Equifax is the Devil

[Anonymous]

I'm only half joking.  It just seems like Equifax is the most stubborn of the big three. Am I alone in feeling this way? lol.

Before I tell the story, yes, I know the scores are infuenced by many, many factors, and it's likely other things in my report are influencing my EQ scores.

So, here's what happened: In an ongoing effort to reduce my overall utilization, paid my First Premier card down from 82% utilization to 14% utilization. I have been anxiously waiting for the payment to report.  I just got the alert. TU and EQ both reported the payment today.

TU gave me 9 points, OK - I'll take it.
EQ gave NOTHING  I just have this vision of EQ sitting in a corner, not wanting to share their ice cream with anyone.

*sigh*

I also paid my Credit One card  to ZERO. That is supposed to report tomorrow. Maybe then they will get the memo.

[Revelate]

Heh.

For a long while (years) the Equifax portion of my mortgage trifecta was substantially lower than either EX / TU, with an identical file as to EX, and no matter what I did I couldn't get it to go any higher than 700 or any lower than 680 (well short of taking a new negative that might've done it).

EQ isn't my favorite bureau though recently I got a non-trivial boost for I'm still not quite sure what reason but suddenly things are within spitting distance of sunshine and rainbows on that score as far as I'm concerned and now EX is the outlier though I know why that's in the comparitive toilet.

[Anonymous]

OP, you mentioned the drop in the individual utilization of your one card, but did let us know what your before/after aggregate utilization was from this one card paydown.  The answer to that question will let us know what kind of scoring gain, if any, you'd expect to see.

From an individual card perspective, you'd stand to gain no points at all from paying this single card down from 80%+ to 14%.  The reason here is that the FICO algorithm looks to your highest individual utilization card.  Looking at your sig, you have a CO card at 93% utilization.  This would be the account that the algorithm looks at when imposing an individual card penalty, not a lesser utilization one like the one you just paid down. 

[Anonymous]

That makes sense. I thought it would be best to attack the First Prem card before the CO, just from an interest rate standpoint. My Credit One card was actually at 101% utilization once the interest/statement generated (oops). So, that individual card utilization was higher than Capital One before I paid it off, and the payoff hasn't reported yet.

I'm tackling the Capital One balances with my next bonus check... By month end. 😁 By Christmas...my goal is all cards at 28.9% or less.

[Anonymous]

Have you taken the time to determine your current aggregate utilization?

[FireMedic1]

OP. BBS is hitting the nail right on the head. Also you have more than 50% of your cards reporting a balance. Work hard and get to AZEO. And try to hit <=8.99%.

Merrick Bank - 73%
Capital One QS - 93%
Capital One Platinum - 89%
First Premier - 67%
First Premier - 14% (From 80% to 14% in one month! Has not reported yet)
Milestone - 38%
Brylane - 36%

Without knowing all that you have. You got at least 20 or more points waiting to be rewarded once you get your util % down. In red are considered maxed out and is hurting you more. FP will help once 14% but not by much. I wouldnt use any cards until you get them all in order again. Good Luck and report back how much you gained once you get them all down.

EQ was a pain in my side for yrs, now its TU's turn.

[Anonymous]

Hey BBS - Yes I have. Right now, a 63% is what I have according to my reports. One card (Credit One) is still reporting over the limit although I have paid it in full. Still waiting for this payment to update! It's like waiting for a baby to be born.

Once my payments get reported, the Credit One will be at $0 and my aggregate will be 47%.

I received my bonus at work a bit early, so now I'm about to take a chunk out of my Capital One balances.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hey BBS - Yes I have. Right now, a 63% is what I have according to my reports.

---

If you're at 63% aggregate utilization now, what were you at before you paid that one card down from 80-something% to 14%?  If it was anything in the 64%-68.9% range, the chances of you seeing any score improvement would be slim to none as crossing the 68.9% threshold is what would have yielded you points.  You stated that in the relative near future you'll be down to 47% aggregate utilization based on your reported balances.  If that's the case, you will have crossed the next threshold at 48.9% utilization, which would then cause a score increase probably to the tune of around 20 points give or take.

[Anonymous]

Hey BBS - it was 80% before.
I have an Equifax update though. My Credit One card payoff finally reported to that bureau. So, last update, it was over the limit, 101% utilization. Now, it is 0%. Result? 33 points! Can't wait to see what TU and EX give.

[Anonymous]

Cool.  How much more did that $0 balance reporting drop your aggregate utilization percentage?