topic Re: Credit score drop in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Credit score drop

mitbemi — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 22:26:36 GMT

I have been rebuilding my credit from a bankruptcy over 4 years ago. My scores for Transunion is 693 and Equifax 619. My problem with Equifax score is that on JUne 11, 2014 my scores were 683 and I have expected them to go up because it has been a long time since they were upgraded. Ayway two days later on June 13, 2014 my scores were 619. For absolutely no reason. I can see a few points here and there but 63 points???? I called fico and they started explaining what the reason could be. Maybe I did not pay something on time, maybe I did not have a balance for a long time etc. All the same answers as always. I know all those things and have done everything I am expected to do so none of those reasons applied. I called Equifax but they told me that since I do not subscribe to their own credit reporting they could not tell me anything. I would have to pay $19.99 which I do not have a problem with. THen I called FICO one more time and this time the lady working there told me that the lenders now operate on a new reporting system. And I asked if everyone's score would then drop and she said Maybe because every place that report to them now want the new scoring. Has anyone had the same problem as I? I now am going to have a very hard time to get a mortgage. My secured card was just lifted to a non secured platinum card at Wells Fargo. I am so unbelievably upset and don't know what to do. I have been waiting to get a mortgage until I would have 690 or above. Last year I was approved for a mortgage with a 3.75% interest when my combined scores were 680 but the purchase did not go through. Not because of me though. I remember calling FICO last year for an error on my report and apparently she had my FREE Credit Report pulled. Why that was the case I don't know. Don't they have access to everything?

When i tried to dispute my problem with Equifax the security question did not relate to me at all and I was "told' that since my questions were answered wrongly I could not send anything to Equifax. Any suggestions how to approach this dilemma?

Re: Credit score drop

TRC_WA — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 23:47:58 GMT

My EQ score went down 1 pt during the transition.

I would go over your report carefully. That big of a difference seems strange.

Re: Credit score drop

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 00:17:55 GMT

When does this new scoring/reporting system go into effect?

i hope my score doesnt change much...

Re: Credit score drop

Vee25 — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 00:28:51 GMT

My score also dropped by 10 points today with the upgraded FICO score. I contacted customer service and they replied:

Thank you for contacting myFICO Customer Care. Addressing the score drop as of 06-14-2014, "You have received a complimentary Equifax credit report and upgraded FICO score", you have upgraded to the most recently developed version of the FICO Score available at all three credit bureaus. while the majority of scoring factors remain the same there are key difference between the latest and the previous version. Some factors are now being weighed more heavily while other factor are more forgiving. Regardless of the score version, the best actions you can take to manage your score over time are 1. pay bills on time 2. keep credit indebtness levels low and 3. only apply for credit when you need it.myFICO Customer Care
www.myFICO.com

I also subscribe to Equifax and nothing changed there so I guess I have to deal with it. I did not ask for the new credit report, only received an email and alert - myFICO is pleased to provide you with a complimentary Equifax Credit Report and upgraded version of your FICO® Score.

Not happy because I am 10 points farther then I need to be. Working so hard and it so frustrating. :-(

Re: Credit score drop

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 00:37:40 GMT

@mitbemi wrote:
I have been rebuilding my credit from a bankruptcy over 4 years ago. My scores for Transunion is 693 and Equifax 619. My problem with Equifax score is that on JUne 11, 2014 my scores were 683 and I have expected them to go up because it has been a long time since they were upgraded. Ayway two days later on June 13, 2014 my scores were 619. For absolutely no reason. I can see a few points here and there but 63 points???? I called fico and they started explaining what the reason could be. Maybe I did not pay something on time, maybe I did not have a balance for a long time etc. All the same answers as always. I know all those things and have done everything I am expected to do so none of those reasons applied. I called Equifax but they told me that since I do not subscribe to their own credit reporting they could not tell me anything. I would have to pay $19.99 which I do not have a problem with. THen I called FICO one more time and this time the lady working there told me that the lenders now operate on a new reporting system. And I asked if everyone's score would then drop and she said Maybe because every place that report to them now want the new scoring. Has anyone had the same problem as I? I now am going to have a very hard time to get a mortgage. My secured card was just lifted to a non secured platinum card at Wells Fargo. I am so unbelievably upset and don't know what to do. I have been waiting to get a mortgage until I would have 690 or above. Last year I was approved for a mortgage with a 3.75% interest when my combined scores were 680 but the purchase did not go through. Not because of me though. I remember calling FICO last year for an error on my report and apparently she had my FREE Credit Report pulled. Why that was the case I don't know. Don't they have access to everything?
When i tried to dispute my problem with Equifax the security question did not relate to me at all and I was "told' that since my questions were answered wrongly I could not send anything to Equifax. Any suggestions how to approach this dilemma?

