Score Dropped +100 points, no negs

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the replies. So far, I've only been able to get basic info from Credit Karma and Credit Sesame, which report no delinquencies, no inquiries, no negative marks, no change in credit limit/usage.  I had a nightmare trying to get reports online from Equifax because they couldn't verify me ( I couldn't remember the date I'd applied for my credit card, or something ridiculous), so I had to request the actual reports by mail last week and am still waiting...  If CK and CS report no late payments (I have only the one card, and no doctor's bills or anything else in collections), I don't know what else it could be...

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The scores from Credit Karma are Vantage scores, and are worthless. So you can ignore them. You will need to find your FICO scores.  This is probably a false alarm, as the Credit Karma Vantage scores often go through weird contortions for no good reason.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Recently noticed my score dropped from 770's to 650's, despite no new cards, no inquiries, no lates, no derogatories. I filled bankruptcy about 14 years ago and was reluctant to use credit cards again for a long while, so I have only one card (paid on full each month, usually even before billing date), less than 4 years credit history and only $12K limit, but I'd managed to work myself to a decent score over the past few years, and it's frustrating to see it drop suddenly, dramatically and without apparent explanation. Any way to hold the agencies accountable for arbitrary (or at least unexplained) scores?

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I went through the same thing. I went without using credit for a long time after a BK. Let me see if I can give you some first hand experience. What is happening is your old credit is starting to age off. Your credit history now looks like someone relatively new to credit (under 5 years). Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about that now. You can manipulate your scores to compensate for it but it is up to you if it's worth the effort. Simply put, FICO gives you a score boost once you get to 3 credit cards. There is another boost if less than half of those cards report a balance. (You loose points if no cards report a balance). You cannot do it with one card because no matter what you do, you incur a FICO penalty. If one month you report a $0 balance you incur the "no use" penalty. If you report a balance you incur the 100% use penalty (since you only have one card).

You mentioned you cannot get your score from Equifax. Don't bother. Equifax doesn't offer a FICO score direct to consumers. Go to Experian and do the $1 trial to get all three of your FICO scores.

www.creditchecktotal.com (this is an Experian site)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
Recently noticed my score dropped from 770's to 650's, despite no new cards, no inquiries, no lates, no derogatories. I filled bankruptcy about 14 years ago and was reluctant to use credit cards again for a long while, so I have only one card (paid on full each month, usually even before billing date), less than 4 years credit history and only $12K limit, but I'd managed to work myself to a decent score over the past few years, and it's frustrating to see it drop suddenly, dramatically and without apparent explanation. Any way to hold the agencies accountable for arbitrary (or at least unexplained) scores?

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I went through the same thing. I went without using credit for a long time after a BK. Let me see if I can give you some first hand experience. What is happening is your old credit is starting to age off. Your credit history now looks like someone relatively new to credit (under 5 years). Unfortunately there is nothing you can do about that now. You can manipulate your scores to compensate for it but it is up to you if it's worth the effort. Simply put, FICO gives you a score boost once you get to 3 credit cards. There is another boost if less than half of those cards report a balance. (You loose points if no cards report a balance). You cannot do it with one card because no matter what you do, you incur a FICO penalty. If one month you report a $0 balance you incur the "no use" penalty. If you report a balance you incur the 100% use penalty (since you only have one card).

You mentioned you cannot get your score from Equifax. Don't bother. Equifax doesn't offer a FICO score direct to consumers. Go to Experian and do the $1 trial to get all three of your FICO scores.

www.creditchecktotal.com (this is an Experian site)

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Thanks; yes, I get that the short credit history is a detractor, and I also get (I think) what people are saying about credit bureau scores not being as accurate (or relevant) as FICO, but I'm still not clear why the bureau scores would suddenly drop from 771 to 658 when nothing has changed over the last year, except that my modest credit limit has INCREASED.  Maybe when I get the reports in the mail (notwithstanding the supposed irrelevance of those scores), I'll at least get some insight.

