I have been suspicious for quite a while that some of my CO's are affecting my TU score way more than EQ or EX for some reason. Based on all the observations I have made lately and the score changes I saw after I PIF'd on of my current CC's, I'd say it is official that TU is counting SOME (but not all) of my CO's towards UTL, while the others aren't.
When I PIF'd this CC, it resulted in a change in UTL from 40% to 22% based on my current balances and CL's. This only resulted in my TU score going from 572 to 579 and my TU UTL showing on the myFICO report is 93% (was 110% before I think). My EX score, however, went from 572 to 623, however. The information on TU and EX is almost identical except for one installment loan that is only on TU that has always been on time and the balance is about $1500. In the past, I have also noticed that my EX score changes dramatically based on my UTL of my current CC's, while my TU score barely changes. This appears to be since TU is counting the CO's in the UTL and diluting the affect of these changes.
To make it even more strange, TU is showing that my delinquent amount as $7322, which is the sum of 3 out of my 4 CO's (CapOne is accounting for about $6000 of that all on their own
). The 4th one is not included in this value--it is listed as a CO, but there is no red flag in the Paid Late? column on this account like there is with the other two. This CO also does not seem to be included in the 93% UTL calculation showing on TU. I can see where the 93% comes from if I use the same 3 balance included in my "derogatory balance" amount, but I can not come up with that same 94% if all 4 CO's are used.
This is all kind of confusing, but the gist of it is that the CO balances do not seem to be affecting EQ or EX. The CO status itself is bringing my scores down, but I do not seem to be paying a "double penalty" with these CO's by also having them bring UTL up. That being said, it appears that paying down the CO balances would help my TU score, but probably hurt my EQ and EX scores. Kind of like cutting off your nose to save your face.