@Cazzieboy wrote:Thanks for the reply. It's much appreciated. Here's my CR circumstances again, only a shortend version.
Initial Circumstances
- No credit score at all initially
- No negative public records, in fact no public records at all
- No charge offs, bankruptcies, old closed accounts or accounts of any kind. Totally nothing!
Credit Report Items
- Only 2 credit cards on CR (described in my initial post), one secured card 7 months old, one unsecured card early last month
- 5% utilization each month for 7 months on secured card, balance paid each month (very nice and quick increases on Equifax & Transunion scores). (No hard inquiry for secured card). Also, until the completion of the sixth month of having the secured card there was no score from Experian. They don't issue a score until at least six months of history has transpired. There was no existing history on CR initially.
Experian's Actions
- 19 point drop immediately by Experian upon hard inquiry from unsecured card (6-10-21)
- 33 point drop near end of June when unsecured card reported with initial small charge
Additional Info
Small balances on unsecured card and secured card represent 4% total utilization to date
That's everything completely!
The good news is this meets the criteria for AZEO's total revolving utilization if you want to optimize your FICO scores, but it may not meet the criteria for revolving utilization per CC, and your unsecured CC may be a Chase card, charge card, or retail CC, which also don't meet the criteria. That's why I asked which CCs you have, the dollar balances reported, and the credit limit of each CC. It's better to calculate with actual numbers and data than to guess wrong.
Here's a question to ponder. If Experian's actions in this case are "normal" for thin/new/short history circumstances, why do they as well as Equifax and Transunion inundate me with attempted motivation emails to open up new credit cards, if in fact it will have the effect on scores I have experienced? Let me be clear, those emails target me specifically with my specific information and numbers clearly stated. These are not general marketing-type emails. There's a disconnect here. As I mentioned previously, I have not received one email from Experian since my complaining phone conversation over a month ago, while the emails from Equifax & Transunion keep rolling in almost daily. Very curious.
Once my first month of membership ended, the only time I got emails from Experian was when I added a new credit account, or I received a credit limit increase (CLI), or I my 30-day CR and FICO score was ready, or I upgraded or downgraded my Experian account. No new accounts have reported to your Experian CR, nor any CLIs, nor have you upgraded or downgraded your Experian account, nor have you recieved any new marketing emails from Experian in a month. They're not punishing you for your phone call. It just means that the honeymoon is over, like with the rest of us who are past the "new customer" expiration date.
You're still getting marketing emails from TU and EQ, because they use the saturation method. The more marketing emails they send for CCs, the more money they make.
Thanks again so much for your responses to this circumstance. It's very much appreciated.
@Cazzieboy: Thanks for the data and congrats on getting approved for an unsecured CC with such a short credit history!
So, our Experian CRs were nearly the same at both 6 months and 7 months. My 2nd CC was 2 months older than yours (+), I had an additional hard inquiry that didn't match an account (-), my inquiries were 2 months older than yours (possibly +), and I likely optimized my FICO scores to have fewer revolving accounts with balances than you did (possibly +). My Experian FICO 8 scores were 720 at 6 months and 727 at 7 months. I estimate yours were 2 to 12 points less than that. (High end of this range if both CCs reported small balances; low end if you optimized your FICO scores with the AZEO method.)
Based upon my own CRs, FICO scores, and VantageScores, a 33-point drop when the 2nd CC reported with a small balance instead of a small gain screams "VantageScore 3.0!" Which service did you use for your credit score? Was it your bank or credit union that issued one of your CCs?
If you're interested in raising your FICO 8 scores an average of 30 points per CB by Oct. 1st, then I have great news for you. I'll tell you what I did in the 7th month to get this substantial gain in my 8th month. (I picked Oct. 1st, because your 2nd CC needs to be 4 months old. You may not get as many points when you have a younger 2nd CC.) Please let me know if you're interested, and I'll post the steps for you.
Keep in mind that the marketing side of these companies do not have access to details about your profile. You're getting the same emails and enticements that anyone in a vaguely similar category of members gets.
There is no person reviewing your situation and deciding that these offers make good sense for you. It's a just a scatter shot marketing routine that is best ignored.
Take some time, let your profile settle down. Learn about how to optimize your score and then apply for products that you both need and will benefit you. Keep asking questions and researching.
Remember: No good FICO changes happen fast. There are no good shortcuts. Trying to speed things along will only slow you down.
@Cazzieboy I went thru the same thing as you fresh out of BK. I had no cards for 10yrs. I cut them all up. Yeah I had the swipe fever. I knew nothing about FICO. I just financed a new car every 2 yrs back then and was always approved. It was my BK lawyer that said you need some credit cards to build some credit. And he also told me about this place too. So I lurked and finally joined in 2016. And got MyFICO's 3B monitoring. I was 530's. I took the same hits as you. As time moved on and my file got thicker. I believe my newest account was a 3 pt loss on a HP. The hits will diminish once your file gets thicker. Trust me. Been there done that. Its growing pains. Pun intended. 