And thanks for the link to the site to get the FICO score; looking forward to seeing what's there..

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

[clipped]

You mentioned you cannot get your score from Equifax. Don't bother. Equifax doesn't offer a FICO score direct to consumers. Go to Experian and do the $1 trial to get all three of your FICO scores.

www.creditchecktotal.com (this is an Experian site)

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So, apparently, there's not enough information to provide a FICO score.  Really?  I get it that I have only the one open card account, but seriously, 3+ years of payments on a single card is not enough to even generate a score?  So of course, I have to open more cards.  Sounds more like some sort of scam to get the card issuers more business in exchange for kickbacks, no doubt.  I'm starting to not even care.  Screw my credit rating, I don't need to borrow from anyone anyway.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

[clipped]

You mentioned you cannot get your score from Equifax. Don't bother. Equifax doesn't offer a FICO score direct to consumers. Go to Experian and do the $1 trial to get all three of your FICO scores.

www.creditchecktotal.com (this is an Experian site)

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So, apparently, there's not enough information to provide a FICO score.  Really?  I get it that I have only the one open card account, but seriously, 3+ years of payments on a single card is not enough to even generate a score?  So of course, I have to open more cards.  Sounds more like some sort of scam to get the card issuers more business in exchange for kickbacks, no doubt.  I'm starting to not even care.  Screw my credit rating, I don't need to borrow from anyone anyway.

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One account with 3+ years of payments would definitely generate a FICO score.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

[clipped]

You mentioned you cannot get your score from Equifax. Don't bother. Equifax doesn't offer a FICO score direct to consumers. Go to Experian and do the $1 trial to get all three of your FICO scores.

www.creditchecktotal.com (this is an Experian site)

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So, apparently, there's not enough information to provide a FICO score.  Really?  I get it that I have only the one open card account, but seriously, 3+ years of payments on a single card is not enough to even generate a score?  So of course, I have to open more cards.  Sounds more like some sort of scam to get the card issuers more business in exchange for kickbacks, no doubt.  I'm starting to not even care.  Screw my credit rating, I don't need to borrow from anyone anyway.

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Alll of us follow the same rules with the credit bureaus. The bureaus do have different scores for different purposes. Example" Mortgage Scores, Auto Lending Scores and many variations of Bank Card Scores. You may look good on one set of scores and not as good on another. Take myself old thick file and the Mortgage Score from Fico doesn't like me because I have to high a balance outstanding on the mortgage and my Auto Score doesn't like me because I don't have the loan paid down to 30% (why would I when the rate is 0%). Yet, my Fico 08 Scores are 850 (300 to 850).

There is another Factor where there are FICO Buckets and a BK is one and then there are about ten or more in total. We get moved between buckets over time depending on our credit reporting. We have no control over the bucketing or the moves between. You have not been singled out.

Others in this thread explained what leads to the better scores and you have your own choices. Don't care or need high scores stay with the one card. It is your choice. Want something else you need to find the credit path that most suits your needs. This Forum likely will have the answers for whatever credit path you feel is your choice, just ask?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

[clipped]

You mentioned you cannot get your score from Equifax. Don't bother. Equifax doesn't offer a FICO score direct to consumers. Go to Experian and do the $1 trial to get all three of your FICO scores.

www.creditchecktotal.com (this is an Experian site)

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So, apparently, there's not enough information to provide a FICO score.  Really?  I get it that I have only the one open card account, but seriously, 3+ years of payments on a single card is not enough to even generate a score?  So of course, I have to open more cards.  Sounds more like some sort of scam to get the card issuers more business in exchange for kickbacks, no doubt.  I'm starting to not even care.  Screw my credit rating, I don't need to borrow from anyone anyway.

