Possible Rebucket Situation?!?

[tortoise_credit]

@Ceewin Just to be clear, how many cards is your husband an AU on? From the original post, I read it as more than one, but your last reply seems like it's only one.

[Ceewin]

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@tortoise_credit wrote:

@Ceewin Just to be clear, how many AU does you husband have? From the original post, I read it as more than one, but your last reply seems like it's only one.

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@tortoise_credit 

I'm sorry...I was wondering if I should include that info.  See below for DH and Myself

DH~

Primary Accounts: 7 

AU Accounts: 4 (<--I am primary on these accounts)

Myself~

Primary Accounts:4

AU Accounts: 5 (<--DH is primary on these accounts)

Note: All accounts have the same addresses .  DH has two accounts that I'm not an AU on.

[Ceewin]

EDIT to add:  Zero balance(s) on all other accounts

[tortoise_credit]

@Ceewin Ok got it. So yeah, it's possible for whatever reason a card could be caught up in the anti abuse algo then. Just try letting one of the other cards he's an AU on besides Disco be the one that reports a balance. Then you'll be able to tell which one works.

 In general though, it does sound like the drop on his score is from the AU AZ penalty especially if the score change wasn't on the first of the month and the balance was the only change. As mentioned, I get hit with a 9 point penalty for this, so his penalty is in the ballpark there.

[Ceewin]

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@tortoise_credit wrote:

@Ceewin Ok got it. So yeah, it's possible for whatever reason a card could be caught up in the anti abuse algo then. Just try letting one of the other cards he's an AU on besides Disco be the one that reports a balance. Then you'll be able to tell which one works.

 In general though, it does sound like the drop on his score is from the AU AZ penalty especially if the score change wasn't on the first of the month and the balance was the only change. As mentioned, I get hit with a 9 point penalty for this, so his penalty is in the ballpark there.

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@tortoise_credit 

Thanks!!

Ok...I'll try that but will probably wait until May.  Since we're about two weeks shy of an update for April, I'm curious to see what will happen.

[tortoise_credit]

@Ceewin You're welcome! We're all here to try and decipher the great mystery of FICO scoring. Hopefully you can isolate exactly what caused the drop and regain those points for DH.

[Ceewin]

@tortoise_credit 

Update: Just received my updated 3B reports and all are showing 0% utilization on the aformentioned Discover card; it has a $10 bal of a $4k CL.  Could this be the reason for DH's drop on Experian?  Is that bal not enough to even report 1% util on that tradeline?  No change/penalty yet for me.  Probably will be applied when April updates due that inaccurate util % reporting. 

Note:  I just realized we're not subscribed to DH's 3B report(s).  This could be the reason I don't see a penalty for EQ or TU. 

[Ceewin]

@tortoise_credit @dragontears 

Update:  I just received all three April FICO scores for DH.  See below.

It seems that EX was the only one where DH lost 12 points on when it was updated 3/6/2022.  I was skeptical that the $10 balance ($4k Limit) on the reported AU account was ignored/disregarded by the scoring algorithm.  Is this common that one bureau would penalize and others don't when all reported data is the same?

My last update to this post shows that (on all bureaus) a $10 balance/$4k Limit is 0% util.  I think that is unfair.  So for April, DH's AU-Discover card (my Primary) is reporting $24/$4k Limit and guess what?  Still 0% utilization!  See below.  Am I going to have to ensure $40 reports to show at least 1% utilization so DH/we can gain some points? Amazing....

[HeavenOhio]

@Ceewin, I can't respond to the AU discussion. But your reported balance can be as low as a dollar, provided your bank doesn't forgive the tiny balance and report zero. We usually recommend a balance of $5 or more to avoid that.

[Ceewin]

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@HeavenOhio wrote:

@Ceewin, I can't respond to the AU discussion. But your reported balance can be as low as a dollar, provided your bank doesn't forgive the tiny balance and report zero. We usually recommend a balance of $5 or more to avoid that.

@HeavenOhio 

Hello! Thanks for chiming in! See bolded above.  Are you referencing avoiding an All Zero penalty? If so, I totally agree with you and I thought the $24 (of a $4k Limit) balance reporting would show at least 1% utilization.  But based on the report it's 0% util and I can't figure out why?  I believe this is the reason DH was penalized 12 points in March on EX.  Thoughts? 

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