Sudden unexplained drop in credit score

[Anonymous]

About a year ago my FICO credit score dropped from over 800 to below 740. I was told that the score was based on TransUnion information, so I pulled a copy of my TransUnion Credit report, but there was no negative information on it. I pay all bills on time, but also have only one credit card and no loans. (I'm wealthy enough that dealing with creditors is more trouble than its worth) I'd be interested in any thoughts on why a credit score would drop so dramatically and suddenly without any negative information, and how I might be able to contact TransUnion to find out if there is some unreported negative information that is affecting my score. Its abviously impossible to dispute what you're not aware of.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Unreported information by definition cannot affect your credit score.  The score is based solely on information in your report.

Let us know if you are curious how to create a stable high credit score.  It's very easy to do -- no trouble at all.  Once you set the basic pieces up on your credit profile you can ignore it. 

A report with exactly one credit card and no installment accounts is very vulnerable to score fluctuations -- chiefly caused by whatever the balance on your latest CC statement was, not by anything negative (e.g. late payments, liens, collections, judgments, etc.).

[someone379]

I just had an unexplainable almost 100pt drop in my TU score - I got an alert from BarClay that the score had changed, states the drop is due to delinquiencies.  I have pulled the report from multiple sources, all showing lower score, but no negative marks.  I'm very confused by all this right now.

[Anonymous]

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@someone379 wrote:

I just had an unexplainable almost 100pt drop in my TU score - I got an alert from BarClay that the score had changed, states the drop is due to delinquiencies.  I have pulled the report from multiple sources, all showing lower score, but no negative marks.  I'm very confused by all this right now.

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Sorry you are having this scary experience.

Your situation is a little different from that of the OP.  In his case, whatever conceivable negative reporting happened quite a while ago.  In his case, there has been plenty of time for all the different third-party tools that pull TU data to get the most recent data.  In your case, by contrast, this appears to be something that has happened in the last 24 hours.

If you feel like it won't be the end of the world if you wait 7 days, you can try again with Karma and the other free tools that pull TU reports.  If you feel like you need a more immediate answer, you could wait till Monday noon and then pull your TU report through annualcreditreport.com -- that's the gold standard.

Somebody else may have a better suggestion too of course.

[DollyLama]

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@Anonymous wrote:

About a year ago my FICO credit score dropped from over 800 to below 740. I was told that the score was based on TransUnion information, so I pulled a copy of my TransUnion Credit report, but there was no negative information on it. I pay all bills on time, but also have only one credit card and no loans. (I'm wealthy enough that dealing with creditors is more trouble than its worth) I'd be interested in any thoughts on why a credit score would drop so dramatically and suddenly without any negative information, and how I might be able to contact TransUnion to find out if there is some unreported negative information that is affecting my score. Its abviously impossible to dispute what you're not aware of.

Thanks in advance.

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The score was a year ago? 

What is your current score with TU?

Even though you pay well, no installment debt, this is what could be hurting your score. Lack of installment in credit mix. Had you a year ago, just paid off an installment loan?

Do you carry a zero balance on your one revolving charge also?

To maximize your score, even though you do not need credit financially, you need to show that you have used it occasionally. Carry a balance above 0 but below 9% of the CL. 

[kthom1015]

I too had this experience just yesterday. Granted it wasn't 100 points, it was 22, but when you are rebuilding your credit and pulling yourself out of the muck, 22 points is like 2,000. I had just gotten a refreshed credit report from MYFICO and nothing looked off at first, but now that I look at it TU is reporting two of student loan accounts incorrectly. And it is just them, both EQ and EX are reporting as they should - I have a dispute in for them to fix it.

[Anonymous]

Hi Credit Guy, sorry this is taking so long to get back to you, I've had multiple problems logging in and the original post was moved....

"Unreported information by definition cannot affect your credit score"

That's one of the things that has me puzzled. There's nothing negative in my credit report, yet the score drop is real. It sounds like I need to provide a little more detail.