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Alll of us follow the same rules with the credit bureaus. The bureaus do have different scores for different purposes. Example" Mortgage Scores, Auto Lending Scores and many variations of Bank Card Scores. You may look good on one set of scores and not as good on another. Take myself old thick file and the Mortgage Score from Fico doesn't like me because I have to high a balance outstanding on the mortgage and my Auto Score doesn't like me because I don't have the loan paid down to 30% (why would I when the rate is 0%). Yet, my Fico 08 Scores are 850 (300 to 850).

There is another Factor where there are FICO Buckets and a BK is one and then there are about ten or more in total. We get moved between buckets over time depending on our credit reporting. We have no control over the bucketing or the moves between. You have not been singled out.

Others in this thread explained what leads to the better scores and you have your own choices. Don't care or need high scores stay with the one card. It is your choice. Want something else you need to find the credit path that most suits your needs. This Forum likely will have the answers for whatever credit path you feel is your choice, just ask?

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Thanks for commenting, but I'm missing something, because in all the information offered I still don't understand why, comparing apples to apples, (i.e., a particular bureau's score from one month to the next), my score drops dramatically based on no negative changes/payment history.  You mention these buckets - are you assuming that I changed from one "bucket" to another?  Perhaps my financials were considered "great" under one set of standards (others who once filed bankruptcy), and is now considered "poor" now that I'm being compared against everyone else?  Even if that is so, shouldn't there be some indication somewhere?  If not, and if the bureaus or FICO, or whoever, can just make these changes without explanation or accountability, how does the whole process have any integrity or credibility at all? 

[Anonymous]

@Anonymousyou said it well. As to access to bucket changes there is none. None of us know. In theory over time our credit improves and supposedly we move up in buckets (none of us really know as it is not available information).

Do I know whether you changed buckets? No idea, only mentioned it as it is not discussed much in the Forum but is part of the credit game. There are so many types of scores today others would have to fill you in I can't remember them all. As to accountability well that is a subject that is likely to fall under things such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act and I suspect other rules/laws.

From what I have seen for forty years, credit bureaus have been and interesting topic and honesty would be a whole 'nother subject and likely would get political (a no no in this Forum). I would likely RANT and so I will let it be.

As was mentioned before there are things you can do to change your scores and others have stated some of them. If you choose one of many paths someone here can offer ideas for you. Remember, you don't have to do anything.

In looking back at your comments ... we are compared to others in whatever bucket we are in. Those in the BK bucket are not likely to be compared to those who are in the 800s (only speculation on my part).

Update on Morpo's comment down thread about the loss of a ten year reporting card. Lost one myself and that can change your Oldest Account and/or the Average Age of Accounts which may lower your score(s). Food for thought too.

[Anonymous]

I think the reason for the score drop is some older accounts "aged off" your reports. Anything that hits 10 years old and is not an active account ages off and can drop your score. Sorry if I was not clear about this in my long winded response. As SJ says you should have a score. That's really odd. You may have a miss matched file situation.

Another resource that can help you get to the bottom of this is annualcreditreport.com

This will not provide a score. This is the government mandated site that they credit bureaus have to give you one free report every 12 months. Since that site came about there are now many ways to get free reports. The site is still relevant because it is the most comprehensive report you can get. It is equivalent to the paper reports you get direct from the bureaus. Most online reports leave a lot of detail out that annualcreditreport and paper reports leave in.

[Remedios]

Scorecard re-assignment would not cause a 100 point drop, regardless of Fico scoring model without a negative being introduced. It's just not that volatile. Maxed out card may come close, if that's the only one they have but OP did not address that.  

VS might, depending on what's going on. 

OP is also misunderstanding inability to get pass EQ verification vs. not having a score 

OP has been explained how to get his Fico scores and report for measly $1.00. 

So far, from what I can tell, that has not been done. Also, there is quite a bit of adversarial stance towards those who are trying to help them with what's going on with their  credit report. 

If OP is not willing to do their part and actually try to understand what's going on, not much else can be said other than making circular arguments.