I hope a credit expert can help me figure this out or help me get Experian to fix this

[AceTen]

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@tortoise_credit wrote:

> And I am still at "fair" credit, there's no bucket or difference.

I'm also no expert, but OP you should read more about bucketing / scorecards. They do not have anything to do with a "fair" rating. Even if there were no account changes, you may have passed a threshold with your average age of accounts, age of oldest account, etc. This can group you in with other consumers who have better scores, and cause your score to drop.

Good luck with your scores and welcome to the forums!

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Apologies for the derail. Don't do it.  I have been down the "scorecard" or "buckets" rabbit hole myself and it can take days to read. We have a resident scorecard expert but I am not going to link them to save you all from the rabbit hole.

Here's the ELIA5 "explain like I am 5" from someone who is no expert on anything.. ... Let's just say that credit profiles are placed in a variety of categories or buckets (aka scorecards). This scoring algorithm/logic is proprietary, like google's Search Eengine Optimization algorithims, so people are always trying to figure it out but no one knows it exactly. Credit rating agency scorecards have such qualities as dirty or clean, thin or thick (dependant on how many tradelines reporting), and there are age categories and other factors. But the moral of the story is that profiles on different scorcards react to score change factors a bit differently. Sometimes one's score can change because one was placed on a different scorecard, even for positive factors, such as age. A profile can go from being the best and oldest in their bucket to be the youngest in a better/older bucket and take a small score drop. Or one can go from a clean bucket to a "dirty bucket" if a late payment or "baddie" shows up on their report. If one sees a small point drop and only positive things have happened then the profile may have aged and been placed on a new scorecard. Scorecards are one reason why two profiles can react differently to the same or similar event, such as a hard pull or new credit line or even a negative.  Again, I am no expert, or even knowlegable, but this is my limited understanding of a complicated and dynamic set of computer algorithms. 

[SoCalGardener]

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@OmarGB9 wrote:

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@SoCalGardener wrote:

OP, your use of the word 'plummet' regarding a 14-point drop in credit score made me chuckle! My scores vary 50, 60, 70 points OR MORE month-over-month and I don't even blink.

With that said, however, I must point out that I don't blink because I know *why* it dropped. For example, when I've just spent several thousand dollars per card, on multiple cards, I fully EXPECT my score to drop. So when it does, it's no big deal.

In your case, if you're absolutely sure nothing's changed from how you've been doing things for the past two years...I don't know. There's generally a reason for score drops, obtuse though they may be. With you, my gut instinct is that it's an all-zero issue, although that conflicts with what you've stated, so I don't know!

Going forward, I highly recommend taking the AZEO advice, i.e., keeping all cards with $0 balances except one; always have one card report a balance, every month. It doesn't matter which card, and it doesn't matter if it's the same card each month or different. The point is to always have it look like you're actively using your credit.

Finally, the 'reasons'--and I'm using that term loosely!--given for score changes can have little to NOTHING to do with your actual situation. For some examples, have a look at my thread on what Equifax says affects my scores.

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Actually it does matter to an extent. Store cards, charge cards, and Chase bank cards are all no-no's when it comes to using them as your "except one" card. 

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Thanks for the clarification! I don't do AZEO myself--hadn't even heard of it until coming back here last year--so I don't know its fine points. To me, it seems like a card is a card is a card when it comes to activity but, apparently, not!

[HeavenOhio]

I recently used a Chase card as my AZEO card for a month or so. Any payments I made during that period simply brought my balance down to $7. The only trick involved was charging $7 before paying my statement balance in full.

When you prefer to have Chase report a positive balance, call in and ask, and they'll report your current balance. Discover also does this.

While it's much easier to avoid Chase as your AZEO card, it can be done if push comes to shove.

[expatCanuck]

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

I recently used a Chase card as my AZEO card for a month or so. Any payments I made during that period simply brought my balance down to $7. The only trick involved was charging $7 before paying my statement balance in full.

When you prefer to have Chase report a positive balance, call in and ask, and they'll report your current balance. Discover also does this.

While it's much easier to avoid Chase as your AZEO card, it can be done if push comes to shove.

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@HeavenOhio 

Any magic to the $7 amount?  Or could it $5 / $10?

I do know (from experience) that too low a number may be reported as zero by a lender.  (IIRC, Discover did this when I had a $1 or so balance some time back.)

[HeavenOhio]

@expatCanuck, there's no magic to the $7 amount. It's just the amount I habitually use when I want a low positive balance.

It sounds like the Discover card you mentioned had its $1 balance forgiven. Capital One will make you pay $1. $7 is enough to avoid any questions about that forgiveness.