How can I bring my score back up?

[Anonymous]

Heya everybody. Im relatively young, got my social in 08 when I applied for a secured credit card from B of A. In 09 it became unsecured and I also got a secured one from citibank. with just those two accounts by using them and paying it off on time, my score was in the 750s for maybe a year. All until I decided to apply for amex platinum which i did. I got approved and also got a car loan. On top of that im also added as an authorized user on another amex account, which is reported as my own. Now my score is 728 EQ and 732 EX and TU

My current account/limits/balances as follows:

1 B of A unsecured 10000 CL high balance 2k current balance 120 which i always pay off i used my credit cards as charge cards more, never paid min payment.

1 CITI secured 5000 CL no high balance...ive used it but always paid before the end of statement so 0 was reported always.

1 Car loan 11520 left over 5 years...

1 AMEX platinum High balance 8,5k current balance 4k

1 Centurion amex where i am just as an authorized user, it shows high balance 75k curent balance 40k

Now i dont know what I can do to bring my score back to the 750s...pay off my instlment loan? Pay 5k of it so its a smaller loan? but keep the rest for at least a year to build history...

the centurion account is good because it increases my average account age to 2,4 years, the account being opened since 02.

Also the main account holders home address showed on my CR which I hate..anything I can do to change that?

PS: I forgot to add that I have 7 inquiries on EX ... two are dropping in april.

Any advice is welcomed, thanks in advance.

C.

[llecs]

Welcome to the forums!

If you got all 3 scores from the same source, and if that source wasn't from a lender, then you don't have your FICO scores. As of 2 yrs ago, it became impossible for consumers to purchase their EX FICO score, though you can still get it from your lender. Many sites out there sell credit products with scores but they don't offer FICO scores, but a knock-off we call a FAKO. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd guess that your actual FICO scores are higher.

[Anonymous]

hey thanks, thats crazy i didnt know that. So why are we all payng to get our FAKE oh sorry i meant FAKO scores? This is such a rpoff it doesnt say aywhere.

Thanks for the info tho.

[llecs]

"Credit scores" are heavily promoted in the media, commercials, etc. Companies or entities like freecreditreport, creditchecktotal, consumerinfo, freescore.com, Privacy Guard, TrueCredit, and many, many others decided to capitalize on this by creating a competing score. Unfortunately their product is subpar in relation to a FICO and such a terrible predictor of risk that lenders won't even touch these scores.

FICO is predominately used by lenders, especially per mortgage lending. You can currently purchase your EQ FICO from myFICO or from a hard-to-find location within Equifax.com. You can only get your TU FICO from myFICO. And you can't purchase your EX FICO from anywhere. You can get all 3 FICOs from your lender of course and you can get your FICOs from various lenders, especially CUs, as a provided service on your statement or wherever. If the service you are purchasing scores from doesn't say "FICO" anywhere, then they aren't FICO scores. Now that's not to say the information from the reports is bad. I use a service that provides FAKOs, but I ignore the scores and advice, but focus on the report data.

[MarineVietVet]

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

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@Anonymous wrote:

hey thanks, thats crazy i didnt know that. So why are we all payng to get our FAKE oh sorry i meant FAKO scores? This is such a rpoff it doesnt say aywhere.

Thanks for the info tho.

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Because the companies selling us those "credit scores" are making a lot of money and if they properly educated the public their cash cow would go away. Don't feel bad. I didn't know about FAKO's until I came here.

No one has been able to buy their own Experian FICO score since February of 2009. Creditors can pull Experian and also there is a CU (PSECU) in Pennsylvania that supplies that information to it's members only. You can only buy true FICO scores at a few places. One place is here at myFICO. I suggest you do an internet search for "myfico discount codes" to save a little money.

At one time you could also purchase your Transunion score at www.transunioncs.com but that site seems to be having problems lately. At www.equifax.com EQ will still sell you an EQ FICO score but you have to look very hard to find it.

Edited to add: Out typed by llecs! 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info, ill quit my freecreditreport.com ongoing subscription..i feel so stupid now hehe.

Id appreciate a hint as to where I would find the hidden way to see your fico off equifax.com..cant seem to find it.

[Anonymous]

Nvm I got it.

[llecs]

Note that Equifax.com does sell scores, but not all of them are FICO scores. EQ does sell their version of ScoreWatch which does have an EQ FICO. They also sell a stand-alone report with EQ FICO but it's really difficult to find. It's actually cheaper to get the same through here too. EQ also sells a couple of services like Equifax Credit Complete. They offer scores for all 3 but they aren't FICOs.

[MarineVietVet]

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@llecs wrote:

Note that Equifax.com does sell scores, but not all of them are FICO scores. EQ does sell their version of ScoreWatch which does have an EQ FICO. They also sell a stand-alone report with EQ FICO but it's really difficult to find. It's actually cheaper to get the same through here too. EQ also sells a couple of services like Equifax Credit Complete. They offer scores for all 3 but they aren't FICOs.

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Amen to this. Be very careful and make sure it says "FICO" score before you buy anything from EQ.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[OnTheRebound]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Nvm I got it.

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Do you mind sharing?