I would suggest pulling your reports directly, and looking them over to see if they're accurate.

Re: Credit score drop

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 00:43:51 GMT

@Vee25 wrote:
My score also dropped by 10 points today with the upgraded FICO score. I contacted customer service and they replied:

Thank you for contacting myFICO Customer Care. Addressing the score drop as of 06-14-2014, "You have received a complimentary Equifax credit report and upgraded FICO score", you have upgraded to the most recently developed version of the FICO Score available at all three credit bureaus. while the majority of scoring factors remain the same there are key difference between the latest and the previous version. Some factors are now being weighed more heavily while other factor are more forgiving. Regardless of the score version, the best actions you can take to manage your score over time are 1. pay bills on time 2. keep credit indebtness levels low and 3. only apply for credit when you need it.myFICO Customer Care
www.myFICO.com

I also subscribe to Equifax and nothing changed there so I guess I have to deal with it. I did not ask for the new credit report, only received an email and alert - myFICO is pleased to provide you with a complimentary Equifax Credit Report and upgraded version of your FICO® Score.

Not happy because I am 10 points farther then I need to be. Working so hard and it so frustrating. :-(

The reality here is that the lending industry uses a bunch of different scoring systems, and thus you really have a lot of scores, not just one.

Many creditors use "enhanced" and proprietary scores that are not available to consumers.

As an example, if you apply for a mortgage, the 04 series of scores will be used, and if you apply for a CC, then an 08 bankcard enhanced score may be used. In general, these scores will not match each other.

What I'd suggest is to focus on the report itself, and make it as clean as possible.

Re: Credit score drop

mitbemi — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 23:54:27 GMT

thanks for your reply.. I do not owe anything and I am a person who has always paid everything on time. The credit companies do not know me whatsoever. When my husband was forced to declare bankruptcy (his mother was ill with cancer and we took all our savings and whatever we owned to pay for different kind of treatments which did not work anyway) I was told by our attorney that I had to declare with him. SO I did even though I did not want to. in February -10 I stopped paying mu cards and bankruptcy was declared and finalized in May -10. Since then the only thing I have is a Visa card with $3000.00 limit which I most of the time pay off before the bill comes because I hate having bills. SOmetimes I leave a small balance because that is what lenders want to see. Very Strange! Anyway, since I don't owe anything I can't really have too much debt. Right? I pay the only bill I have on time and I have not asked for any cards, auto loans or mortgages. We were going to inquire about a mortgage this summer since we are now 4 years out of bankruptcy but now our chances are very slim. I have checked my Equifax report and there are no errors. So 63 points is what I now have less. I somehow feel so worthless. I am so frustrated because there is nothing one can do. I still believe that all this is because the lenders do not want to lend and they can charge higher interest rate. I have no faith in the system anymore.

Re: Credit score drop

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 20:13:25 GMT

Hi , I have the same problem I worked hard to rebuild my credit and June 3rd I received my score was dropped to 652 just for "UPDATE" so we lost just for update system or just because those companies want money?

Re: Credit score drop

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 20:31:14 GMT

That's exactly what I did, I pulled a 3 in 1 and was dissatisfied, so I pulled all three separate reports from the CRAs.. there was lots of discrepancies on what is being reported. I have focused on the accounts with a balance. My scores were rather low and I have seen a gradual increase. My best bet would be to pull fico scores. I am going to wait till all my disputes are finalized and just monitor my credit and get scores in december. I was really exicited that TU reported a 733 but really disappointed that EQ dropped.

Re: Credit score drop

margaritacolorado — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 15:21:08 GMT

mine went down 9 points for no reason and put me in a higher interest bracket right before i am getting a short term loan. It is ridiculous how much control they have over our lives for no reason and with no recourse. I have never missed a cc payment in my life...just hold high balances. Oh well. Not going to let it bother me...just pay the higher rates. I'm an accountant with a small corporation and it isn't as if people will stop needing us..lmao.

Re: Credit score drop

lonelyisland — Sat, 21 Jun 2014 15:43:24 GMT

From what I have read on these boards, the score given here after the update is not one used for mortgage scoring, but rather one that's more likely to be used by CC companies. Speculating that if the cc portion of your report is less "strong", that might account for the drop. Conventional wisdom here says have 3-4 cards, all with zero balance except one with 1-9% reporting. However, the lender will still use their preferred FICO version. This score update here has no direct bearing on what the lender pulls. I don't know if the old version matched what lenders pull, it may not have.

I would still order printed/mailed copies of each credit report via phone for each bureau and go over them to see what might be a problem for lenders. The security questions are often "wrong" for me as well, I just select "does not apply" and have no problems accessing my report. If you are selecting this answer for the questions and its still locking you out, its even more reason to order those reports.

Good luck!