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Does FICO care about past util?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Does FICO care about past util?

Agree with fused on this one.  Credit reports are provided by CRAs.  FICO does not provide credit reports, except through MyFICO, which of course are based on the same data that exist at each CRA.  Those reports tend to focus on information that affects your FICO score, at the expense of the FICO-irrelevant data (like INQs more than 12 months old, for example).  Since historical utilization is not factored into FICO, it is not displayed on the MyFICO reports, in spite of the fact that a full report from a CRA does show this information.
 
Message 11 of 24
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Does FICO care about past util?

And the answer is, no, a simple three digit FICO score generated by the FaiIsaac model does not care about balance and %util history.  Credit reports are the issue here, and not credit scores.
myFICO is just a small part of FairIsaac, and Yes FairIsaac clearly DOES care about history, for they are selling them to creditors because obviously creditors want to see them, and pay for them.
They include it in reports to them, and not to us.  It has nothing to do with the snapshot of a FICO score, it has all to do with what we think they are reviewing, and what they actually are receivng in thier expanded reports. 
I am not criticizing FairIsaac or myFICO or any of the CRAs for what they report to either consumers of creditors, for they are differnt markets. 
The primary point is not the "snapshot issue," it is simply that we consumers should be aware that what creditors are seeing goes far beyond what our report show, and thus to simpy rely upon redacted report and three digit number is not the whole picture.
It is just education.
Message 12 of 24
fused
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Does FICO care about past util?

I think we would be hard-pressed to find a single individual at this site who could honestly say I was declined by a CCC, lender or a bank because of my past high utilization. When someone is denied credit, a reason must be given and this is not one of them.
Message 13 of 24
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Does FICO care about past util?

This gets back to the same thing: there are a whole lot of entities to keep happy in personal finance land: FICO, which generates our scores; current creditors, who want to see us using their cards but also want to be paid back; future creditors, who want evidence that we will be good customers for them; and our very own selves, who have to juggle all this against what makes sense financially, in terms of paying the least amount on our debts. Smiley Tongue

And btw, my full reports from EX show the blow-by-blow reported balances, and the credit limits that I had, for the last two years. My personal opinion is that most creditors are pretty lazy, and they will look at your FICO score, your record over the last two years in terms of lates, and whether or not you have any scary baddies like 90-days and worse, collections, charge-offs, and BK's. Other than mortgage lenders, I'm pretty skeptical that they will look at what my reported balance was in June 06 and compare it with my CL at that time. But I think that everyone should be aware that this info is visible to lenders, so keep that in mind if you want to start spinning a tale on the phone with a CCC. Smiley Wink
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 14 of 24
pdxuser
Contributor

Re: Does FICO care about past util?

I limited the question to FICO scoring because I wanted to verify my thinking the answer is no before I went into the general credit forum and asked, does anybody care? Fused saying nobody's ever listed that as a reason for declined credit goes toward that question, but it seems reasonable to think that a mortgage officer who sees a recent spike in utilization, paid off just last statement, might be concerned that the applicant may have had a recent financial emergency, and would decline the mortgage for that reason.
Message 15 of 24
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Does FICO care about past util?


@pdxuser wrote:
I limited the question to FICO scoring because I wanted to verify my thinking the answer is no before I went into the general credit forum and asked, does anybody care? Fused saying nobody's ever listed that as a reason for declined credit goes toward that question, but it seems reasonable to think that a mortgage officer who sees a recent spike in utilization, paid off just last statement, might be concerned that the applicant may have had a recent financial emergency, and would decline the mortgage for that reason.



When it comes to mortgages, you'd be astonished how laid-back a lot of mortgage lenders and brokers really are. Remember, they've seen it all. What looks to you like a hideous, fermenting, oozing sore on your reports will probably be the smallest of pimples to them. I'm still entertained to remember our broker looking at our reports and saying how much better they were than he was used to seeing!

As long as you don't have some big-term problem on your reports, I really do think that they will welcome you with open arms. Remember, in the end, everyone loves low-maintenance customers.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 16 of 24
pdxuser
Contributor

Re: Does FICO care about past util?


haulingthescoreup wrote:
Remember, in the end, everyone loves low-maintenance customers.

Would asking too many questions be high-maintenace? I'm trying to figure that line out.

Message 17 of 24
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Does FICO care about past util?


@pdxuser wrote:

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Remember, in the end, everyone loves low-maintenance customers.

Would asking too many questions be high-maintenance? I'm trying to figure that line out.
Only around here! Smiley Wink And they haven't run me off yet.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 18 of 24
pdxuser
Contributor

Re: Does FICO care about past util?

"How can I be low-maintenance?" he asked ironically. I mean, what was the point you were making?
Message 19 of 24
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Does FICO care about past util?


@pdxuser wrote:
"How can I be low-maintenance?" he asked ironically. I mean, what was the point you were making?


Only that I have found a kindred (although much, much younger) soul. We're all about questions around here! Otherwise, what's the point?
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 20 of 24
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