HELP WITH SCORE PLEASE!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Hello.. I am new to this board but not new to the Credit world. I have several accounts all of which are paid on time everytime. My balances are fairly low in relation to orig amount. I have several revolving accounts (dept stores etc because of zero percent offers,etc) my total debt on revolving is about 40% I have no collections except for one that is paid and about four years old. My oldest credit card is about 16 years. I do have several inquiries because I am a business owner. However, My score is a 680.. WHY???????

[MarineVietVet]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello.. I am new to this board but not new to the Credit world. I have several accounts all of which are paid on time everytime. My balances are fairly low in relation to orig amount. I have several revolving accounts (dept stores etc because of zero percent offers,etc) my total debt on revolving is about 40% I have no collections except for one that is paid and about four years old. My oldest credit card is about 16 years. I do have several inquiries because I am a business owner. However, My score is a 680.. WHY???????

---

Welcome to the forums.

There is alot of knowledge on these boards and if you stick around you will learn much about credit. Not necessarily from me.

You say your utilization is about 40%. That's actually pretty high compared to FICO High Achievers (those with a FICO of 760+). High achievers average about 7%.

Optimal credit utilization for FICO scoring purposes seems to be:

Total revolving utilization > 0 and < 9%, the lower the better, and
Reporting a balance on less than half of your revolving TL's, and
Reporting a balance on half or less of all TL's.

Also that collection is still hurting you even though it is paid off. FICO only sees it as a collection, period. If you can get that removed it would help your score in my opinion.

You will get other advice soon. Take it all in and use what you think will help you the most.

Good luck to you.

7/09 TU-742 EQ- 779
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802

CC interest free as of 8/09
"Hello my name is Sandy and I'm a recovering crediholic".

[Anonymous]

---

@MarineVietVet wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello.. I am new to this board but not new to the Credit world. I have several accounts all of which are paid on time everytime. My balances are fairly low in relation to orig amount. I have several revolving accounts (dept stores etc because of zero percent offers,etc) my total debt on revolving is about 40% I have no collections except for one that is paid and about four years old. My oldest credit card is about 16 years. I do have several inquiries because I am a business owner. However, My score is a 680.. WHY???????

---

Welcome to the forums.

There is alot of knowledge on these boards and if you stick around you will learn much about credit. Not necessarily from me.

You say your utilization is about 40%. That's actually pretty high compared to FICO High Achievers (those with a FICO of 760+). High achievers average about 7%.

Optimal credit utilization for FICO scoring purposes seems to be:

Total revolving utilization > 0 and < 9%, the lower the better, and
Reporting a balance on less than half of your revolving TL's, and
Reporting a balance on half or less of all TL's.

Also that collection is still hurting you even though it is paid off. FICO only sees it as a collection, period. If you can get that removed it would help your score in my opinion.

You will get other advice soon. Take it all in and use what you think will help you the most.

Good luck to you.

7/09 TU-742 EQ- 779
8/09 TU-765 EQ- 783
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802

CC interest free as of 8/09
"Hello my name is Sandy and I'm a recovering crediholic".

---

+1

If you pay your cards down to 9% or below and carry only that on HALF of your cards and have the other half report zero balance and get that collection removed and you will easily join the 700 club.

[Jazzzy]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello.. I am new to this board but not new to the Credit world. I have several accounts all of which are paid on time everytime. My balances are fairly low in relation to orig amount. I have several revolving accounts (dept stores etc because of zero percent offers,etc) my total debt on revolving is about 40% I have no collections except for one that is paid and about four years old. My oldest credit card is about 16 years. I do have several inquiries because I am a business owner. However, My score is a 680.. WHY???????

---

Hi freightgy...is your 680 a true FICO score? Did you get it from this site? If so, what are the reasons given that are hurting your score?

You've gotten some advice about paying down your balances and some advice about only carrying balances on less than half of your open accounts. One other piece that you may have some control over is your number of inquiries. My husband owns a small business as well, so I understand that sometimes business inquiries end up on your personal credit reports. That is unavoidable. Do, however, control as many of those inquiries as you can. Do not apply for credit until you know your reports are in shape and you have a good chance at acceptance. Try to have no unneeded or unsuccessful inquiries. Be strategic in your application activities.

Also, when you talk about department stores with zero percent offers, try to make sure you're not doing any of these on what can be considered "consumer finance" accounts. FICO dings you for having consumer finance accounts.

Number of inquiries and consumer finance accounts may be factors...but, if you got your scores through here, it would be helpful if you could give us the negatives they listed.

[Anonymous]

Lynette, Thanks for yiour input. I look at my report often and do not see any negatives other than the four yr old collection. I have about 16 inquiries in the last 24mo and no slow pays/lates. I have several credit cards most of which are zero balances (dept store cards) The ones I do have that I carry balances on the balance ratio is about 40 % or less of teh available. The Fico score of 680 I got from this site.

