Negative Statement Balance Question

[Anonymous]

I think they asked about the badges not the credit card pictures. However I have placed a link to the badge instructions in the credit card picture thread that you linked

[Anonymous]

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@HighAchiever wrote:

That usually occurs when the credit has been sitting there for 30, 45, 60, 90 days etc...

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It definitely depends on the lender.  When I got a check from Capital One due to having a negative balance, it was sent within days of my statement cutting when I was negative.  I definitely had a check in hand within a week.

[Anonymous]

My captial one cards report on the same date every month like clockwork. I usually pay them down to $0 before statement cut date. Last month I accidentally had a $406 balance reported and needed it to go back to $0 for my mortgage refinance. I'm trying to get to only one card reporting a balance to hit the next mortgage score balance (Note: this works differently for mortgage scores than for other FICO versions). I particularly need this to report to TransUnion.

As it so happens, I applied my rewards to my statement balance. That made my card report a negative balance of $5 for the first time every. It has reported as $0 to all of the bureaus EXCEPT for TransUnion, which didn't update at all. I'm suspicious of the coincidence that this is the FIRST TIME I've ever allowed it to have a negative balance and this is the FIRST TIME it hasn't reported to TransUnion on or around the same date. 

My working theory is that TU doesn't update when there is a negative balance.  If true, that is just my luck. I'm 1 point away from the next mortgage score band I need with TransUnion (which would be my mid-mortgage). It is stuck at the same $406 balance from last month. Mortgage rates are at an all time low this week and this snafu is really going to screw me if TU doesn't update this month. I will update this post if the do end up reporting to TU this period. I welcome any thoughts.

[Anonymous]

TU definitely reports zero balances, they just happen to be super slow especially when you need them to be fast. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

So in your experience, are you saying that they are especially slow in reporting when there's a negative balance or more that it's just ironic how in general any type of delay or issue seems to pop up during the most inconvenient time? 

This card has reported to TU on the 7th of the month every single month for more than 5 years and on the 8th for EQ/EX. As for this month, today is the 14th and still nothing for TU (it reported on the 8th for EQ/EX).

FICO scoring (particularly mortgage scoring and the relative inaccessibility of these scores) is the least intuitive thing I've ever experienced. I'm trying not to use my MyFICO 3B report refresh until this card updates to TU. If I update it and then TU reports the very next day, I won't know if I'm safe or still 1 point too low. I would just have to drop another $40 or whatever or just apply blindly with my fingers crossed and risk an HP all for naught.

[Anonymous]

No I am absolutely saying it just happens at the most inconvenient times. TU just seems to be the slowest update. And it has nothing to do with the balance.

But fear not, make a wallethub account. It updates your TU credit report at 6 AM Eastern time daily. So you can see whether or not it has updated, so you’ll know whether or not to pull your 3B. 😉

[Anonymous]

UPDATE: 

I've been logging into each of the TU FAKO providers each day to see if I could discern a change equating to the $406 Cap One from the prior month. Today I was able to see that it was FINALLY reported down to $0. It shows a date reported of the 7th (again), although the information didn't report until the 14th. 

FWIW, I still missed the mortgage score I needed by 1 POINT. It is 724 EX but 699 EQ and 693 TU. There are 2 (maybe 3) main reasons for the discrepancy in these scores.

1.) Student Loans: Student loans that are in deferment are considered closed with EX but show up as active with $0 monthly payment on TU/EQ.

2.) Collections under $100 don't count in any of the newer FICO scores (essentially all of the scores in use today other than mortgage scores), but they do count in the Mortgage scores (FICO 2/4/5). I have an $87 collection on Equifax only from Elephant Auto Insurance/Receivables Management Systems that I paid in-full on-time back in 2016. When I provided the proof or payment (receipt and bank statement activity) to TU and EX, they deleted it. As for EQ, it's been floating out there in lala land for about 18 months. I keep getting the whole "online system is down" issue. When I call, they just give me the ol' "it came back as verified." I could go on for hours about this but that's another topic altogether. I've tried with the original creditor and the collection agency (Rec. Mgmt. Systems) but no luck. That's also another post altogether.

3.) (Potentially) Experian allows for the self-reported items, such as telephone bills. I linked my bank statement and it gave me a few years of paid telecom activity from AT&T pulled from my bank feed. This has been around for only a few months so we don't know whether it factors into the old mortgage scores. I seriously doubt it. Nonetheless, it was worth mentioning given that my EX mortgage score is 25+ points higher than the other bureaus.

I know that the 2/4/5 are slightly different from each other and that is a driver as well.   My FICO 8 is 729 EQ / 730 TU / 730 EX but I'm still 1 point away from the 700 bank on my mortgage score, which would save me about $400/month.

(*** bangs head on desk ***)

[Anonymous]

I second the WH suggestion above.

[Anonymous]

Great minds think alike! See my longer post from a few min ago. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I’m not sure what you’re referring to in your prior post. Nevertheless, keep in mind the credit card still reported on the same date as always, I am quite sure. The question is, how long will TU take to update the active file.