Credit Score Drop?

[Sinarta]

Hi guys,

I have one question. I have been working on my credit since the beginning of the year and it has went from a 606 to 663 to 658 (used some cc's again) now to a 615. I also have equifax credit watch and I got a message that said I have a null alert, (dont know what that means). I have not checked my credit report yet to find out why the decrease but I have just purchased a new car and I think that may be one of the problems. My question is did my credit score decrease because the car loan just appeared on my credit and if that is so, will my score increase again?

[Anonymous]

Hi Sinarta. Yes, the inquiry PLUS the new account showing up on your cr's could be the likely explanation of the score drop.

The score will start recovering though, in 3 or 4 months as you begin to have positive history reporting for the car loan.

[Sinarta]

Thanks for the reply. II now feel a little better. Since being on here, I know to never be late on any payments which I never have. The only problem that I had was maxing out those cc's. I will keep you guys posted when my score increases again.

[Anonymous]

Ouch! Being maxed out on any cc, or close to it can REALLY cause your scores to drop like a lead balloon! Amounts owed account for a full 30% of your FICO scores.

You will see SUBSTANTIAL score rises when you get your utils below 50% and will continue to see improvement with each 10% util drop.

In February, 2007 my TU PFICO score was 521, reflecting 80% utils. I made it a prime directive to reduce the cc balances(mainly to keep from paying obscene interest fees).

By July my utils had dropped to around 18% and my PFICO score had risen to 681.

Many people here have seen the same type of score jump ONLY by paying down their cc balances.

Get those utils down, and let us know how it goes.

[Sinarta]

Yea, I paid all of my cc's off in January and by Feb. my score was 663. Then I used one of my CC's and basically maxed out my uti and my score went down to a 658 and I have had no activity on my report since then until I got the message this morning telling me my score is not a 615.  I will pay that cc down this month so my  score can increase again.

[RobertEG]

Neat, Sylviatob!  I have had a similar mental catharasis.  My FICO was in the low 600's about a year and a half ago, and I sat with an overall %util of over 80%.  I was oblivious to this forum, and ONLY started to pay down my CC debt because of the absurd $200 a month I was paying just in interest.  Then, in my stupid state of non-FICO knowledge, I had the bright idea.....  Just get a new card, and I will have new credit, and more to put into the stripper's garter!  WRONG!  Denied for low FICO.  What in the hell is a FICO, I pondered? 

Then I began to learn about credit, mainly from the painful facts I read on this site.  I now have a 6% util, and a FICO of 729. 

The strippers may be a little poorer, but sometimes sleeping happily and content alone is better than sleeping in a bed of thorns.

A FICO Score Watch need not come over the itnernet.

Message Edited by RobertEG on 04-14-2008 08:52 PM