My Credit Score Doesn't Appear Correct

[Anonymous]

In Dec of 2009 I paid for my Fico score the report was from Transunion my score was 809.  This past April 2011 I paid for my credit score again with Transunion thru My Fico and my score was 801.  In Dec of 2009 I carried $20,000 more debt then I do today.  I have never been late one day in my entire life paying off my debts and have worked extremely hard to have a high score.  Can anyone explain what could have happened for me to drop from and 809 to a 801,

[RobertEG]

Most likely due to some small change in your CR.  The most likely would be a change in your % util.

If +nothing actually changed in your CR, it could have resulted from a "rebucketing."  What that means in English is that you were moved to a differerent FICO scoring algorithm.   FICO is not a single algorithm.  It is actually a dozen or so separate algorithms, each comparing you to a different set of consumers with similar profiles. A point swing that small is very common.

[MidnightVoice]

Changes in phase of the moon?  Different Chinese year?

Those changes are so small on a high score that they really will not affect anything

[JayRizzo]

That's like telling a straight "A" student that it's ok that your GPA is not 4.0, but only 3.2 at least you're still a straight "A" student.    What?  Wait!!!  Huh???  That doesn't make sense?!?  That confused look ----> 

[Anonymous]

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@JayRizzo wrote:

That's like telling a straight "A" student that it's ok that your GPA is not 4.0, but only 3.2 at least you're still a straight "A" student.    What?  Wait!!!  Huh???  That doesn't make sense?!?  That confused look ----> 

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No, no.  For all intents and purposes, it's generally recognized that anything above 760 will get you what 800 and beyond will get you.  You've got 90 points of flex (760-850) to still remain in the golden sweet land that OP resides in.

DH's EQ FICO resides in that land and his scores go up and down a little.  Just little waves in the ocean of excellent FICO scores.

Relax, play some beach volleyball, get a tan and love living in the land of 800's.  (Which is, in my little world, defined as anything between 760-850). 

[Anonymous]

Sure this is true, a score range of 760-850 would be considered equal but still would like to see my score higher.  i have contacted My Fico customer service, hopefully they will consider correcting the mistake.  There's no way my score should be less then the 809 that I was given back in 2009.  I really do appreciate all of your comments. Thanks everyone! 

[Anonymous]

Hi bluewind,

Glad you're here and posting on the forums.  And congrats on your hard work and your FICO scores.

It can be pretty hard to get your arms around FICO scoring.  It's a complex set of algorithms and not a simple linear equation like "a+b(x)=c".

As a simple example, when I pay down my mortgage by $20,000 it has little if any impact on my FICO score; paying down large balances on revolving accounts has a much greater impact.  (On the other hand, paying down my mortgage does some pretty nice things for my net worth - but that's a very different animal).

A variety of items affect FICO scoring.  Inquiries affect your score.  Payment patterns.  Types of credit used.  Average age of accounts, length of your credit history.  When my AAofA goes up, sometimes my score may take a small dip - I'm now being compared with a more experienced and long-term credit holding group of folks.  All of these pieces of information and many more are all intertwined in countless ways to come up with the statistical number that is FICO.

One of the hardest things to grasp is that FICO scores are something of a predictor of future behavior based on the past behavior of the masses - it's a numerical value measuring our credit risk.  It's not like a letter grade in school - where I can go from a B+ to an A- by getting a few more points on a test.  The Education tab up top has lots of insightful information, including the downloadable "Understanding Your FICO Score."  As you hang around the forums, you'll see all sorts of interesting and very non-linear patterns emerge as folks focus on their FICO's. 

It's true that basically we know the core FICO concepts; pay on time, keep revolving debt utilization low, apply sparingly for new credit.  These things yield a higher FICO score.  But the small dips and curves are part of the intricacies of FICO, and for those of us that tend to be anal (I'm talking about myself here - I've earned my "analAnnie" nickname), we learn to soften a little and go with the flow of those dips and curves.  We learn about and try to take care of the big things in the FICO world, but the little bumps are no longer such a cause for alarm.