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Confused by drop in FICO score

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Anonymous
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Confused by drop in FICO score

Hello,

My FICO scored dropped 25 points.  The reason stated was a recent late/missed payment but I couldn't find anything different on my quarterly report.  I contacted myFICO and was directed to contact TransUnion.  TransUnion said that the drop may have occurred because of something reported on one of the other credit reporting companies.  TU sent me my free credit report and suggested that I get my reports from Equifax and Experian and review.  No recent missed/late payments on any of the reports.  I went from 751 down to 726.  I started getting reports in 2007 (655) and was able to get my score to 751 in two and a half years.  I was expecting to see an increase but was disappointed when I received my latest score. 

Thanking you in advance for your reply/comments.

 

Message 1 of 3
2 REPLIES 2
Jazzzy
Valued Contributor

Re: Confused by drop in FICO score

I never know whether to trust the "reasons" that are given for score changes. For me, they often aren't on point.

 

So...this was a drop from 751 down to 726 on TU for the quarter, right?

 

If there were no late payments, what else has changed? How does your use of credit compare with your last report? Your inquiries? New accounts?

 

Look at the differences between the two reports and let us know what else may have changed.

 

And...hey...welcome to the forums.

Message 2 of 3
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Confused by drop in FICO score

To add, look back towards the comment itself. It'll make that mention and it should also list how many months ago your most recent late occured. It it says something like your most recent last was last month, then look at your accounts a little closer. Baddies like charge-offs, will often update on a monthly basis and add a late every month. Compare both reports and if you have any collections that updated with an added late then that could be your culprit. This is especially true if there is a fair amount of time between the "updated" or "reported" dates within that problem TL.

 

It could also be other factors. Study the smallest of differences within your two reports. Look at utilization. If your CC util increased between both reports then you'd see a score drop. Look at the # of accounts reporting balances. An extra account reporting a balance can drop your score by that much. Look for any other added lates. If you added any new accounts in the past 3 months, then you could easily see a 25 pt drop. Look for any other new accounts. Look for missing accounts as that too as can have a big impact on score. Look for any changes in the "account status" or "worst delinquency" within a given TL too.

 

If all else fails, then look at the positive and negative factors listed on pages 2 or 3 of those reports. If the positive and negative factors are all jumbled up or some are missing but replaced by others, then there's the possibility that you were rebucketed.

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