@KeithW wrote:I realize that the scoring and updates are all handled by a computer on a rigid schedule, but sometimes it seems like it is just messing with me. I have more than a dozen CCs and had heavy balances on most of them. Three weeks ago I paid all of them down several Util. tiers. In the past doing this made a huge difference. Oddly enough most of them haven't updated yet, even though over the past months they have always updated around the middle of the month. If that wasn't frustrating enough, I had one card that was at $3,200 last month and I paid it down to $1,200 on the 11th, since it usually updates between the 16th-20th. It was updated on the 19th and still showed the $3,200 balance.
I also notice that in the past I would have several cards get paid down significantly and while that paydown was reflected, it wouldn't affect my score for several weeks. So the FICO system seemed to delay updating the score even though it was aware of the new balance.
I feel like a puppet master is sitting there updating my scores at the worst times or failing to update them just to mess with me. lol
There is no "FICO system" for updates. The data upon which your scores are based is updating constantly, and the scores are pulled only when someone pulls them. And then you can find out about your score in a multiplicity of ways, some real time, some delayed, and some extremely delayed.
We would need much more detail on where you're getting your information from, and how you're getting it, with specific examples, in order to understand why it feels like the "puppet master" is messing with you 
I'm pretty sure the "puppet master" could care less about you or me
Its been known TU is the last to report changes at times. The creditors may do their end. Its the CRA's that havent done their updates yet. They're like banks. They have their mass update/maintence thing also.
@KeithW wrote:MYFICO app sends me updates on my phone saying that Cap One has reported a balance decrease. And then it will tell me if my score went up, down, or stayed the same.
The score changes will show on your member dashboard, but the balances, etc., won't update in your report until you pull the next new report.
@KeithW wrote:MYFICO app sends me updates on my phone saying that Cap One has reported a balance decrease. And then it will tell me if my score went up, down, or stayed the same.
MyFICO alerts don't provide reasons for a score change. There are certain events which trigger MyFICO alerts. If there happens to be any difference between your present score at that particular bureau and the previous score reported to you from that bureau, the score change is tacked on to the alert. There is not necessarily any connection at all between the score change and the alert substance.
MyFICO explains this as follows:
Why did my score go up when I got an alert for something negative (or why did my score go down when I got an alert for something positive)?
The short answer: Your FICO® Score may change because of other events not monitored by an alert.
Whenever we send you a credit alert, we also send an updated FICO Score. To ensure you get the most current score, we calculate it based on your entire credit report at that point in time—not just the new information on the alert. This means your new score may reflect other changes that are outside of the things we watch for (see everything we monitor).
Sometimes you may see your score increase when you think it should’ve decreased, and vice-versa, but you’ll always have your most up-to-date and accurate score.
https://support.myfico.com/hc/en-us/articles/360038084633
@KeithW wrote:Well, I paid off 3 cards that were over 50% usage and paid the rest down to less than 50% usage. That was over 3 weeks ago and while half of those changes have been updated, my score hasn't budged. The last time I did something like this it took almost 6 weeks for the scores to change, yet when I ran up the balance on the cards, the score dropped within 1-2 weeks.
Where?
@KeithW wrote:Well, I paid off 3 cards that were over 50% usage and paid the rest down to less than 50% usage. That was over 3 weeks ago and while half of those changes have been updated, my score hasn't budged. The last time I did something like this it took almost 6 weeks for the scores to change, yet when I ran up the balance on the cards, the score dropped within 1-2 weeks.
1. There is no doubt that (a) converting three 50% + accounts to zero, and (b) getting the others to below 50% would cause a significant score increase across all FICO scoring models. But only when all the data changes have been reported, and your scores pulled with the new reported balances.
2. Saying that you paid them off over 3 weeks ago is not a meaningful statement; the important date is not when you paid them off, but when they reported the new balances. You could have paid them off 3 weeks ago, and they still might not have reported. You have to take into account that there is a monthly reporting cycle, and in almost every case just one reporting date for each account.
3. What do you mean when you say "the changes have been updated"?
4. Your impression that it took 6 weeks for the scores to change the last time you paid a number of cards down sounds reasonable, because it might take that long for everything to report and for a new score to be pulled.
5. Your impression that it only takes 1 or 2 weeks for your score to drop, is probably not really accurate, but think about this: When you have even one or two accounts go from below 50% to above 50%, that can cause a serious ding to your scores. But it does take the reporting cycle to play out. So if you let your account go above 50% today, but it doesn't report for 4 weeks, it's not going to show up in your scores until sometime after 4 weeks. It's not going to affect your scores in 1 or 2 weeks.