topic Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores? in Credit Cards

Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

ngerasimatos — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:41:25 GMT

I have a random question. I noticed on my credit report at one point in time I had lost a credit card and the bank issued a new one with a new account number. The old account is marked as closed, the new account is marked as opened, as they both should be. The old one shows the date opened and closed, the new one shows the date opened (as the orig date)

Does this effect AAoA?

Lets say, hypothetically; someone loses their entire wallet of 10 credit cards, and cancels them all and has new ones issued. Would this effect your report and scoring?

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

Breakthecycle2 — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:53:24 GMT

I don't think it has any effect on AoA, but I'm not sure. I also have a lost or stolen card cancelled on my report and would like to know the answer to this as well.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:57:37 GMT

+1 i have 2 on mine after some jerk mugged me in SF!!!! But same here, i didnt see any change in AAoA....glad the idiot got caught! Really I mean in front of 4000 people in Union Square. But ya dont worry about it, mine shows zero balance pif, STOLEN on Experian doesnt even show. Might be a TU EQ thing...

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

MidnightVoice — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:48:08 GMT

I lost a Lowes Card (very new) and they closed it and started a new account. So two accounts report to the CRA, one closed one open This means I appear to have two VEY young accounts, and in my case, it did have an effect on my AAoA.

Other cards do NOT start a new account

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

ngerasimatos — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:54:59 GMT

In my past experience, when the account is closed and you ask for a new card number they always issue a new card, create a new account, and as such create a new credit lien as well.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

MattH — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 01:18:54 GMT

@ngerasimatos wrote:
In my past experience, when the account is closed and you ask for a new card number they always issue a new card, create a new account, and as such create a new credit lien as well.

Yes, in my experience they just create a new credit line with the new account number and the same account creation date so you don't lose average age of accounts. This has been true both when I called them to report a lost card and when they wrote us to say our account had been compromised so here is your replacement card.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

fused — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 01:30:23 GMT

@MattH wrote:

Yes, in my experience they just create a new credit line with the new account number and the same account creation date so you don't lose average age of accounts. This has been true both when I called them to report a lost card and when they wrote us to say our account had been compromised so here is your replacement card.

Same happened to me when my CITI card number was stolen. CITI changed my account number but nothing else. To the CRAs, nothing really changed. No affect on AAoA, no dupe account or anything else.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

ngerasimatos — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 01:40:02 GMT

So, closed accounts don't impact aaoa? I mean, if I had a cc for 15 years and closed it, that age no longer counts?

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

MattH — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 02:00:56 GMT

@ngerasimatos wrote:
So, closed accounts don't impact aaoa? I mean, if I had a cc for 15 years and closed it, that age no longer counts?

Closed accounts will eventually fall off your reports and you will lose the age. Replacing a compromised card isn't a closed account in the same way, because a new account gets created and all the history transfers to the new account, kinda like another incarnation of Doctor Who.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

ngerasimatos — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 02:16:59 GMT

All of mine show history still, status is lost/stolen closed.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

fused — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 02:20:28 GMT

Actually, if a CC is lost/stolen and you receive a new card with a new number, a lot will depend on how the issuer handles the reporting. Some issuers have been known to report both the lost/stolen TL AND the new TL that replaced the lost/stolen TL. With this scenario, it might have a negative impact on your scores. AAoA and more accounts (or too many accounts) come to mind. In my case, CITI only replaced the stolen TL with a new TL (one TL reporting, not two). My open date, payment history and etc. never changed with that replacement TL. My scores didn't change.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

Macroman — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 03:22:58 GMT

I've had a few cards stolen. I have not seen score impact but I have seen new and old accounts listed resulting in an increased number of accounts.

All of my cards have still reflected the original issue date as date opened I I think that longer term this may have helped my score because the cards stolen were mostly older accounts.

I only had one get unauthorized use and the guy involved was ultimately caught 2000 miles away.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

smallfry — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:00:15 GMT

Lost/stolen cards hurt if the card in question is lower than your AAofA. The additional tradeline will remain on your report for around 18 months or so at least that has been my experience with EQ and EX. TU never did report the additional tradeline.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

MidnightVoice — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:55:41 GMT

@fused wrote:
Actually, if a CC is lost/stolen and you receive a new card with a new number, a lot will depend on how the issuer handles the reporting. Some issuers have been known to report both the lost/stolen TL AND the new TL that replaced the lost/stolen TL.

This is what happened to me with Lowes. So I ended up with two new accounts instead of one

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

score_building — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:50:44 GMT

@MidnightVoice wrote:

@fused wrote:
Actually, if a CC is lost/stolen and you receive a new card with a new number, a lot will depend on how the issuer handles the reporting. Some issuers have been known to report both the lost/stolen TL AND the new TL that replaced the lost/stolen TL.
This is what happened to me with Lowes. So I ended up with two new accounts instead of one

Nationwide just did this to me, it wasn't lost/stolen, they reissued the card at their discretion due to fraud. That there is a FICO consequence for this action is a bit hard to grasp.

Can the closed one be disputed?

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

ngerasimatos — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 04:44:04 GMT

Im glad I asked this question, as its going to now come in handy.

I have 2 accounts through HSBC, a Platinum card and a Best Buy Mastercard. I lost my Platinum card last night and when calling in to report it lost/stolen then CSR accidentally closed my Best Buy card instead (he was looking for my account via SSN and pulled up the wrong account)

After seeing the error he made, he closed the correct account, and now I am being issued two new cards, which means new account numbers. I asked him if the history and opening date would migrate to the new account and after conferring with a supervisor they said it will NOT.

I am not happy with this answer, I am losing my history on one of my oldest accounts, as well as possibly damaging my AAoA.

Please tell me this is not the case!?

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

smallfry — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:34:20 GMT

Unfortunately this is the case.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

haulingthescoreup — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:04:26 GMT

I would definitely keep asking for people higher-up to fix this. It can be done, even if those lower down the pecking order don't want to or think that it can't be done. Tell them that their employee's error is harming your credit by falsely showing that you have acquired new credit. Somebody somewhere in that bank knows how to make this report correctly.

As for the lost/ stolen card issue, the duplicate line generally reports for two years, and then it drops off. (I'm sure there are infinite variations on this, but this is what I've seen.) So the impact on AAoA would go away after two years.

For those who have lost a card and are sure that it's not going to be used by someone who finds it, you can call and ask for a new card to be issued, saying that the dog ate the old one, or the magnetic stripe pooped out, or whatever. The new card would have the same account number, so you wouldn't have the second tradeline reporting. You'd definitely have to be on the bold side to do this, and I don't know if it would jeopardize your rights to dispute fraudulent charges if they did eventually appear.

Re: Lost/Stolen credit cards - hows does cancellation effect scores?

ngerasimatos — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:06:33 GMT

I am writing a letter and sending it in to express my extreme dissatisfaction. Hopefully that will ruffle a few feathers.