topic Re: Amex and FICO score in Credit Cards

Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 07:14:25 GMT

Hey all,

Very nervous. I have 3 Amex cards that never carry a balance. Recently my Experian was hit with a fraudulent collection which dropped my score from the 740s to 660. I called the collection agency and they admitted to the mistake and said the account would be removed within 30-45 days. To speed things up I went ahead and disputed. They hit both Transunion and Experian at the same time. The Experian Dispute is still open and TransUnion deleted the account from my report literally immediately after I hit submit. My big question is am I going to be in trouble with Amex over this score drop as I know they like to soft pull me on the 23rd of each month. I have only 3% utilization across all of my accounts and made a 400 payment on the only Amex card with a balance just in case. I’m praying that the account disappears by the time they pull my credit this month. Any advice or knowledge from previous experiences?

Re: Amex and FICO score

HighAchiever — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 07:38:07 GMT

Sorry to hear of your troubles... 🤞🏻hopefully, someone will be along to give you some better insight into your situation. In the meantime, how did this situation even occur? Was it identity theft or fraud? 🤔

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 07:53:53 GMT

Hey there. No identity theft just an old radiology account that was paid by insurance. Sent the paperwork to them and they said sorry we will delete. I’m really not sure how this happens.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Namaste7 — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 11:53:48 GMT

Assuming you do not miss payments with AMEX (or any other lender), I doubt a medical collection would result in adverse action. I would avoid applying for new products or asking CLIs on existing products until the medical collection is removed and you see your FICO score update through your MF subscription and on AMEX's internal FICO score page.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 18:16:47 GMT

Thanks for the reply. Definitely hoping that nothing happens the collection was only 300 bucks too not anything crazy. Just hoping it falls off before they ever see. If not, I hope they think the same way you do. Lol

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 18:18:36 GMT

Medical gets sent to collections all the time. Amex won’t bat an eye.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 18:33:31 GMT

You guys are definitely making me feel better about this. I was just told by a friend that the score drop of 70 points alone could make them raise an eyebrow and spook them. I pay them religiously every month most of the time very early so hoping for the best.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Traveler101 — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 18:48:50 GMT

I dont have a amex yet, but I do have barclays. They can be tough as anyone can tell you. Anyways, I had a simular situation. I called barclays to warn them. They informed me, they are alerted to any significant score drops. Im sure amex would have a simular way to protect themselves. I would think you are just fine.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 18:57:18 GMT

yes I have heard Barclaycard is hard to please when it comes to scores and approvals. I’ve never had an issue with any lender so just hoping for the best. So are you saying it would be wise to contact them? Who did you talk to? Regular customer service or internal dept?

Re: Amex and FICO score

Traveler101 — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 19:03:24 GMT

When I had my problem, I called credit sevices at barclays. Trust me, they already knew. I did not get credit limit decrease or shut down. I did get problem resolved. I was waiting for barc ro shut me down and on needles I must add. I would think if they really had an issue You would of been notified already. I would assume you are safe and i would suspect they would already have seen it if anything like barc.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 19:08:25 GMT

Interesting. My score with them is updated on the 23rd of the month, but you are probably right that they were alerted. Was your score drop as significant as mine? Last question I promise lol. Did your score go back to what it previously was after the account was removed?

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 19:11:06 GMT

I just want to second that medical bills get sent to collection all the time. I work in a field where I deal with that sort of thing maybe 10% of my time. It is very difficult to please medical billers, and I'm under the impression some of them send them to collections even if they improperly bill insurance just to try and get people to pry open their wallets quicker.

It's a real shame too because it does have an immediate impact on credit score just like this.

Sorry that this happened to you. Glad you were able to take immediate action and correct it, that way the impact will also be minimal when the dust settles.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Traveler101 — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 19:12:49 GMT

Mine was a 40 point drop. That, and into a rebuild after a bk, I was really on edge. I would think most every bank would have a simular set up. Thats so they can protect themselves and shut you down on a moments notice.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Traveler101 — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 19:13:57 GMT

and yes, I rebounded.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 19:44:46 GMT

I know!!!! These medical bills are horrible. I had a few a couple years ago after a hospitalization and thought I was done with them. Got everything paid but somehow this one fell through the cracks! It’s just lame. The collection company said they sent a letter but was to an old address. Also @traveler it is good to know the score went back up. I worked hard to get my scores up, I would hate to have to do that again after this is removed.

Re: Amex and FICO score

UncleB — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 22:41:25 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
So are you saying it would be wise to contact them? Who did you talk to? Regular customer service or internal dept?

I personally would not contact Amex. Years ago I was in a similar situation and I thought calling to 'warn' them would be helpful and it only confused matters.

There's a very, very good chance you'll be just fine, and if something does come up you can deal with it then. You don't want to create a problem where there is none, though.

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 22:50:09 GMT

Yea I don’t think I will poke the bear. I’ve just read a lot of posts on here about accounts being shut down without warning. In most of those cases they missed credit card payments and had 90 percent or more utilization on their cards. That’s not my case at all but still concerned. I’m just gonna ride it out and hope for the best. Have you had any experience with Experian Disputes and length of time? I did the one with Transunion and it was instantly erased from report. Wondering what experian is doing.

Re: Amex and FICO score

HighAchiever — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 23:17:45 GMT

I agree, no bear poking!!! 😂 I had a dispute on Experian and it took about a week for them to rectify the situation. I assume it just all depends on what has to be done by them... 🤷🏻‍♂️

Re: Amex and FICO score

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 23:29:38 GMT

Sounds good. Well thanks everyone for the help. I love that anytime I have a problem there are plenty of knowledgeable folks to guide me. I will let you guys know what happens when and if I hear anything!