topic Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental! in Understanding FICO® Scoring

FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

EW800 — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 19:29:38 GMT

The FICO God's can sure be very temperamental! I know every profile is different, however I received a SW alert this morning that my EQ score had gone up one point (717 to 718). It appears that it was because of a CC balance that went from about $83 to $0. Then about three hours later I get another SW Alert stating that my EQ score dropped one point (back down to 717) because of an account balance increase. It was a CC balance that went from $0 to a whopping $8.

Note to self, if a balance is reporting as $0, keep in there! I have been trying to have $0 balances (except on one card that I keep well under 10%) before statements cut, but in this case I goofed and let the $8 report.

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

mongstradamus — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 21:34:04 GMT

@EW800 wrote:
The FICO God's can sure be very temperamental! I know every profile is different, however I received a SW alert this morning that my EQ score had gone up one point (717 to 718). It appears that it was because of a CC balance that went from about $83 to $0. Then about three hours later I get another SW Alert stating that my EQ score dropped one point (back down to 717) because of an account balance increase. It was a CC balance that went from $0 to a whopping $8.

Note to self, if a balance is reporting as $0, keep in there! I have been trying to have $0 balances (except on one card that I keep well under 10%) before statements cut, but in this case I goofed and let the $8 report.

I had 0 utilization and eq decided to bring the hammer down on me. I lost like 27 points or so. I wasn't thrilled by that i am going to let my BCP report next week sometimes and see if i can gain some of those points back. The lesson i learned is au accounts don't count for utilization :-(

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

fused — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 00:28:38 GMT

Understanding FICO Scoring is an oxymoron.

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

Revelate — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 00:33:10 GMT

@fused wrote:
Understanding FICO Scoring is an oxymoron.

Quoted for Truth!

That said, a positive change followed by a counterbalancing negative change, in a short period of time, should be identical absolute value and zero out which appears to have been the case here.

Where I start head-scratching is when it doesn't follow that pattern like in my own data. That's, well, irritating .

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

fused — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 00:43:27 GMT

@Revelate wrote:
@fused wrote:
Understanding FICO Scoring is an oxymoron.
Quoted for Truth!

That said, a positive change followed by a counterbalancing negative change, in a short period of time, should be identical absolute value and zero out which appears to have been the case here.

Where I start head-scratching is when it doesn't follow that pattern like in my own data. That's, well, irritating .

With the earlier FICO scoring formulas that was certainly true. Now that we're working with FICO 08 scores, I'm reluctant to answer many questions on FICO scoring. I feel like I'm totally new to FICO scoring...AGAIN.

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

User5103 — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 02:11:04 GMT

Too tempermental!!! I purchased a plane ticket for $350 using a CC with a 2500 limit and my score went down. Eventhough my debt to credit ratio is less than 20%. Aparently what I heard about having a equal or less than 20% debt to credit ratio is a lie. Ughhh!!

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

EW800 — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 02:30:24 GMT

@fused wrote:
Understanding FICO Scoring is an oxymoron.

Amen to that!!

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

EW800 — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 02:38:23 GMT

@Revelate wrote:

Where I start head-scratching is when it doesn't follow that pattern like in my own data. That's, well, irritating .

That is so true! I am half-surprised that I did not see a larger drop than gain.

In about a week, I will be putting about $700 on a Barclay Card to take advantage of the $0 intrest for two months or so, for some dental work for my wife. Although my total UTIL will still be under 2% or so, I am sure I will take a bit of a score hit for this charge. I plan to at least make sure that the balance is not more than $500 or so when the statement cuts so that the UTIL on this one card will be only about 7%, but I am sure I will take a temporary hit. Thankfully, I have learned through this forum that UTIL has no memory.

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

fungoman — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 04:14:35 GMT

Sw gives you your score every time it changes?

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

EW800 — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 04:17:49 GMT

It is supposed to whenever you set your target score to whatever your current score is. It then should let you know anytime it goes above or below that number.

Others can chime in, but I find it to not be perfect. I've seen some delays before it picks up changes to the credit report, which can delay the alerts - but IMHO good overall.

Re: FICO Scoring - Very Temperamental!

sportsguy83 — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 22:40:44 GMT

It is. I've given up trying to make sense of the small changes and am just comparing it month to month.

Got a SW notice today that mine went down (just 1 point) after my Discover card reported a $0 balance...