@Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone, I am trying to ascertain how to improve my FICO scores. I have been following the forums here for a few years and have noticed that my FiCO scores are lower than many with equivalent negative info reporting and in many cases, their negative reporting is much more recent than mine. My goal is to raise my scores at least to 700, if not above. Prior to refinancing a student loan a year ago, my Experian score was 673, so it took a double-digit hit that I still have not recovered from. I obtained my scores from Experian Credit Works and the pertinent info is as follows. As of June 2017, My Equifax and Experian Scores are 693 and 679 resepctively. Likely, there has been a slight drop because of a recent inquiry on Transunion, and my new accounts (2) are not yet reporting. Experian updated today with a 1 point increase to 659. I have two negative items, a Chapter 7 BK filed 5/2012 and one late account from the bankruptcy still reporting (5 yrs and 3 months ago) My AAoA : EX 8 yrs 5 mos, EQ 9 yrs 1 mo, TU 5yrs, 7 mos (not sure why there is such a big difference in the number of accounts reporting on TU vs EX and EQ). I have 23 inquiries across the three boards, 20 of which will drop off in 2018. Total credit line is $32,101 but this will increase to $47,101 with recently approved accounts. Three of my CC accounts were opened in November 2016. My student loans are in deferment and the balance has not decreased by any measurable amount since the refinance in 2017. Average age of accounts is too low, according to automated Experian credit analysis, and states that 25 years for oldest credit account is ideal (my oldest is 19+ years). Credit utilization is 4%; I PIF my credit cards each month except for a card carrying a $950 balance with 0% interest, which will be PIF long before the promotional interest expires. I am not sure what I can be doing differently to get my scores higher beyond paying down my student loans and letting the inquiries currently reflected on my report drop off before seeking further credit, but any advice on anything I might be personally missing would be appreciated.
1. Your average age of accounts is fine, so forget about that.
2. Your credit card utilization is fine, assuming that your card with the $950 balance has a credit limit of at least $3500. If the limit is less than that, then get your balance down to 28% or less.
3. Your inquiries & recent accounts are pulling you down, so probably the best thing you can do about that is stop applying for things.
4. The big drag on your score is the bankruptcy, but there's nothing to do about that except let time pass. While it prevents you from getting an 800 score, it does not prevent you from getting significantly over 700.
5. You might as well keep sending verification letters to the bureaus about the discharged debt that is showing up as a separate item. That might speed up its falling off.
6. The student loans are a drag on your score, but what can you do? If you don't have the dough to pay them off, you don't.
Bottom line, the one thing you can totally control is your new accounts & recent inquiries. No more applications + the passage of time = higher scores.
@Anonymous wrote:
Hi, thanks for your reply. What do you mean by verification letters? Sorry for my ignorance. I am. Agreed about stopping any applications in the next 9-12 months or so. I'm just wondering why others with bankruptcies discharged years after mine and higher utilization have better scores than me. It's frustrating.
1. Verification letters are letters sent to credit bureau requesting verification of an item. Upon receipt they write to creditor. If creditor doesn't verify within 30 days, by law it gets removed from the report. Sometimes it gets restored after being removed, sometimes it doesn't.
2. I have found that those people whose scores recovered quickest are those who had at least one credit card with a zero balance at the time of the bankruptcy. So they were able to hit the ground running reestablishing their credit.