90% threshold & dropping to below 50%

[Barneygirl]

Hey good afternoon MYFICO-ers!

I have an interesting scenario that I'm hoping to getting a little insight into.

I have been paying off my revolving accounts (credit cards) and have everything but two accounts paid to $0

Those two accounts each hold less than 50% utilization - HOWEVER, Equifax is reporting my credit utilization on one at 94% because the credit card company hasn't updated their data in months!

Round 5 of disputes with Equifax and they FINALLY understood what my problem is, and how to fix it.  So, I'm looking for this one card to finally show at the correct amount of 43%....  dropping all cards at $0, with two at 43%.  Total utilization will show at 16% once this mistake is fixed.

I'm hoping to squeeze about 10 points out of this..... and am wondering if anyone knows how much this mistake might be costing me right now & any idea what I might be looking at? (I'm at a 722 right now)

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

BEFORE

     Total Util = ___ %

     Indiv Util = 94%

     Indiv Util = 43%

AFTER:

     Total Util = 16%

     Indiv Util = 43%

     Indiv Util = 43%

You'll need to fill out the missing information in the BEFORE section for people to hazard a guess as to the scoring benefit.

Even so it will still be a guess, whereas if you just wait you'll know for certain.  Depending on the guesses you get, will that enable you to make some kind decision prior to the new balances reporting?  If not, it may make the most sense to just wait and see.

[Barneygirl]

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@Anonymous wrote:

BEFORE

     Total Util =  28 %

     Indiv Util = 94%

     Indiv Util = 43%

AFTER:

     Total Util = 16%

     Indiv Util = 43%

     Indiv Util = 43%

You'll need to fill out the missing information in the BEFORE section for people to hazard a guess as to the scoring benefit.

Even so it will still be a guess, whereas if you just wait you'll know for certain.  Depending on the guesses you get, will that enable you to make some kind decision prior to the new balances reporting?  If not, it may make the most sense to just wait and see.

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I was right at 28% overall utilization prior to the correction.  16% post-correction.  I know there's threshold at 27 or 28%, isn't there?

[Anonymous]

The known total U thresholds are 28.99% and 8.99%.  Your total U was < 28.99% before and remains at > 9.01% after, so you may get zero scoring points for lowering the total U.

You'll have better luck with the individual U.  You were at > 91% before and will be at < 48.99% after.  That's certain to give you some help and likely to give you the 10+ points you want.

[Anonymous]

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@Barneygirl wrote:

Those two accounts each hold less than 50% utilization - HOWEVER, Equifax is reporting my credit utilization on one at 94% because the credit card company hasn't updated their data in months!

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How did you get Equifax to fix it, I'm having the same problem?

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're down to 16% aggregate utilization you're only 7%-8% away from crossing into the top tier for utilization, which will no doubt result in a nice score bump for you.

[Barneygirl]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Barneygirl wrote:

Those two accounts each hold less than 50% utilization - HOWEVER, Equifax is reporting my credit utilization on one at 94% because the credit card company hasn't updated their data in months!

---

How did you get Equifax to fix it, I'm having the same problem?

---

Treasurecredit...... this has been an ongoing battle for me with Equifax for two months now.  They've been reporting a balance that's near maxed out for over three months now, and not showing any new data for this tradeline since June. 

After three failed attempts at disputing I finally called the creditor and sat on the phone for an hour with them (I finally got to the person who processes the disputes the credit agency sends).  He walked me through the exact dispute that equifax was sending and we found the problem...

When a credit agency sends a dispute, like in this case, that the balance is incorrect, it also requests that the creditor verify the balance....... for the date that the balance was reported.  In my case there was no july, or august data.  So when I disputed it would send the JUNE balance to the creditor, requesting that they verify the balance.  Well, in JUNE the balance was correct!

I took this information and called Equifax.  Then sat on the phone for 2 hours with their dispute resolution department, trying to explain the issue to this girl who just didn't understand what I was trying to say.  I asked, several times, to speak with someone above her, and finally after getting mad enough she put me through to her manager.

About 15 minutes of explaining to the manager what was going on, and requesting that a dispute be put through with NASA (my creditor) to provide recent, updated, tradeline and she finally did it.  I gave her the exact verbiage that NASA gave to me, so that they knew what was being requested, and not just another verification of June's data.  The Manager wrote up the dispute, and I made her READ IT BACK TO ME!!! 

I should know if it goes through in about 2 days (their average turnaround with NASA for disputes).

Quite frankly..... stop dealing with Equifax and call your creditor.  They CAN tell you exactly why your disputes are being rejected (or verified as false data)....... likely the same as me.

I'll let you know how it goes as soon as I hear back!

[Anonymous]

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@Barneygirl wrote:

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Quite frankly..... stop dealing with Equifax and call your creditor.

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BG has hit on some hard won wisdom here.  I'll generalize her discovery to this:

Always consider going to the creditor first, rather than relying on a dispute with the CRA to fix the problem.

This applies to any CRA and almost any problem with your report.  It's not an absolute rule, which is the reason I use the word consider.  But it applies much of the time.

Disputes initiated via the CRA often result in the CRA reaching out to the creditor, who resubmits the erroneous data, which constitutes "verifying" it.  Furthermore the CRA has on its record now that the data have been verified and repeated subsequent disputes may be less effective.

Leverage the fact, if it is the case, that your creditor wants an ongoing relationship with you.  They want your records to be accurate and for you to be happy.  Indeed, if they like you enough, they may be willing to delete true but negative data (this is the principle behind Good Will Letters) simply to please you.

Sometimes the problem have to be fixed in tandem with you helping the creditor and CRA to talk to each other.  Unfortunate that this is somethines necessary, but it is.  The key though is even when the creditor can't solve the problem solely by itself, you often need to get the creditor involved and make them your ally.

[Anonymous]

This is insightful informaiton, but one thing sticks out to me: Why didn't your creditor send updates to CRA on your new balance? (zero for several months)  This is the real issue, but nothing has been mentioned about it. Whether your account has a 24,000 balance or a zero balance, your creditor is supposed to send updates to the credit bureau. If it isn't, it's not doing its job. Did your long discussion with the creditor ever reveal why they failed to submit your updated balance info that triggered your lengthy investigation?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I would like to know this myself. Capital One has not updated my balance on either of my two cards with them since the 24th and 28th of August.