12 point drop from Trans Union - why?

[Anonymous]

I just got an alert stating this...

I setup a $500 secured credit card through Wells Fargo in mid-March.

As of last week, I had $261 in charges on the card.

3 days ago I paid the balance in full - even thought the first payment for the card is not due until May.

Now I have lost 12 points.

Now I know my utilization was a bit high, but at the same the first payment / bill wasn't even due until May, and as now there is about $15 on the card.

So basically if I use my card I am penalized points.

Wow.

[Scupra]

Do you have any other cards? FICO likes to see a small balance on one and 0 on all others. If that is your only card and it reported a $0 bal, that is why you got a score drop. Good thing is that FICO has NO memory and you will get those points back by letting less than 10% util report. Keep your head up, you are not being penalized for using the card

[ezdriver]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I just got an alert stating this...

I setup a $500 secured credit card through Wells Fargo in mid-March.

As of last week, I had $261 in charges on the card.

3 days ago I paid the balance in full - even thought the first payment for the card is not due until May.

Now I have lost 12 points.

Now I know my utilization was a bit high, but at the same the first payment / bill wasn't even due until May, and as now there is about $15 on the card.

So basically if I use my card I am penalized points.

Wow.

---

Maybe if we knew enough about your overall credit profile, we'd be better able to provide more than a guess for feedback. Personally, I focus on one's credit profile as that's what produces the scores. Focusing on scores is akin to driving while looking into the rearview mirror.

[Anonymous]

No, I only have 1 credit card.....

The only other things that have happened in the last month, is that I have paid in full 2 collections, and I also had 2 hard inquiries from 2013 slated to go off my report.

I cannot stress enought that the first payment on this secure card is not due until May 21.

A 12 point deduction for using this card - especially when I paid the damn thing in full 48 hours ago is just lame.

I've paid off in full about $5000 in debts in the last 60 days, and this new deduction just kinda makes me wonder what the point in any of this is.

To say I am frustrated doesn't even begin to describe my feelings now, damn. 

[Anonymous]

Take a deep breath and relax.  This thing takes time.  You can't get upset by a 12 point drop.  Unless a new derog has been added or an old one was updated you'll get the points back shortly.  One thing is you have to pay your cards down prior to the statement closing.

[Anonymous]

Hi Scrupa,

Funny thing is, on 4/29/15, Equifax made a similar entry on my CR - *but instead of a deduction it gave me a 14 point increase in my FICO score for having a balance of $264 on a $500 card.

So why would Trans Union give a deduction for the same thing?

[Anonymous]

Think about it like this.  If you're trying to lose weight you're going to drive yourself nuts if you look at the scale every day.  What you do is make sure you're eating right and exercising, and weigh yourself every month or two.  There are always minor fluctuations up and down that can happen on any given day.  As long as you're using your credit properly and taking care of any derogs you have in the long term your score will go up significantly.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

No, I only have 1 credit card.....

The only other things that have happened in the last month, is that I have paid in full 2 collections, and I also had 2 hard inquiries from 2013 slated to go off my report.

I cannot stress enought that the first payment on this secure card is not due until May 21.

A 12 point deduction for using this card - especially when I paid the damn thing in full 48 hours ago is just lame.

I've paid off in full about $5000 in debts in the last 60 days, and this new deduction just kinda makes me wonder what the point in any of this is.

To say I am frustrated doesn't even begin to describe my feelings now, damn. 

---

get 2 more CC and you should see a little boost in your scores.  go with BoA, it will grow with you in the long run. 

and it doesnt matter if you PIF in 24, 48 hrs or the last day of the payment due, the reported balance is all that matters to the CRA

[Anonymous]

Take a look at my TU score over the last two months.  There were several unexplained ups and downs as different things happened.  But if you look at the Feb vs May score you see my progress.  Don't get discouraged by the small drops in score.

[Anonymous]

I hear you rising, thanks.

The thing of it is, and the reason for my urgency with all of this, is that I work in a nichey, very expensive resort area in which there are very few affordable / decent apartment options. I currently am in a terrible, terrible roommate situation that is eating me up alive, costing me alot of money, and has already bordered on a physical altercation 2 months ago.

People say to look for a rental that doesn't check credit - I can tell you it just doesn't exist in my area - believe Ihave tried and I have been patient.

Simply put, I cannot get my own place within a close proximity to my job without a FICO score of at least 600, and that's why I am trying to do EVERYTHING and ANYTHING to improve my score.

At this point I have 3 items in collections - a big defaulted college student loan from mid-2000s (wage garnishment), a $1600 coll from a lease I had to break after getting laid off in 2009, and a $942 student loan I took out in 2005 from my college.

I am in the process of rehabbing the big college loan, and am doing payments on the $1600 and $942 colls.

Prior to this last March, I have not been in possesion of a credit card since the late 90s.

Getting turned down on a $800 / month apartment when you make over $70K a year, have no criminal record, and be 5 years at the same job is needless to say "frustrating".