Fico Score Updating

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I am sure this has been asked before but not being that bright I was unable to find the answer.

When I pay down my credit cards, how long until the credit agencies update my score.  For example, if I paid off my Capital One card, how long before I would notice a jump in my credit score?  I know I would see the payoff on my report rather quickly becuase Capital One reports to the credit agencies every month but how long before my score jumps?

I am trying to get my credit score raised in time to buy a house and qualify for the $8000 first time home buyers tax credit.

I suppose what I need to know is how long after payment due dates do the following credit card companies report to the credit bureaus

Chase

Capital One

Dell Financial

Orchard Bank  ( HSBC)

Credit One Bank

I know it is said a lot but I really do appreciate any help that you may have to offer.

Message Edited by nigel11 on 12-30-2009 10:03 AM

[laz98]

it varies by company.  they all report at different times.  it just depends on who your creditors are.

[haulingthescoreup]

Hi, nigel, welcome to the forums!

No one actually updates your scores. They are just potential scores, not created until someone pulls a score. What changes continually are your three credit reports --Equifax (EQ), TransUnion (TU), and Experian (EX.) Your lenders send info on each account, generally monthly, reporting your credit limit and your current balance, along with any negatives and other fun stuff. Each credit report then enters this info onto its report, in its own sweet time. Experian usually updates promptly, within 24 hours, while Equifax and TransUnion take several days to a week, or sometimes more.

So anyway, your reports keep changing, changing, with every update from a creditor. Then, when someone pulls a score, whether it's a lender that you're applying with, or a FICO score monitoring service like ScoreWatch, or you buying your own score, your FICO score is generated at that moment at the CRA (credit bureau), based on whatever is on your report at that moment.

One common way of describing this is to say that your FICO scores are snapshots, but your credit reports are movies.

In terms of when lenders update, most send the balance that shows on your monthly statements, on the statement date. A few (US Bank; HSBC and Orchard bank cards, for instance) report the balance as of the last business day of each month, but they actually send in the info a week or two after that. AmEx reports your statement balance, but doesn't send in the info until 4 weeks later.

Also, do realize that there are many, many "credit scores", but most lenders follow FICO scores. Others that are provided from such sources as TransUnion/ TrueCredit, free-credit-report-dot-com, Experian, CreditSecure, and on and on, are what are frequently termed "FAKO" scores. They might be interesting to look at, but very few lenders use them, and they're basically a nice source of revenue for their sellers.

If you haven't already, please read Understanding Your FICO ® Score and Credit Scoring 101 (at least the first post.)

These will give you the background knowledge you need to understand what you read here on the forums.

[Anonymous]

What an informative, helpful reply.  If only others could think so clearly & organize their thoughts before they blurt them out (I confess I'm guilty of the latter sometimes).  And I agree with your signature:  If everyone was brought up to treat everyone else with respect, this would be a happier world.

[laz98]

orchard reports on the last day of the month, & they report whatever your balance is on that day, not the balance that appears on your statement.

capital one reports around the 18th of the month for me.

(sorry i can't help with the others)