Has FICO Scoring Changed

[Anonymous]

No great further advice. You are fighting a defensive action and have issuers who are highly problematic. You have to do what is right for you to conduct your life. You have to live. You may find you are going to have to let the credit issues slide to the back burner to do so. Most unfortunate. But very explainable and not out of left field.

[llecs]

---

TallDave wrote:

---

@llecs wrote:

CLDs are happening to everyone. It tends to happen most to people who carry large balances over a period of time, those who are late, or those who tend to max out their CCs. Though CLDs have happened to folks in here with 800+ FICO scores, those who had less than 1% reporting, and to those who had a seemingly long history with no issues. It is happening across the board.

I received on CLD with Bloomingdales. The CC went from $2300 to $200. The reason they gave was adverse action on EX. Now I am 100% positive nothing happened on EX as I pull daily, but in talking to a CSR I learned that it was basically an excuse with no logic or reasoning behind it. In short, don't trust their reasons as to why you experience an AA. BTW, in talking to them and asking the right questions, they admitted that no CLD should have happened and they bumped it back to $1500. I'll take what I can get.

---

 Any guidance on "the right questions"?   This week I was planning to call Amex (cut my CL by 85% this weekend!) Chase and Cap One to ask questions.  If there are any tips on what to say or what not to say, I'll gladly keep them in mind.

 I involuntarily joined the ranks of the "under-employed" this year.  I'm currently getting by on significantly less income than I had in previous years, a situation I hope is quite temporary.  I presume this is not something I want to lead with while trying to restore my credit lines?   

---

Nooooo.....don't volunteer incriminating info.

When I talked to Bloomingdales, I made them my best friend and as they offered up info as to why a CLD, I became the smiling elephant in the room with friendly questions, like:

"I noticed when I called into your card to check to see if my payment was received I noticed that my CL was decreased. Gosh! What did I do wrong?"

"You mentioned that several bad things had impacted my EX report. I pulled each credit report prior to calling. Can you give some example as to what happened on my Experian report?"

"Of the bad things that happened, can you name just one?"

"You had mentioned, as others I know who use Bloomies, that DSNB is weeding out some credit limits to mitigate future losses. What can I say or do to restore my CL?"

From the top of my head, these were the questions I asked 2-3-4 Bloomies CSRs. I won't go into the story but they said that it was all me. Then they revised and said that it was only one baddie that triggered this. Then they said it wasn't me. Finally, I got them to tell me that thousands had their CLs slashed. I responded in a non-confrontational tone and smiled the entire time. All I needed is a foot in the door and open-ended questions would do the rest.

[Anonymous]

There is a definite art to talking to these credit CSR's. Never volunteer anything negative and never be hostile or demanding. Both are good ways to get notes added to your record which will never go away. As llecs says, best to probe, sometimes directly, sometimes tangentially, and never expect to know all after one call. CSR's are not uniformly good or bad - unfortunately there are a number of them that don't have a clue regarding whatever you are asking them once they get moved off-script. Be patient, ask questions, gather information and move slowly. That's the best way.

[Anonymous]

So with specific thanks to llecs and creditwherecreditisdue:

I called Chase today, kept the conversation friendly and non-adversarial, and had what I would consider to be a successful experience.  I got my credit line moved back to 75% of the original line (it had been reduced to about 33%) and learned some about their criteria.

I was surprised at the emphasis she placed on my HELOC, several questions about when it was used, how and for what, etc.  I asked her about the attention to that account, and she said that HELOC's with high utilization are viewed with a more critical eye than before, particularly where credit card debt is coming down.  The concern is that the homeowner may have used the HELOC to pay off the cards (I didn't!) which of course doesn't really reduce debt at all.  

Also I learned the action was based on a review that was a week before I wrote that balance transfer check, so to return to an earlier item in this thread - it really was just a coincidence.  However the concern over using the HELOC for the same purpose suggests it could be a factor another time.  

My take-aways for today:  Be nice to the CSR's.  Pay attention to the HELOC balance as well.

Hope it helps someone else! 

[Anonymous]