Can someone explain this Score Watch alert?

[axxy]

The following alert doesn't make sense to me.  It seems to contradict itself, by saying my score has dropped, and then saying my score has not changed.  Can someone explain it?

Score Watch® alert December 23, 2011

View details of other recent alerts:

12/23/2011

Alert:

Your FICO® score has dropped below your target score of 736

Score Watch alert/Changes to your FICO® Score

Your FICO® score is 736 and has not changed since December 13, 2011.

Changes to your credit report

Equifax Credit Report™ is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies

[Anonymous]

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@axxy wrote:

The following alert doesn't make sense to me.  It seems to contradict itself, by saying my score has dropped, and then saying my score has not changed.  Can someone explain it?

Score Watch® alert December 23, 2011

View details of other recent alerts:

12/23/2011

Alert:

Your FICO® score has dropped below your target score of 736

Score Watch alert/Changes to your FICO® Score

Your FICO® score is 736 and has not changed since December 13, 2011.

Changes to your credit report

Equifax Credit Report™ is a trademark of Equifax, Inc. and its affiliated companies

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I have received that same alert when in fact my score did not change, do you have your "target score" set at your exact current EQ FICO? If not set your "target score" to your exact current EQ FICO, once I did that, I have never received another alert telling me my score has dropped when it really hasn't.

Did you receive an alert for anything else within that alert, such as a balance change or a balance percentage change, or any other type of alert?

[axxy]

Yes, my "target score" is set at my exact current EQ FICO, as shown in the alert.  And no, the alert does not contain any other alerts inside it.  The whole thing is shown.

Is it just a bug?  Someone should compile a list of all Score Watch bugs and how to interpret them.

[Anonymous]

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@axxy wrote:

Yes, my "target score" is set at my exact current EQ FICO, as shown in the alert.  And no, the alert does not contain any other alerts inside it.  The whole thing is shown.

Is it just a bug?  Someone should compile a list of all Score Watch bugs and how to interpret them.

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It could be a glitch, but look at it this way, at least your score did not drop.

I receive an alert every week, the day varies, telling me that SW has been monitoring my score and reports for the last week and has detected no changes to my score or report. (that's if nothing has changed) I do receive alerts from time to time telling me SW has detected a change to my report or score, "Please log into SW to see the details" or something along those lines. (and those alerts are usually from an inactive card has recently shown activity **I have that set to 3 months** balance $ change and balance % change etc...)

Happy Holidays.

[Tischer712]

I have had this happen several times. I called myFico customer services, they were helpful, but did tell me the alerts I was stating I received were not in their system. I get one about every 2 days.

[GWilliam]

I just got the same lame alert, "you have a decrease in your credit score," but it was set at the last score and it shows as the same, no change?  I would think with all the years MyFico would have their software bugs worked out? Looks like I'm canceling, it isn't worth $14.95 for faux alerts!

[llecs]

I can't speak to the details of the product, but IME, I've received the same. In my case, I've found the alert could be true. If you have several CCs, there are just as many updates each month to your CR and just as many potential changes to your FICO (YMMV of course). If you have balances going up and down, then it's possible to receive a FICO increase and then immediately a decrease back to the same score you had before. The alert would appear for a score drop when there was no net change. Remember, FICO won't alert you to decreases in balances, only increases. If there was a decrease in util which resulted (often) in a score increase, you won't be alerted to that right away because the score isn't monitored daily. Right after that util and balance decrease, which could have resulting in a FICO increase, that second CC comes along and updates wiping out that gain putting you at square one. The result would be an alert for a score drop when your FICO was the same.

[Anonymous]

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@llecs wrote:

I can't speak to the details of the product, but IME, I've received the same. In my case, I've found the alert could be true. If you have several CCs, there are just as many updates each month to your CR and just as many potential changes to your FICO (YMMV of course). If you have balances going up and down, then it's possible to receive a FICO increase and then immediately a decrease back to the same score you had before. The alert would appear for a score drop when there was no net change. Remember, FICO won't alert you to decreases in balances, only increases. If there was a decrease in util which resulted (often) in a score increase, you won't be alerted to that right away because the score isn't monitored daily. Right after that util and balance decrease, which could have resulting in a FICO increase, that second CC comes along and updates wiping out that gain putting you at square one. The result would be an alert for a score drop when your FICO was the same.

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As always llecs, a very comprehensive answer to a difficult question to answer, no one but FICO and SW would know the exact details of why such an alert was sent, and IMO, you have given some very good reasons as to why such an alert would have been sent.