topic Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop! in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

soamazin55 — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 18:55:27 GMT

I've been busy the last 2 weeks.

2 weeks ago, some of my baddies included: 2 charge-offs (Disc - paid in full and Amex - $3,724 outstanding balance). String of lates on the Disc CO (30days-120days). A 30-day late from 6/2014 on an old closed Cap One card. A 30-day late from 8/2014 on a closed Wells Fargo car loan. Also, 2 collections (Midland Funding - $754 and PRA - $8,644).

What I was able to do since then was to pay off the AMEX in full. (Awaiting their Optima card application). I GW'd the late on Cap. One. Spoke to a representative on Friday that they will update the report to remove late payment. I also paid off Midland Funding and anticipated thier immediate deletion from all bureaus.

This morning, I get a notification from Credit Karma that their have been changes to my (Transunion) report. I take a look and the Amex pay off, Midland delete, and Cap One late removal all were updated on Transunion today for an increase of 43 pts on CK (Transunion). Bringing that score to 625, there is still much to do.

About an hour or so later, I get an update from myfico about changes to my report. So I start rubbing my hands together like an evil genius as I prepared to check. I assumed the exact CK Transunion changes. So it turns out its the Amex pay-off, and Midland delete, (nothing about the cap one late removal). Trans FICO drops from an even 600 to 595. Lost 5 points. What in the entire **** is going on?? LOL

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

ChemE_Bear — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 19:10:55 GMT

Vantage (CreditKarma) scores are volatile and do not respond to changes in your credit report like FICO scores do. Especially for a drop of 5 points, I wouldn't pay any attention to it. Is the AMEX your only card? Are all cards reporting as zero?

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

soamazin55 — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 19:24:52 GMT

Currently, aside from being an AU on a Cap One account. I have no revolving debt of my own. The Amex Optima that I'll get (will have $1100 limit) will be my re-entrance into the revolving world while on this rebuild journey. I don't think the Amex CO was reporting a credit limit - so maybe i didn't get additional points for the reduced utilization? Who knows. I mean, somebody knows. Just not me.

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 21:44:46 GMT

@soamazin55 wrote:
Currently, aside from being an AU on a Cap One account. I have no revolving debt of my own. The Amex Optima that I'll get (will have $1100 limit) will be my re-entrance into the revolving world while on this rebuild journey. I don't think the Amex CO was reporting a credit limit - so maybe i didn't get additional points for the reduced utilization? Who knows. I mean, somebody knows. Just not me.

@soamazin55 was the American Express chargeoff reporting monthly?

If not, then there was a catch up penalty that would have offset the utilisation gain. And unless you get the other collection deleted you will remain in a PR scorecard.

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 21:49:35 GMT

And come to think of it since you don’t have a revolving account of your own, now that that one doesn’t have a balance, it could be imposing the AZ penalty... I don’t know just conjecture, but you had a revolving balance of your own until you paid that off, so that couldve offset the utilisation gain.

Either way you’ll definitely get some gains from adding some revolvers.

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

RSX — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 21:55:58 GMT

And removing bad items is ALWAYS a good thing, even if your score drops slightly at first

some items/updates take a couple of months to 'shake out'

keep removing baddies, and the scores will follow. (not as fast as you would like) give each change 1-3 months to react

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

soamazin55 — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 23:57:16 GMT

So the Amex stopped reporting a few years back...until last month. After an ill-advised dispute. I think I docked quite a few after it reported then. However, I do think the dispute and subsequent update did prompt the Amex Optima offer. Amex hasn't reached out to me in years prior to the dispute. So the benefits of resolving a charge-off and getting a revolver is a net good deal I suppose.

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

soamazin55 — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 00:02:35 GMT

Interestingly enough, and I could be wrong, it seems like the AU account for scoring purposes is having the exact effect as it was my own. The last reported balance was super high (3113/3500) and all reports are telling me my utilization is extremely high (at 89%) and I suspect I'll get a solid boost when it next reports (balance now 1650)...I feel like that current high usage is a bit of an anchor as well.

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 00:54:15 GMT

No, that just means it’s counting as a valid authorised user account.

And the fact you did that dispute, that was your catch up penalty there for the most part. how much did you lose? And how much time did it catch it up from?

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

soamazin55 — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 02:06:18 GMT

You know, I'm not sure how much I lost because I hadn't taken a look at my FICOs before the dispute and in hindsight, I may be confusing the steep drop with the boost from the dispute and ultimate resolution of the dispute. That make sense? In any case, Amex stopped reporting in February of 2016. Then the dispute, then boom - negative update in June 2020.

Re: Baddies resolved = FICO score drop!

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 05:51:28 GMT

Yeah that makes sense because while it’s in dispute it’s suspended from calculation in the algorithm typically.

Nearly 4 years of catch up penalty. Still learning about that so that’s hard to quantify.