RobertEG wrote:
A blistering post upon reality! Never, ever, has anyone suggested that FICO is the begin or end all of credit worthiness. But if FICO becomes an issue in any credit situation, you dont have to agree that their scoring systems makes sense. You just have to live with it, and if you need it in any credit decision, know the rules of the FICO road. That is what this forum is all about... not seeking logic, but seeking wisdom. Pontification upon the rights or wrongs of FICO algorithm is like pissing in the wind. It only soils your own jeans!
Well, that may be correct, although my jeans are clean at the moment. Here's the issue - in a world where credit scores are checked by everyone from landlords to employers, you have to wonder how Fair Issac gets away with such an illogical approach. That is what got me started on all this - the complete lack of logic. And please understand, the info to prove I pay off all my cards completely every month is readily available (e.g. - no interest charges). Why wouldn't that be relevant to FICO even without income and asset info????? How can a credit score be valid without that data point?
Please note - my personal situation is unaffected by this issue (although I know others not so lucky). I don't need credit at the moment, and I understand that the Private Bankers who want my business can read my personal financial info and "get over" the FICO problem to realize I am "worthy" of the most favorable rates out there.
To respond about my own scores - the estimates that I am in the 720 to 740 area are right, at least the last time I checked them (a few weeks ago). I would guess mine may jump around quite a bit if the usage factor is as big a deal as many say it is (Yes - I have read that thread of speculation, so I know there is some uncertainty). I used credit cards for lots of big ($10,000 and up) purchases, and manage my selection of cards for these charges for the rewards I prefer at the time, not to avoid using my credit limits.
By the way, I also have some cards with good limits (>$25,000) which have very low usage every month. Apparently the algorithm looks to see if one or two (some say three) cards are above 50% and deducts points for that, even if there are others at 0.1% or 0.2%. Again - if they just considered that the card is PIF every month, they might start to get it right.
How hard would that be after all????
