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@just_curious wrote:@haulingthescoreup wrote:I for one do not want anything more reported to the CRA's than what already is. One snapshot of my credit usage per month is plenty, thank you. And if they start reporting mid-cycle balances, or whether I PIF'd after the balance was reported, or my average balance over the month, that is just additional opportunities for things to get screwed up. And that means more crap that I have to try to clean up.Actually, I was suggesting that FICO simply be told if a CC account is not charged interest, thus is PIF each month. It is amazing that they try to set a CS without considering this aspect of CC usage. And I can't see it as a big deal to add one, binary item to the info mix.And the posting about all the other ways your FICO score can impact your life is right on point. With the power FICO has developed, I would think a 95% accuracy rate (mentioned elsewhere) would be unacceptable - try applying a 95% accuracy rate in a few other aspects of life and you'll see what I mean.
JuliaTN wrote:It's awfully annoying that instead of just being my paying-on-time self, I have to manipulate the system to make myself look better to potential creditors...
@JuliaTN wrote:"Actually - that's a reasonable question. My personal scores are very unlikely to impact my life at all. My various CCs have very high limits ($20,000+) so the issue is really not about me."Yes, it's about me...I have about $100,000 in credit card limits, maxed out every month and PIF each month. I, too, have NEVER had a late payment on any loan, CC, etc. My oldest account is about 15 years, no inquiries etc. Yet my EX FICO is 655. I need to get a mortgage for an investment property but I can't get the rate that I think I "deserve" with that score.And, no, I don't have $100,000 in income to pay off credit cards every month. The family business uses my (rewards) cards to pay all of its AP. The business gets an extra 30 days worth of cash flow and I get a free vacation each year as well as about a 30% boost in (my very modest) income from the cash back. Am I about to give up those benefits? No, so now I've added an extra column to my spreadsheet that I use to keep track of all the cards the business uses: "Statement closing date." Just so I can play the FICO game and pay the cards off the day before the statement instead of a week later.It's awfully annoying that instead of just being my paying-on-time self, I have to manipulate the system to make myself look better to potential creditors...
JuliaTN wrote:It's awfully annoying that instead of just being my paying-on-time self, I have to manipulate the system to make myself look better to potential creditors...
JuliaTN wrote:"I have about $100,000 in credit card limits, maxed out every month and PIF each month. I, too, have NEVER had a late payment on any loan, CC, etc. My oldest accout is about 15 years, no inquiries etc. Yet my EX FICO is 655. I need to get a mortgage for an investment property but I can't get the rate that I think I "deserve" with that score.It's awfully annoying that instead of just being my paying-on-time self, I have to manipulate the system to make myself look better to potential creditors...
@just_curious wrote:
@JuliaTN wrote:"I have about $100,000 in credit card limits, maxed out every month and PIF each month. I, too, have NEVER had a late payment on any loan, CC, etc. My oldest accout is about 15 years, no inquiries etc. Yet my EX FICO is 655. I need to get a mortgage for an investment property but I can't get the rate that I think I "deserve" with that score.It's awfully annoying that instead of just being my paying-on-time self, I have to manipulate the system to make myself look better to potential creditors...Yup - my point exactly With CC limits that exceed $200,000 (not counting two cards with no limits), a perfect payment record, and the income to support all this, Fair Issac's simpleminded algorithm simply can't get it right.OK I have heard/seen all the "It's not logical - just live with it" comments. But why is that the right system? FICO scores are important beyond just the next credit card, and, as Julia apparently could testify, they can mess up one's life even if they are just plain wrong. So, here's an idea - just determine if the accounts are PIF every month and fix the algorithm to reflect that POSITIVE fact. It should be easy!I would like BARRY the FICO guy to respond. How can we get him to join this discussion???