " you have a established credit history"

" Your paying bills on time"

" you have many accounts in good standing"

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

llecs — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:53:38 GMT

On the whole, 7 months on one CC isn't fulfilling that recent history. Seven months of reporting is very short. You'll need to give it more time. And that's not hurting you the most anyway. It's only a smaller part. The baddies are a major score drain based on what you mentioned. You might see a small increase once that CC hits a year, but there won't bee too much movement with those baddies reporting. Have you tried sending GW letters?

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 04:32:09 GMT

First of all, the 2 accounts, very old. Should have much less effect? Am I correct according to everything I read in these forums? After all 6 years olds?

My point, part of the score model is wrong, it says "I have no recent activity on my credit card." That is not correct. Because the model is not reading my activity, I believe that is why my score has not increased and that to is wrong. I want to report this and have that corrected. Can you tell me the best way to do this?

I'm a novice, don't understand some of your abbreviations. What are GW letters?

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

llecs — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 04:51:46 GMT

They hurt until the very end, depending on the reporting and depending on what remains on your CR. Some have seen large double-digit gains when their last baddie drops like a 90 day late, charge-off, collection, judgment, etc. My DW gained 30 just by having a paid CapOne CC CO drop at the 7.5 yr mark.

Based on the "Good" status for payment history and being at the #1 negative slot, there's a lot of weight there on those baddies.

Example letters - PFDs, GWs, DVs, etc.

If that CC is reporting every single month, 'OKs' are being added, and the status or reported date is changing monthly, and there's no dispute comment, then it's fully scored. 7 months isn't a lot of history, especially with only one CC. That comment could also be indicative of a lack of mix of credit. If you only have one CC, you'd gain by adding a second. You also won't see monthly increases for having a CC. You can go months/years without a change, especially with your current AAoA and length of history. But I bet you might see a bump with a 2nd being added. And as always, get all CCs to report $0 except for one and get the one to report a balance of under 9% of the CL.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 05:13:48 GMT

Thank you so much for all your comments. I stopped using my cc after they increased the rate from 5.5% to 15.9%. Was paying everything with a debit card. 7 months ago, decided to use the cc and pay fast to avoid interest charged and only to show activity at suggestion of this forum. I have no need for a second card, would not use it. I'm 66 and retired, don't need to buy a lot of stuff as before at a younger age.

Still want to report the error, I have had 7 months of activity on my cc and for this new Fico cr to say " I have no recent activity on my credit card" is wrong! I want that corrected. I paid for the report and it s not accurate. How do I get it corrected please?

Thank you.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

llecs — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:40:47 GMT

When's the last time you used the CC?

ETA...I'll add that there are many FICO formulas out there and were developed via input from lenders. Whether you pull your report from here or your lender pulls it, you'll see the same thing. It doesn't change from person to person; it's uniform for everyone.

If you haven't used the CC in several months, then that can be a possible cause to the comment.

If you do use it regularly then I'd surmise the 7 months isn't long enough time. Using one CC for only 7 months doesn't show enough use. It's not an error.

BTW, you don't have to use a CC every month. Just at least once every 3-4 months. Use it for a cup of coffee or a pack of gum. In fact, to avoid temptation as soon as I get my CCs, I cut them up and only use the numbers to pay phone, gas, electric, cell phone, etc. That way I avoid temptation to use it at a store or blow through my budget.

And FICO would go up with the addition with the second CC. Again, you don't have to use it monthly. Just use it for a cup of coffee somewhere and pay in full or use it for a utility or automatic payment. Your FICO score would increase because the lack of mix is holding back your FICO.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

jeffriesde — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:37:15 GMT

One thing I noticed in this thread... OP said he is using the card and paying it off immediatly. So there is no Util reporting. That could be the reason that CR is saying the card has not activity.

Try to let $10 report on your statement and see what your credit score does after that.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:49:31 GMT

If you read my first comment to start the thread, 7 months ago, I was on this forum, it was suggested that I start using my CC to show activity. It was said I would see a improvement in my score if I show CC activity. I did just that, for the last 7 months, I used it twice a month, then payed immediately. The usage generated statements from the CC holder. The last time the CC was used is this month and the new credit report was pulled yesterday.

The new credit report in fact reports the last August activity under the CC account, HOWEVER AND THIS IS MY POINT, IT INCORRECTLY STATES "YOUR CREDIT CARD SHOWS NO ACTIVITY ... " THIS IS INCORRECT. THIS IS PART OF THE SCORING MODEL AND THE MODEL IS NOT READING MY CC ACTIVITY!

You say 7 months is not enough, okay I will accept that, but THE REPORT IS SAYING I HAVE NO CREDIT CARD ACTIVITY IN THE SCORING MODEL! THIS NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED ON MY REPORT. I have proof to show I made purchases every month for the last 7 months. It is an error and needs to be corrected. If you can provide me with contacts to report this, I would appreciate it.

Look, I don't like using the credit card that I have, let alone a second one. I use a debit card for everything. I only started using the CC to show activity as suggested by this forum to increase my score.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

fico64 — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:55:26 GMT

Jeffriesde,

The new CR is reporting the activity under the account, but the scoring part states " You have no activity on your credit card" that is what I am objecting to. The scoring model is not reading my 7 months of activity.

Thanks for your comment.

Re: Fico Score did not improve after 7 month credit card activity

jeffriesde — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:02:39 GMT

The problem with the scoring model is that it does NOT have access to your CC account. Only to what the CCC reports to them. So if you use it and pay it off before the statement date, the CCC is going to report $0 balance. So for 7 months the CCC has reported that you have a $0 balance, this looks like NO activity, no matter how many times you have maxed out the card and paid it off during the month. Does that make sense? I am not sure if I am explaining it well.