Trying to estimate score using Estimator..help please?

[Anonymous]

I am wondering if when the Estimator asks for total number of cc's if I should be including the closed cc's that are still showing on my CR? What about closed loans? Do those count towards my UTL as well even though they are closed? Reason I ask, I have one active/open cc and then 4 others that are on my CR in good standing but they are closed.  And I have three installment loans but two are closed and paid in full.

[haulingthescoreup]

You know, that's a very good question! I've always run it using open accounts. And it hasn't really mattered in my case, because I fall into the 5 or more category either way.

I'm going to pass your question on to an admin, although since it's a weekend, we might have to wait a while on an answer.

Out of curiosity, have you tried running it both ways and seeing if it comes out differently?

[Anonymous]

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timebomb wrote:

I am wondering if when the Estimator asks for total number of cc's if I should be including the closed cc's that are still showing on my CR? What about closed loans? Do those count towards my UTL as well even though they are closed? Reason I ask, I have one active/open cc and then 4 others that are on my CR in good standing but they are closed.  And I have three installment loans but two are closed and paid in full.

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A closed CC with a Bal $0  does not count toward UTIL.   A closed account with a Bal.  only the amount owed counts toward UTIL  and hurts because of that.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
You know, that's a very good question! I've always run it using open accounts. And it hasn't really mattered in my case, because I fall into the 5 or more category either way.

I'm going to pass your question on to an admin, although since it's a weekend, we might have to wait a while on an answer.

Out of curiosity, have you tried running it both ways and seeing if it comes out differently?

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I asked the Big Kahuna himself, and he didn't know either!

He also suggested working it both ways and seeing how it comes out. The problem is that the Estimator is very broad and general, and so neither of us are really sure what that question is after. (I know that sounds kind of inane...)

Sorry we can't come up with anything more coherent than that!

[RobertEG]

Timebomb, your excellent question strikes at the very inadequacy of the sims.  The sims and estimators are basically one dimensional. and superficial, and hence the wide range in projections that they return.  In the actual FICO algorithm, closed accounts are included in some scorng categories, such as length of credit history, oldest account, up until ten years after closed, then they vanish.  And derogs on those accounts count for seven years from the derog, whether open or closed.  But once closed, the CL on that card is lost in the %util category. So I am not surprised at all that there is no ready answer to your question about how many accounts to put into a simplistic sim.

The sims and estimators do not provide this level of input.  Garbage in, garbage out.

Message Edited by RobertEG on 04-26-2008 08:17 PM

Message Edited by RobertEG on 04-26-2008 08:20 PM