topic Re: Experian. Credit card lost or stolen in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Experian. Credit card lost or stolen

_qwerty_ — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:03:58 GMT

About 2 weeks ago I’ve got a call from HSBC bank. I have an account with them with 1400 credit limit which I haven’t used for a while (about 2 years). I guess, the only reason why whey didn’t close my account is because I’m paying $68 once a year in account fees. The call was from fraud department – they told me their usual stuff – to “protect” me they decided to cancel my card and issue a new one. (the actual verbiage was “close an account and open a new one” – which scares me a bit)

But essentially my experian report (other two CRA’s don’t have this information …or don’t have it yet) looks like this

Hsbc Bank XXXXXXXXXXXX 6/2006 $0 Credit card lost or stolen

Hsbc Bank XXXXXXXXXXXX 6/2006 $0 This account is in good standing

This is the same account. And total number of my accounts for Experian went from 14 to 15.

I’m wondering what kind of a score impact I should expect from this transformation. Should I contact Experian and try to fix it. Or maybe this particular mistake is actually good for my score (total available credit increased by $1400 which is small but still counts, I guess).

Two years ago I lost my wallet with all my cards. At that time I didn’t follow changes on my report so closely But right now there is no records of any lost or stolen cards. Maybe it just a matter of time (a month or so) and “credit lost or stolen record” will go away. Anybody ever lost their cards? How did it affect your FICO score? Does anybody know for how long the “lost or stolen” record stays on the report?

Thank you!

Re: Experian. Credit card lost or stolen

smallfry — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:54:09 GMT

It won't hurt your score and it is not counted in available credit since it is a closed account. It should actually drop off the reports soon. I have a lost/stolen card listed on my reports. The card was opened May 2007. It is scheduled to be dropped May 2010. Do you see a notation like that on your report? My card was closed October 2007.

Re: Experian. Credit card lost or stolen

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:04:10 GMT

But it might hurt your score if the card is newish --younger than your AAoA! (average age of accounts). If so, it can be dropping your average age.

If this is happening, call HSBC and demand that they code it properly. Quite obviously, the card was neither lost nor stolen. It should simply be a reissue.

Someone stole my AmEx info and used it for some brisk online shopping. AmEx gave me a new card, and there is only one TL on my records.

With one of my big negatives being too many new accounts, the last thing that I needed was another new account that didn't even really exist.

Re: Experian. Credit card lost or stolen

smallfry — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:44:58 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
But it might hurt your score if the card is newish --younger than your AAoA! (average age of accounts). If so, it can be dropping your average age.

If this is happening, call HSBC and demand that they code it properly. Quite obviously, the card was neither lost nor stolen. It should simply be a reissue.

Someone stole my AmEx info and used it for some brisk online shopping. AmEx gave me a new card, and there is only one TL on my records.

With one of my big negatives being too many new accounts, the last thing that I needed was another new account that didn't even really exist.

EX and EQ are picking up my lost/stolen actually cloned card and it is hurting my AAofA. TU only shows 1 tradeline which is correct. I am afraid to dispute with EQ and EX for fear of the possible consequences.

Message Edited by smallfry on 02-11-2009 11:44 PM

Re: Experian. Credit card lost or stolen

_qwerty_ — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:04:54 GMT

I thought dispute procedure in this particular case is more or less straitforward especially if you are a member of myfico. But It's not the first time when I hear that dispute can become a nightmare. Should I push HBSC first and than as a last resort file a dispute? Basically it is the same account - it is so obvious that there is nothing to argue about. But maybe I'm missing the point.

What is exactly TL stand for? Thanks for explaining what is AAoA means

Re: Experian. Credit card lost or stolen

Junejer — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:48:13 GMT

A dispute with the CRAs is never straightforward. That is an oxymoron. Push HSBC first, before disputing. Your accounts can wind up getting deleted, thus rendering it difficult at best to get them back reporting properly.

Re: Experian. Credit card lost or stolen

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:28:48 GMT

_qwerty_ wrote:

...PS
What is exactly TL stand for? Thanks for explaining what is AAoA means

TL = tradeline. Any type of extended credit. So CC's, mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, lines of credit, HELOC's, all the goodies.