Experian score falls 39 points from 845 to 806

[Anonymous]

and not sure why. Called Experian and they told me they couldn't assist as they were not credit adivsors....??

Anyway only difference from Dec 2020 to Jan 2021 is two lines were closed ( Best Buy and Macys)  by issuer due to inactivity.  
The BestBuy account was my most recent account opened in 2018. No deliquences, no BK, no nothing

I have 11 lines   only 3% usage  and the balances are the same ( slighlty smaller) from Dec to Jan.
Average account age 16 yrs 2 mos
Oldest account 35 yrs 

I am a bit puzzled 

[Anonymous]

Experian is correct in what they said.  They store the data and that data is run through an algorithm to generate a score.  They can answer questions about the data, but when it comes to a score they have no say.

Which EX score specifically are you referencing?  I'm assuming EX F8, but want to clarify.

Based on the limited information provided thus far, the closure of 2 revolvers shouldn't have had any impact on your scores as you've got plenty of others and are showing usage.  Taking balances/utilization percentage out of the equation, how many total accounts with balances did you have on your last report pull and how many this time?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply and background on Experian.

I had 13 lines in December and now after the 2 lines were closed I have 11. 

1 line went from a small balance ( less than $150 )  to a zero  balance as I paid it off.  1 line is a car lease which  

now that I look at it was closed as my last payment was in Dec ( car is due back at end of Jan )

The tile of the report is FICO Score 8 so I am guessing it

is EX  8.   Out curiousity, is there a place  on this board that explains the differrence Scores  8,7,???

[Anonymous]

A closer look at my report I found  one of my active lines went from 7% utilized to 11% utilized.  Not sure if going over 10% triggers something.  Another active line is steady  at 9%

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

A closer look at my report I found  one of my active lines went from 7% utilized to 11% utilized.  Not sure if going over 10% triggers something.  Another active line is steady  at 9%

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Typically if you do any of these your score may drop:

Go over ~9.5% utilization on any account or in total across revolving accounts

Pay off a loan (especially if it's your only one)

Have multiple accounts report balances, in relation to your total amount of open and/or closed accounts 

[dragontears]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the reply and background on Experian.

I had 13 lines in December and now after the 2 lines were closed I have 11. 

1 line went from a small balance ( less than $150 )  to a zero  balance as I paid it off.  1 line is a car lease which  

now that I look at it was closed as my last payment was in Dec ( car is due back at end of Jan )

The tile of the report is FICO Score 8 so I am guessing it

is EX  8.   Out curiousity, is there a place  on this board that explains the differrence Scores  8,7,???

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So your car loan is now showing as closed?

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

A closer look at my report I found  one of my active lines went from 7% utilized to 11% utilized.  Not sure if going over 10% triggers something.  Another active line is steady  at 9%

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No, neither the closure of the 2 accounts, nor 1 of the remaining accounts going from 7% to 11% utilization, would have affected your score.  There's something else out there.  You need to look harder. 39 points is no joke.

If the car lease was your only open loan, and is now paid off, that would cause a point drop in FICO 8; you get penalized for having no open installment loans.

[Anonymous]

Anything else I should look at ?   I was just looking at the history of my score on Experian .  It starts at 815 in Jan of this year

and hoovers around 820-825 most of the year until August when there was a a hard inquiry. It dropped from 821 to 804. 

The hard inquiry was part of an ID theft. The issuer was notified. The inquiry is still on my report and will drop out after 2 years.

In Sept my score popped back to 820 and then in Oct it jumped to 844 where it stayed  until this month with the drop.

My concern here is that something is going on in the background.  I have had a  security freeze on all 3 credit bureaus since Oct. Is there anyway to see what might be happening?

[Anonymous]

The auto loan was the only auto account that was open and the 2 other accounts that were closed were the only retail cards I had.

The remaining 11 open account are either  Visa or Mastercard with 1 Amex

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The auto loan was the only auto account that was open and the 2 other accounts that were closed were the only retail cards I had.

The remaining 11 open account are either  Visa or Mastercard with 1 Amex

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So it looks like your only installment loan (non-credit card) was paid off and closed. Since it was probably under 10% remaining balance starting in October (just a guess) you saw a nice score bump until it was paid off. Once paid off, you lose all those points since you no longer have an open installment loan with a low balance.