FICO score dropped - what happened?!

[Anonymous]

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minonda wrote:

No wonder I feel I'm fighting an uphill battle! Apart from the information I gave in my reply to you in my post above, here are some more answers:

I haven't opened any new lines of credit in about six months. There are no old accounts with a zero balance because before I understood that I was being judged by debt to credit ratio, I closed all accounts after they were paid off. I realize now that that hurt my credit standing (which seems idiotic to me) but that also means that I have no open accounts that have been sitting around with zero activity for a long time. It's only been in the past year that I've been leaving accounts open after they're paid off and not lowering my credit limits when I apply for new credit.

Does this provide any clues?

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Your closed accounts are no longer actively reporting which can lower oyour score which is why you'll hear time and again, never close an account unless it has an annual fee and use it occasionally to keep it active.

[Anonymous]

Similar situation -- Chapter 13 filed August 2001, discharged March, 2007. I subscribed to this and another online service. Tried to clean up some incorrect info re public records and one of the credit cards paid through Chap 13 plan. Score went down 6 points. Ugg! I am trying to compare the reports to see exactly what happened.

[Anonymous]

Guess what., if the bankrutpcy i no longer showing on your reports, you are now being judged againt people who have NEVER had a bankruptcy.  Sort of a congratulations...well, sort of

[Anonymous]

The older the closed accounts get the less the payment history factors into your score.  It doesn't drop the age of your credit file but it does give the scoring model less to work with.

[Anonymous]

How many different credit user categories does MyFico use? They use bankruptcy and amount of time with credit history, but what else? Do Mortgages come into play? How about number of credit cards?

[MidnightVoice]

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Tyrion_L wrote:

How many different credit user categories does MyFico use? They use bankruptcy and amount of time with credit history, but what else? Do Mortgages come into play? How about number of credit cards?

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Try:

Credit Scoring 101

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=ficoscoring&thread.id=2654

[SweetPea]

I received the same alert recently.  My score dropped 4 points this week.  My oldest account is 14 years, 10 months.  Average of accounts is 9 years.  I closed a Capital One card in February 2005.  My scores are TransUnion 774, Equifax 763, and Experian 775.  I do not have any collections, bankrupcies, or inquiries on my report that would have fallen off.  I am confused as to why I would receive this alert.  Any explanation would be greatly appreciated.