topic Re: What did I do? in Understanding FICO® Scoring

What did I do?

goose1 — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:23:34 GMT

Asking for help fellow ficoer's. I was at 788 in Equifax for a while with AAoA at 5.7, oldest account 15 years, UTI less than 1% and no negatives at all. So I applied for Discover IT and approved but the account hasn't shown up yet, but only the INQ which stands at 3. I recently paid off a loan which brought my revolving accounts down to 2 ( was previously getting negative indicators because I had 3). Long story short (too late I know) but now my EQ FICO is 762.I'm deploying for the next 7 months so its not huge but plan on buying a home when I return and want the best rates. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what happened?

Re: What did I do?

goose1 — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:35:14 GMT

Sorry I forgot to add I was at 788. Cant figure out how I lost 26 points...

Re: What did I do?

Booner72 — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 00:05:19 GMT

The higher your scores the harder inquiries count. That is what happened, pending nothing else changed you didn't mention.

Your revolving account still counts toward AAoA even if closed - but if it's a loan, are you sure it isn't an installment account?

Be prepared to take another hit when the new credit card hits as that will lower your AAoA. But you will recoup fast.

Overall, you are worrying about nothing anyway. You will get the best rates.

Re: What did I do?

goose1 — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 00:11:17 GMT

Thanks Booner. I know your right but it just seemed like a huge drop. If I took 26 points for the INQ I really concerned about the account. I guess we'll see. I will update

Re: What did I do?

goose1 — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 00:15:41 GMT

Sorry Boon, one more thing. It was a motorcycle loan I started in Dec 2011 and paid off last month. I kept getting dinged on my (other reports) and FICO so decided to pay it off. 26 points later here I am. I am in no way mad, I am only here (788) due to MYFICO forum members but very curious.

Re: What did I do?

my-own-fico — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 01:12:57 GMT

It was hauling, a noted Moderator Emerita, Community Leader and Epic Contributor, who once wrote that "in my experience, the first inq on EQ is "free", meaning no score drop. The second costs 3-5 points. Then the third one is free, and the fourth costs a few more points."

OP, I'm not sure what you mean by "only the INQ which stands at 3", but if your number of inquiries from within the last year is 1 or 3, then that first or that third inquiry may not decrease your score, in which case of course your drop is a mystery.

Re: What did I do?

GregB — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 02:55:00 GMT

A single Inq or is it 3?

A revolving loan paid off or was it a motorcycle loan?

NOTHING is clear here.

Re: What did I do?

bobebob — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 03:12:09 GMT

my-own-fico wrote:
It was hauling, a noted Moderator Emerita, Community Leader and Epic Contributor, who once wrote that "in my experience, the first inq on EQ is "free", meaning no score drop. The second costs 3-5 points. Then the third one is free, and the fourth costs a few more points."

OP, I'm not sure what you mean by "only the INQ which stands at 3", but if your number of inquiries from within the last year is 1 or 3, then that first or that third inquiry may not decrease your score, in which case of course your drop is a mystery.

I don't know, my second inq hit last month and my score didn't change from 806.

Re: What did I do?

GregB — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 03:33:38 GMT

I have seen most examples showing a hit going from 0 to 1. Very little or none going from 1 to 2.

Re: What did I do?

Booner72 — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:35:31 GMT

GregB, I agree with you and maybe I should change my answer. Becuase we had TONS of inquiries in 2011 and didn't see any major drops ,only the first ones.

I also agree that there are some unclear things here.

OP _ What do you mean you "Kept getting dinged on your other reports?" You mean non-fico scores, like Credit Karma and Sesame? If so, they calculate that score differently than FICO does. And since most lenders use FICO, then that is the one you want to know about.