MyFico score changed... My score dropped because "I'm not actively looking for credit"?!

[tlhead]

I'm trying to figure out this credit thing so bear with me. In  March my credit score dropped 34 freaking POINTS! And the reason was: Im not actively looking for credit. THEN it goes up 22 points because : I've limited the use of my available credit.  I don't HAVE any credit, but I did pay off an extremely old debt that has this listed on it: payment after charge off. Does that help me? I don't  understand anything about this credit stuff and because of my mother my credit is tanked( yea she bought up a lot of stuff in my name) I'm just trying to get it to something decent because I'm job  hunting and looking for an apartment and I don't want this stuff to mess me up

My score was 640, then dropped to 606 now its at 628(transunion). I mean should I get a credit card? Right now all I have is my paypal pay later account(I guess that's credit) and that's it.

[llecs]

These are scores and reports pulled from this website, right?

You'd really benefit by getting a CC or two. Your FICO scores will go up. Getting that first CC, if you have none now, will be tough. I'd recommend starting with a secured CC. The rest would be easy to get.

Getting a CO to report "Payment after charge-off" won't help you any, unless you paid off a CC CO. If this is the case, overall your score will be better for it, but that comment is still hurting your credit.

"Not actively looking for credit" should be listed as a positive factor.

[RobertEG]

No, payment of a CO does not help your credit score.  How long ago was the date of first default on the account that was charged off?

How did someone else buy a lot of stuff "in your name?"  If you did not athorize that, then it is illegal.

You are not penalized for NOT actively looking for credit.  Maybe they meant because you dont have any active credit?

Unless you have active credit, you may find that FICO may soon not even produce a credit score for you.

Getting a CC is the first step in establshing active credit, and showing payment history in paying monthly what you charge.

[haulingthescoreup]

This sounds like FAKO feedback, not FICO.

OP, can you copy/ paste the exact reason given, and tell us where the score report came from? (myFICO, TrueCredit, etc.)

[tlhead]

"Getting a CO to report "Payment after charge-off" won't help you any, unless you paid off a CC CO. " what does CC CO mean? ANd i did get these scores from this site. and I know that its "illegal" but what am i supposed to do? throw my mother in jail? which is looking like an appealing option btw. These accounts were opened in 2005 and 2006 and I JUST recieved another "deliquent" notice from a company that i clearly never used before and of course she said it was her's. How can i get a CC CO?  so if it wont help me to pay them off should i just NOT pay them? 

[smallfry]

A little OT but I found this amusing. Once you reach a certain stage in your credit life with scores well over 800 and credit history in the neighborhood of 40-50 years you CAN get penalized for not seeking new credit. So I've heard anyway.

[tlhead]

OK. Heres what it said under the myfico credit watch thingy:

FICO® score changes

Date detected

Details

 5/31/2009

Your FICO® score has gone from 606 to 628

Your TransUnion score has gone from 606 on 3/2/2009 to 628 on 5/31/2009 .

Some of the reason for this change:

·       You have a new positive factor helping your score:
"You've limited the use of your available credit. "

3/2/2009

Your FICO® score has dropped from 640 to 606

Your TransUnion score has dropped from 640 on 12/2/2008 to 606 on 3/2/2009 .

Some of the reason for this change:

·       You no longer have a positive factor helping your score:
"You're not actively looking for credit. "

[llecs]

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tlhead wrote:
"Getting a CO to report "Payment after charge-off" won't help you any, unless you paid off a CC CO. " what does CC CO mean? How can i get a CC CO?  so if it wont help me to pay them off should i just NOT pay them? 

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Common Abbreviations

CC CO = credit card charge-off. Paying any CO, PR, or CA, without getting it deleted won't help your score. So, if you have a non-CC CO, your best option is to send a PFD letter. If they agree, and you pay, then they will delete and that would likely help your scores. IMO, you should pay. Eventually they'll send it to a CA and that would hurt your scores even more. Try sending PFDs first. Check out What Steps Do I Take.

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tlhead wrote:
and I know that its "illegal" but what am i supposed to do? throw my mother in jail? which is looking like an appealing option btw.

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No....forgiveness is a virtue, but I haven't experienced that situation.

[llecs]

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tlhead wrote:

OK. Heres what it said under the myfico credit watch thingy:

FICO® score changes

·       You no longer have a positive factor helping your score:
"You're not actively looking for credit. "

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Either a new inquiry was added or a new account was opened, which resulted in the loss of this positive factor.

Also don't make the assumption that X caused Y. The score drop could have been caused by a number of factors aside from the comment change, like utilization and so forth.

[tlhead]

Well folks today Im sending off two GW letters(one to that collections account I paid w/o getting a PFD letter ) and one to capital one.. I really want my capital one card back though since it was my only credit card so I hope they work with me. I asked if they could delete the account and let me have another chance at establishing a new one... I didn't realize I had to PAY $90 for that card and that's the only reason it was late.. I never even got a chance to buy anything

and I sent a PFD to ANOTHER company my mother opened . If a family member or friend hasn't used your identity please consider yourself lucky.Its a lot harder to prosecute your own mother when you live with her

oh another question: is a prepaid visa card or a Secured credit card helpful to establish credit? I don't know why I would need a prepaid credit card since I have a debit card, and I may have accidentally applied for a secure credit card yea I know I'm going to learn eventually to read the stupid fine print on these things.