@Anonymous wrote:There are many factors that could be effecting your scores. One thing most people don't know about are the soft inquiries that hit your report unless you are opted-out of marketing materials. You can do this by going to www.optoutprescreen.com and electronically opt-out for 5 years. I'm sure there was something that changed on your report to make the score change, but there's no way to know without looking at it.
Personally I don't like and have permanently opted out of pre-screen offers, but the soft inquiries DO NOT hurt you, in fact no one sees them. Although I would strongly recommend, as I always have, that people opt out of promotional offers and tighten their credit files with alerts to ensure they are safer against exploitation, this still doesn't mean that soft inquiries hurt you. They don't.
@Anonymous wrote:
If they didn't, then why would someone who has no inquiries on anything in the past 12 months have "too many inquiries" as a factor impacting their score?
Remember that CRAs always put down an excuse for a negative factor, even when there isn't or shouldnt' be one. This means if they can't find anything else to supercede as a baddie, then they say things like you have too many inquiries, your account is too young, you have recent credit, you don't have an installment and so on. Soft inquiries are private, include your own requests for report as well and any account mainetenance reviews by creditors you have already and they don't hurt your score, even if they are recognized. Only hard inquiries hurt and they are shown and even they wear off after about 12 months and then completely after 24 months.
@Anonymous wrote:
Why would it then increase most people's scores to opt-out of these marketing materials? We see people getting 15-20 points just a few days after opting out...
It doesn't. Opting out is so that you don't get exposed to offers being mailed to you and increasing your chance of having someone steal it and use it. It has nothing to do with your score.
ALTHOUGH: If you get offers and you decide to app each and everyone of them, then yeah your inquiries for those apps will kill your score. But not the offer by itself.
You do that.
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Interesting.I opted out, and my scores didn't twitch. Opted back in 6 months later, and nada.Opting out (or in) is not reported on your credit reports, and therefore there is no way that they can affect FICO scores. Now maybe there are some FAKO's that somehow "know" if you're opted out, but then it's pretty hard to get worked up about a FAKO score.
Thank you, that's what I thought but to each their own 