I'd last used my Discover card in January 2015 to buy a plane ticket, then paid the charge in full before I left. For the next year, my credit report showed a CREDIT, which dropped off at the same time as the score drop. So I thought maybe there was an erroneous charge off. So I contacted Discover, and they said no, my card had always been paid in good standing. They provided me with that in writing, which I forwarded to TranUnion. TransUnion responded with another copy of my credit report still showing the credit.

"Let us know if you are curious how to create a stable high credit score.  It's very easy to do -- no trouble at all.  Once you set the basic pieces up on your credit profile you can ignore it."

Thanks. The point is that I HAD a high (800+) credit score, and nothing changed to negatively affect it. I'm really not interested in playing games to get my credit score up - my creditworthyness is exceptional, and I shouldn't have to play games or pay (interest on a loan, annual credit card fees, etc) to have a high score.

"A report with exactly one credit card and no installment accounts is very vulnerable to score fluctuations -- chiefly caused by whatever the balance on your latest CC statement was"

My credit score changed without any change in my credit card balance ($0.00)

What I'm really interested in is how do I find out what changed my score. Something obviously happened to change my score, and its not showing up on my credit report.

Thanks for the help. If you've got any connections with TransUnion that can help me find out what's going on, I'd appreciate the info.

[Anonymous]

Hi Dolly, thanks for the comments. Sorry this is taking so long to get back to you, I've had multiple problems logging in and the original post was moved....

Prior to the incident, my score was consistently over 800, with no variation. Then BAM, it dropped to below 740, and has not moved in over a year. 

Had you a year ago, just paid off an installment loan?

No, I haven't had an installment loan in over a decade, and my credit score was over 800.

"Do you carry a zero balance on your one revolving charge also?" 

Yes, My card always has a zero balance.

"To maximize your score, even though you do not need credit financially, you need to show that you have used it occasionally. Carry a balance above 0 but below 9% of the CL." 

Thanks for the advice. I've seen the same said on this forum, which is really good if you're trying to up your score, but the point is that I HAD a high (800+) credit score with no installment loans and nothing on my credit card, and nothing changed to negatively affect it. I'm really not interested in playing games to get my credit score up - my creditworthyness is exceptional, and I shouldn't have to play games or pay (interest on a loan, annual credit card fees, etc) to have a high score.

I might also add that if it takes being in debt to raise a "Credit Score", then maybe it isn't so much a CREDIT score as much as a DEBT UTILIZATION score. Which is fine, except that they really are two entirely different things. If my debt utiilization score is below 300, then so be it. :-)

What I'm really interested in is how do I find out what changed my score. Something obviously happened to change my score, and its not showing up on my credit report.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

About a year ago my FICO credit score dropped from over 800 to below 740. I was told that the score was based on TransUnion information, so I pulled a copy of my TransUnion Credit report, but there was no negative information on it. I pay all bills on time, but also have only one credit card and no loans. (I'm wealthy enough that dealing with creditors is more trouble than its worth) I'd be interested in any thoughts on why a credit score would drop so dramatically and suddenly without any negative information, and how I might be able to contact TransUnion to find out if there is some unreported negative information that is affecting my score. Its abviously impossible to dispute what you're not aware of.

Thanks in advance.

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Do you have any of your credit reports from before the drop available?  If so, compare that side-by-side to your current report.  My best guess is that what you're looking at here is not so much mysterious negative information, but missing POSITIVE information.

 Accounts remain on your report as positive impact up to 10 years from the date they are closed.  You sound established, so if I had to guess (which I do), I would say the likliest cause of this issue would be an older tradeline dropping off your report, and lowering both your age of oldest account and average age of accounts.

[Anonymous]

Thanks TygerHawke. It may be so, but at the same time, its frustrating because that's hardly an actual impact on my creditworthiness. I'll get back to you.