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scoring and late payments

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Anonymous
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scoring and late payments

I recently was checking on rates for refinance.  I missed premium rates by 8 points.  One lender told me, he believes my scores should be +/- 700  (presently reporting 650-665) and all my bills have been paid promptly for the past 3+ years.  Accourding to him,  he felt my scores were being supressed by some late (6) payments 12/06-2/07 (I had emergency Surgery and my income is reduced by 20% during my recovery period).  He also suggested: 1) I try to have some old accounts removed from my report; 2) write to the credit bureaus and demand a recalculation of my scores based on current data.

 

I tried #1...I could not even get an old closed (1993) account removed.  I cited removing the accounts that have been closed/paid/good standing that have been closed 7+ years...got now where...was told by equifax they can now report for 10 years?????

 

I sent a letter requesting a recalculation of my scores based on more current data; thus reflecting my ++payment history; and low debt/income ratio....

 

How much longer can I expect to be haunted by the late payments over three years ago???  What about this "10 year" reporting limit????  Will my letter requesting a re calculation of my scores do my any good, or am I just wasting time???

Message 1 of 3
2 REPLIES 2
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: scoring and late payments

Hi nightshifter! Welcome to the FICO Forums! Smiley Happy

 

You've found the right place to gather information on how credit scoring works, and, if you bop over to our Rebuilding forum, what you can do to work on derogs that may be impacting your score. Here are two great resources for you to start with: Understanding Your FICO Score  & Credit Scoring 101.


@Anonymous wrote:

I recently was checking on rates for refinance.  I missed premium rates by 8 points.  One lender told me, he believes my scores should be +/- 700  (presently reporting 650-665) and all my bills have been paid promptly for the past 3+ years.  Accourding to him,  he felt my scores were being supressed by some late (6) payments 12/06-2/07 (I had emergency Surgery and my income is reduced by 20% during my recovery period).  He also suggested: 1) I try to have some old accounts removed from my report; 2) write to the credit bureaus and demand a recalculation of my scores based on current data.

 

I tried #1...I could not even get an old closed (1993) account removed.  I cited removing the accounts that have been closed/paid/good standing that have been closed 7+ years...got now where...was told by equifax they can now report for 10 years?????

 

I sent a letter requesting a recalculation of my scores based on more current data; thus reflecting my ++payment history; and low debt/income ratio....

 

How much longer can I expect to be haunted by the late payments over three years ago???  What about this "10 year" reporting limit????  Will my letter requesting a re calculation of my scores do my any good, or am I just wasting time???


One of the first things to note is that your FICO scores are (always) driven by the information in your credit report. The good, bad, ugly, and neutral all contribute. Your payment history carries the most weight (history is important, and why it weighs in, even as it ages). Open accounts remain on your credit report indefinitely. Closed positive accounts remain on your account for up to 10 years after they close, and derogatory accounts can remain on your account for 7 to 7.5 years from the date of frist default. Public Records (the worst of the derogs) can remain longer, depending on the type of PR.  Below is a breakdown of how your FICO score is dervied:

 

What’s in your FICO® score

FICO Scores are calculated from a lot of different credit data in your credit report. This data can be grouped into five categories as outlined below. The percentages in the chart reflect how important each of the categories is in determining your FICO score.

Payment history: 35%, Amounts owed: 30%, Length of credit history: 15%, New credit: 10%, Types of credit used: 10%

 

 

Unfortunately, the credit reporting agencies, Transunion, Equifax, and Experian, can't recalcuate your FICO scores based on some arbitrary time frame. The score uses the information contained in your credit reports, period. I don't know why your lender would have told you that they would... or even could. I'd also be hesitant to listen to his advice about trying to remove old accounts without a better understanding about how that account is really impacting your credit score. Length of credit history is big too.

 

The first thing you should do is go to annualcreditreport.com and pull all three of your credit reports. The information contained therein is what's contributing to your scores. Once you have that information, please come back and give us more specific details about the accounts in questions (minus any personally identifying information). In return, you'll get more detailed information & suggestions about what you can do.

Message 2 of 3
smallfry
Senior Contributor

Re: scoring and late payments

What you might find on those presently "negative" accounts is that once they turn 7.5 years old they could drop their negative status and begin to report for a time as positive closed accounts up until the 10 year period. They will not under any circumstances report for 10 years as a negative.

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