Score or Report Info? Chiken or the egg?

[_qwerty_]

As recent as a month ago I had 8 (out of 12) credit cards with balances. Since then I paid in full 5 of them and already see some positive changes in score (+45 TU). But I must say that, although my score has changed – the information on my report is essentially the same – it still shows 8 accounts with balances and 16% of utilization although in fact it is already 3%.

It looks like the score itself is already “sees” that I paid my balances. But information on reports (number of accounts with balances, utilization) is outdated. So essentially this makes me think that score and info on report exist in parallel. I always thought that the score formula applied to the info in your report, that the info – is the primary source and the formula generates actual score number according to the info.  Now I am now sure if this is true. Can somebody clarify this for me?

All of this bothers me a bit because I don’t know if I should expect further boost in my score (since information on my profile is still showing 8 accounts with balances instead of 3) or the major change in my score already took place and it is just a matter of several weeks until info on my report will be updated as well.

Thank you!

[marty56]

When you get a new CR, you FICO score is calculated from the content in your CR at that time.  They are not seperate.

[haulingthescoreup]

Did you have any accounts, baddies, etc. that went over 6 months old, a year old, two years old, etc? Since your first set of scores was from January and your second in February, it might have been that.

My TU score just went from 733 to 755 in a matter of days, just from a bunch of new accounts turning one year old in February, as best as I can tell. Suddenly my TransUnion Amount of new credit dashboard went from Not Good to Good.

I was hoping to see the same thing happen with Experian, which seems to use the actual date of new accounts instead of the beginning of the month, but since they all were opened from the 16th onward, I guess not, huh?


edit: cna't splel

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 02-07-2009 10:02 PM

[_qwerty_]

Ok let's see.

 
Jan 31,09 (TU 685)
 

Accounts 14

Accounts with balances 8

Accounts opened in past year 2

Recent inquiries 6

Collections 0

Public Records 0

 

6 days later.... (+45 points)

 
Feb 06,09 (TU 730)
 

Accounts 14

Accounts with balances 8

Accounts opened in pas year 2

Recent Inquiries 5

Collections 0

Public Records 0

 
so essentially 1 inquiry disappeared from my report and one of the revolving accounts instead of $1950 showing $6.( which brings my total utilization from 16% to 13%)  And 45 points just for that! I guess as soon as other changes will be reflected on my report my score will fly somewhere between 960 and 990

[haulingthescoreup]

If an inq stopped counting, then I would think that an account turned one year old as well, no?

I just looked at my before and after TU reports, and they show the same number of accounts-opened-in-past-year (8) and inqs (1.) But on the first screen, the Amount of new credit bar changed from not good to good, so on some murky level of their dim, confuzzled mind, they acknowledge that most of my accounts have hit one year.

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_qwerty_ wrote:

...I guess as soon as other changes will be reflected on my report my score will fly somewhere between 960 and 990

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That's the spirit!