Fico score went down... why???

[Anonymous]

I paid 3 of my credit cards down to zero. The previous balance was $15.00 on each. My other two cards haven't reported to the bureaus since I just got them in Sept. I thought if I paid them off it would be better. Any advice????
Eq: down 13
TU : down 18
EX: down 19

[JoeLuvsHisCredit]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
I paid 3 of my credit cards down to zero. The previous balance was $15.00 on each. My other two cards haven't reported to the bureaus since I just got them in Sept. I thought if I paid them off it would be better. Any advice????
Eq: down 13
TU : down 18
EX: down 19

---

Sorry OP

If you don't have one credit card with a balance reporting on your reports that's the reason for the score drop

[HeavenOhio]

You're being hit with the all cards at zero penalty. FICO likes a tiny balance on one card, with the rest reporting zero. With only one card, you should allow a small balance to report. You can fix this next month, and it'll be like it never happened.

[zerofire]

This one is easy. If you show that you are not using credit responsibly then naturally your score will show that. Not using credit at all while responsible also is a reason to have a score drop. As soon as something reports a balance, even if small, your score will increase.

[Thomas_Thumb]

---

@HeavenOhio wrote:

You're being hit with the all cards at zero penalty. FICO likes a tiny balance on one card, with the rest reporting zero. With only one card, you should allow a small balance to report. You can fix this next month, and it'll be like it never happened.

---

I would add a clarifying point to this. Although AMEX charge cards are "cards" they are not considered revolving credit accounts. Therefore, the card you report a balance on must be a true revolving credit card to avoid the "no recent activity on revolving accounts" penalty. Also, AU accounts are sometimes excluded in the Fico 8 algorithm. Therefore, best to have the account reporting a balance be an individual account.