Removing CFA's

[Anonymous]

Is the damage from having a CFA more than the benefit of having a loan that was paid on time? In my case I had a CFA through Affirm that was always paid on time and paid off months ahead of schedule. I've considered asking them to remove it and wanted to get peoples thoughts on doing so. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is the damage from having a CFA more than the benefit of having a loan that was paid on time? In my case I had a CFA through Affirm that was always paid on time and paid off months ahead of schedule. I've considered asking them to remove it and wanted to get peoples thoughts on doing so. 

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Good question. I don't know the answer.

1. I have no idea what it means pointwise to have an account in your report that's always been paid on time. I have 70 such accounts. It doesn't seem to mean anything at all.  If I had only 10 such accounts, it would probably be even better.

2. I don't think anyone really knows about the CFA thing. The consensus in this forum seems to be that there is a ding, it's very small, and it's present only in the older scoring models.

So, if the positive account means nothing, and there's possibly a small ding on certain scoring models for its CFA character, one might as well try to get rid of it. Although I don't know if the bureaus would agree to do that.

[FireMedic1]

I researched this last month for the same question. Wish I could find it. Its about 10-12 pts on avg for a CFA on a file until it falls off. But all the catagories FICO takes into account on a file is in your favor.

[AzCreditGuy]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is the damage from having a CFA more than the benefit of having a loan that was paid on time? In my case I had a CFA t

dinged for having a CFA and get pts for having a CFA loan..The reason why I say its not a small ding, as this "CFA" BS follows you for 10 years after its been paid off, regardless of positive marks from Fico.

hrough Affirm that was always paid on time and paid off months ahead of schedule. I've considered asking them to remove it and wanted to get peoples thoughts on doing so. 

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Good question. I don't know the answer.

1. I have no idea what it means pointwise to have an account in your report that's always been paid on time. I have 70 such accounts. It doesn't seem to mean anything at all.  If I had only 10 such accounts, it would probably be even better.

2. I don't think anyone really knows about the CFA thing. The consensus in this forum seems to be that there is a ding, it's very small, and it's present only in the older scoring models.

So, if the positive account means nothing, and there's possibly a small ding on certain scoring models for its CFA character, one might as well try to get rid of it. Although I don't know if the bureaus would agree to do that.

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Really? Do the members that state this have a CFA on file? It is a ding, I dont think its a small ding. It feels like a wash, since you are dinged for having a CFA and get pts for having a CFA loan..The reason why I say its not a small ding, as this "CFA" BS follows you for 10 years after its been paid off, regardless of positive marks from Fico

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, the actual effect a CFA has on a score has yet to be determined. Many people believe that the impact is 10-12 points on average, possibly less. There is no way to know for sure what accounts are reported as CFAs and what aren't. There are reports of several manufacturer backed auto loans reporting as CFAs. We know, from data reported, that Affirm codes as a CFA. There are a number of other loans that may or may not be a CFA. Then the impact of the CFA lasts for 10 years after it is paid off. All of those factors make it difficult to determine the true weight of the CFA.

Based on info reported by others, you are likely not going to get a CFA removed from your bureaus.

Many people with CFAs still have 800+ scores; I personally consider CFAs to be a small ding. They are certainly a long lasting ding, but the magnitude is not that great.

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous Does your Affirm account report to all bureaus? Mine only reports to Experian.

[Anonymous]

Experian only

[rosco75]

pardon the interuption, but what is a CFA? I do not see this acrynom listed in the mega thread located here:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458

[pizzadude]

CFA is a Consumer Finance Account.   There is a FICO scoring penalty for having one of these types of accounts, as the posts above have alluded, the impact of these accounts is debated.   

My belief is that the penality is minor but it's one of those grey areas that is very hard to nail down due to the other scoring factors that the account impacts such as AAoA, utilization, etc..

[pizzadude]

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@rosco75 wrote:

pardon the interuption, but what is a CFA? I do not see this acrynom listed in the mega thread located here:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/User-Guidelines-General/Common-Abbreviations/td-p/88458

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It is in there, described as a CFL:      CFL = Consumer Finance Loan - AkA CFA (Consumer Finance Account)