27 Point Spread in scores that I can't seem to fix

[Anonymous]

 So after a few months with 35% utilization on about 65k of credit, i paid it all off to 1% (being sure to leave a $250 balance because the last time i paid to 0 i was penalized). Previously when i got down to about 8% my scores jumped 20+ points but this time, the most i got was +6 and the spread is pretty far with only Equifax putting me in the good category the others in the FAIR. My scores are even lower than they were a year ago even though i am further out from bankruptcy (3.5 years), with more available credit, very low utilization, only 1 new card in the last year and 1 enquiry. 

Not sure what I can do to improve the laggards other than wait. I feel if I apply for anything new (i burned all the big guys in my bankruptcy) I'll get declined and the only thing i really want now is a good 0% promotional balance for a year so I can get some new equipment for my business.

thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Assuming all of the information on your reports is accurate and the same across the 3 bureaus, there's not thing you can do to "fix" a point spread.  The spread is what it is.  Many people may only have 10 points or so between their best and worst score using the same scoring model, where other people report 20 or even a 30-36 point variance. 

What you should be more concerned about rather than the variance, which it seems you are, is just improving your scores overall.  That's really the meat and potatoes here.  If your utilization is a 1% reported to all bureaus, it's a non-issue as you've already positioned yourself as good as possible with that slice of the FICO pie.  If you don't apply for anything, your new accounts and inquiries will age quickly to the point where they aren't impacting your score any longer and your AAoA will continue to grow which will raise your score in time. 

The other thing you want to take a look at are your negative items.  How many do you have?  Of what severity?  How old is each one?  Depending on the answers to these questions, it's possible that you could improve your score 10, 20, 50, 75+ points by focusing on and cleaning up this large slice of the FICO pie.

Last, do you have an open installment loan?  If not, employing the SSL technique would instantly score you around 20-30 points.

[Anonymous]

Thanks!

To respond to your points, all information is accurate across all bureaus i have 4 negative accounts with the Bankruptcy from over 3 years ago and i have a student loan in good standing (does that account as an installment loan?) but i could apply for a lease agreement on some equipment I need to buy - would that count or is it better to go with the small $500 secured loan you speak of or, from the credit agency point of view does it matter?

[Anonymous]

I'm not well versed on student loans at all having never had any.  I know there are different factors that impact whether or not they are considered into scoring, but am not really one to speak about them.  Have you ever pulled your FICO scores from a source that provides you with reason codes for your score?  A place like CCT, myFICO, etc. will list for you 3-4 bullet point reason codes as to factors adversely impacting your credit score.  If you see the reason code, "no open installment loan" or something similar, it would mean that your student loan is not being seen by FICO and thus you are missing out on 25-30 points from your scores.  I'd suggest a $1 trial at CCT if you don't have access to another source that may be able to provide you these reason codes.

All open installment loans with few exceptions are viewed that same (and scored the same) under FICO models, so a $500 SSL would accomplish just as much for you as a loan that's tens of thousands of dollars.  No need to waste your time and energy on a "real" loan that you don't really need if the SSL will do the same thing for you and you'll basically pay next to nothing for it, where with a conventional loan you'll be paying monthly interest.

As far as your negative accounts from the BK, I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done about them.  I don't know anything about BKs at all, but I'm sure the guys over in the rebuilding forum do.  I'm not sure with a BK if it's even possible to get negative accounts removed, so there's a chance that it would be a waste of time investing yourself in that process.  Maybe you can, though, meaning it would be worthwhile to put some effort into getting those negative accounts removed.

[NRB525]

OP the Share Secured Loan is the better way to go, because it is really just a cycled $500 savings plan, with no out-of-pocket up front cost. There is a small delta of interest cost each month, between the interest you pay for the loan and the interest you earn on the savings. It may be that certain equipment financing you get for your business could be interpreted as a personal installment loan, but the details of that are beyond what we can give advice here, and the financial commitment should be a business decision, not a FICO scoring trick. 

Can you list out the cards and limits you currently have, as well as which banks were IIB? Sometimes there are ways to work with available cards to get low cost financing. 

[Anonymous]

I have quite a spread too.  Not quite sure why.

I have a thin profile.  2 CCs and an Alliant SSL @ <9% util.  I wonder why Equifax likes me so much?  Only 1 less HP on EQ than my other 3 (3/3/2).

[Anonymous]

Your EQ score is only 22 points higher than your lowest score, which is well within the typical range that we see regarding a variance between scores.  The highest variance reported on this forum between two scores generated with identical profile data I believe is 36, so you could either add another 10 points to your EQ score or take away 10 from your other 2 scores and they would still be within a known and accepted variance.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Your EQ score is only 22 points higher than your lowest score, which is well within the typical range that we see regarding a variance between scores.  The highest variance reported on this forum between two scores generated with identical profile data I believe is 36, so you could either add another 10 points to your EQ score or take away 10 from your other 2 scores and they would still be within a known and accepted variance.

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This is true for Fico 8 and even more so for Fico 9.

Fico mortgage scores are a whole different ballgame. I experienced a 48 point difference between EQ Fico 04 (764) and TU Fico 04 (812) while having a ZERO point difference between EQ Fico 8 and TU Fico 8 at the same time (reference 2/2016 3B report) 

[Anonymous]

Good information above regarding a greater variance being possible between mortgage scores, but FWIW I don't believe the OP was referring to or considering mortgage scores.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 So after a few months with 35% utilization on about 65k of credit, i paid it all off to 1% (being sure to leave a $250 balance because the last time i paid to 0 i was penalized). Previously when i got down to about 8% my scores jumped 20+ points but this time, the most i got was +6 and the spread is pretty far with only Equifax putting me in the good category the others in the FAIR. My scores are even lower than they were a year ago even though i am further out from bankruptcy (3.5 years), with more available credit, very low utilization, only 1 new card in the last year and 1 enquiry. 

Not sure what I can do to improve the laggards other than wait. I feel if I apply for anything new (i burned all the big guys in my bankruptcy) I'll get declined and the only thing i really want now is a good 0% promotional balance for a year so I can get some new equipment for my business.

thoughts?

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I think that's the key.... letting time pass.