How is this possible? I paid down one of my credit cards to 1% utilization - Score Dropped!

[nelg727]

How is this possible?  My overall credit card utilizations across all my cards is now at 8%.  I paid down my amex card to 1% utilization and my fico 8 score for experian dropped 19 points... This makes zero sense to me.  Anyone know why?  I had no other changes.. what the heck is going on with these models?

[Anonymous]

Post the following specifically for help:

• Every credit card limit and balance last month and this month individually
• Any new accounts that appeared on your report this month versus last month

[SouthJamaica]

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@nelg727 wrote:

How is this possible?  My overall credit card utilizations across all my cards is now at 8%.  I paid down my amex card to 1% utilization and my fico 8 score for experian dropped 19 points... This makes zero sense to me.  Anyone know why?  I had no other changes.. what the heck is going on with these models?

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The reduction in utilization and the point drop are unrelated. MyFICO alerts don't provide reasons for a score change. There are certain events which trigger MyFICO alerts. If there happens to be any difference between your present score at that particular bureau and the previous score reported to you from that bureau, the score change is tacked on to the alert. There is not necessarily any connection at all between the score change and the alert substance.

The point drop was attributable to something else.  Without seeing your report before and after the score drop, there is no way any of us could know why it occurred

[Anonymous]

SJ is 100% correct above.  I would say this misconception is the #1 topic that comes up on this forum from day to day, IMO.

It would be absolutely FANTASTIC if someone at myFICO could put a disclaimer on their page or in the FAQ section for accounts explaining that alerts and score changes are not directly related.  Without doing so, it's not surprising that 99% of people relate the two events, thus the daily threads we see about it in the forums. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

SJ is 100% correct above.  I would say this misconception is the #1 topic that comes up on this forum from day to day, IMO.

It would be absolutely FANTASTIC if someone at myFICO could put a disclaimer on their page or in the FAQ section for accounts explaining that alerts and score changes are not directly related.  Without doing so, it's not surprising that 99% of people relate the two events, thus the daily threads we see about it in the forums. 

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What would really be fantastic is if they did give us a reason or reasons why the score changed   I can dream, can't I?

[Anonymous]

You sure can!  That happening is probably a long way away.

I just don't get for the life of my why myFICO doesn't put a disclaimer somewhere or in the membership FAQ that scores changes aren't necessarily related to received alerts.  It really would be that simple and would prevent literally daily duplicate threads.  And, you have to figure, maybe 10% of people that experience this problem actually post about it, so there are probably 9 others for every one post we see that don't say anything and go on with life thinking that their score changed because of the alert. 

[Anonymous]

MyFico HAS a disclaimer with every alert...

Note the text in italic under the score change.

[Anonymous]

Clearly the text pictured above isn't cutting it.  It suggests that additional information may be affecting the score, but that implies that the alert reason was at least in part the reason for the score change, when many times it 100% is not.  It needs to say that the score change may have nothing at all to do with the alert you received. 

[Revelate]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Clearly the text pictured above isn't cutting it.  It suggests that additional information may be affecting the score, but that implies that the alert reason was at least in part the reason for the score change, when many times it 100% is not.  It needs to say that the score change may have nothing at all to do with the alert you received. 

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It's in the mobile interface too; I don't think it's myFICO's problem if people aren't reading it, though maybe a different manner of phrasing it might be appropriate.

The alerts are generated from the bureaus; even FICO Consumer has to ask for information regarding some details of the algorithm when inquiries are made (they aren't aware of the full algorithm) and assuredly the vast majority of people at the bureaus, which the backend of the monitoring solution comes from, do not.

[HeavenOhio]

It's the phrasing. The statement doesn't lead one to consider that the reason for the score change might not be tied to the alert at all. The system sets people up for unnecessary confusion and frustration, and it causes them to draw incorrect conclusions.