The loan company attaches a code when they report, and this code tells the scoring formula that it was a CFL. This code is not viewable on any of the consumer versions (full or abbreviated) that I've seen. I don't know if other creditors can see it, or if they even care.
There is a score ding because it is considered that these loans are gotten by the desperate, which is ridiculous. I got one from Wells Fargo Finance because it hit my mailbox at the right time, and I didn't know any better. At the time, I had a late (well, duh!
), but nothing else, and I certainly could have gotten a signature loan from my CU if I had thought that it would be better. I used it to pay off a CC that had been used for college tuition after an unexpected change in financial aid, and I did so in 8 months instead of the 3-year term. And it's even stupider for such things as furniture payments. Eons ago, when DH and I were first married, we bought a gi-normous china cabinet and paid it off in three months, just to help establish credit.
At any rate, my WFF loan does report as a loan, not as revolving. I haven't gotten any flags on it, because I'm always getting scolded about lates instead. The CFL penalty falls in the "credit mix" category, which is only 10% of your score, and it's a small part of that 10%. I suppose that if it's still on my records when I start approaching 800 --Lord, what a concept! --I might write WFF and ask if they would stop reporting it. But actually, I found them to be great to work with, and I'm grateful that they were there when I needed them. (I do know others are much less happy with Wells Fargo...)
There is a score ding because it is considered that these loans are gotten by the desperate, which is ridiculous. I got one from Wells Fargo Finance because it hit my mailbox at the right time, and I didn't know any better. At the time, I had a late (well, duh!
), but nothing else, and I certainly could have gotten a signature loan from my CU if I had thought that it would be better. I used it to pay off a CC that had been used for college tuition after an unexpected change in financial aid, and I did so in 8 months instead of the 3-year term. And it's even stupider for such things as furniture payments. Eons ago, when DH and I were first married, we bought a gi-normous china cabinet and paid it off in three months, just to help establish credit.At any rate, my WFF loan does report as a loan, not as revolving. I haven't gotten any flags on it, because I'm always getting scolded about lates instead. The CFL penalty falls in the "credit mix" category, which is only 10% of your score, and it's a small part of that 10%. I suppose that if it's still on my records when I start approaching 800 --Lord, what a concept! --I might write WFF and ask if they would stop reporting it. But actually, I found them to be great to work with, and I'm grateful that they were there when I needed them. (I do know others are much less happy with Wells Fargo...)