[Anonymous]

Hey freightgy.................I agree with the others.  Available revolving debt is a factor at 40%, as well as inquiries.  My score jumped 100+ points in 2 years by eliminating revolving debt.  Today I'm at 3% and TU-834.  Good luck.

[Jazzzy]

---

@Anonymous wrote:
Lynette, Thanks for yiour input. I look at my report often and do not see any negatives other than the four yr old collection. I have about 16 inquiries in the last 24mo and no slow pays/lates. I have several credit cards most of which are zero balances (dept store cards) The ones I do have that I carry balances on the balance ratio is about 40 % or less of teh available. The Fico score of 680 I got from this site.

---

If you got your score through here, go to your ScoreWatch and look at the 2nd page. It's about understanding your score. There will be a scale. It will have the things "hurting" your score and the things "helping" your score. Look at the order of those things hurting your score. They should be listed in the order of importance. That may give you more insight.

Inquiries and utilization are likely negatives. It may also list the collection, although, as that ages, the impact should lessen. Is the 4 y/o collection paid? If so, have you tried to write a goodwill letter and see if they will take it off your reports?

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lynette. I have paid the account. It was paid two days after it went on. Comcast cable and I had a dispute over a bill and I refused to pay them. anyway I ended up paying them anyway. In fact I paid them directly. The collection company (equidata) said that even though Comcast no longer has the record they refuse to remove it. So.. I disputed through the Reporting agencies and they keep coming back. So.. I am stuck.

as far as the credit cards go I am less than 30% on my TOTAL revolving debt. of the cards that have balances those have 40%. Does having multiple cards hurt?  I am trying to find the page you are talking about.. So far I have not found it. I am using the free trial so perhaps they are not alowing me to get it.

[Jazzzy]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks Lynette. I have paid the account. It was paid two days after it went on. Comcast cable and I had a dispute over a bill and I refused to pay them. anyway I ended up paying them anyway. In fact I paid them directly. The collection company (equidata) said that even though Comcast no longer has the record they refuse to remove it. So.. I disputed through the Reporting agencies and they keep coming back. So.. I am stuck.

as far as the credit cards go I am less than 30% on my TOTAL revolving debt. of the cards that have balances those have 40%. Does having multiple cards hurt?  I am trying to find the page you are talking about.. So far I have not found it. I am using the free trial so perhaps they are not alowing me to get it.

---

I've used ScoreWatch since August, and I still get lost wandering around in it. Go to the top of the page and click on "My Account." Then, when that comes up, go down to the bottom of that page where it lists "Your FICO Scores." Click on "View" on the right side. Your report should come up. On top there are tabs...ignore those for now. Underneath there are "pages" divided into "FICO Score" and "Credit Report." The 2nd page under "FICO Score" is called "Understanding Your Score." That's where you should be able to see a scale with negatives and positives listed. There are explanations below the scale. That might explain what FICO considers your most important negatives.

I would recommend that you go on the Rebuilding Your Credit part of the forums and list the specifics of your collection account. If you paid Comcast directly, it seems to me that the collection agency account should no longer be there...but I'm not an expert on that. Those folks can advise you. The reporting agencies can't fix this. If it can be fixed, it will be through Comcast. It would be nice to get the collection agency part off...and maybe Comcast would goodwill their entry off. It may be worth pursuing that.

Also, 30% utility is still too high for FICOs tastes. Keep working that down, and you'll see a gradual improvement in scores.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lynette. I did finally find the page. It says that the collection is hurting the most so I will again pursue getting that removed. If it is dispurted by the Reporting agencies the collection company has 30 days to respond or it gets removed. However, For what ever reason these folks wont let it go. I have disputed it so many times that the reporting agencies won't dispute it anymore. I contacted equidata and they are pigs. I also went up the chain of command at comcast and since it is so old they no longer have record of it. I tried to have them contact equidata and they said that since they no longer have record of it they have no information to give them. Basically... I am screwed. The collection shows first reporting in October of 2004.

It then lists the Balcance ratio of 36%. I used the stimulator and it says if I paid them off within the next 24mo that my score would be 750-790 I tried to show paying them off in 6mo and it had no effect in the stimulator. 

The third issue was age of accounts. My oldest is 14 yrs my average is four years.  I really have a hard time with this. I pay my bills and use credit responsibly. I should have no issue being in the 700 club.

My wife (soon to be ex) has never paid a bill  on time in her life.. Hense why I have all of the debt because her credit hurt us so bad. Anyway, Now that everything is over seven years old she has perfect credit. What a Hoot!