UGH, darn Amex (utilization)!

[Anonymous]

Does anyone else have a problem with the way Amex reports? I charged up 50% of my balance and paid it back down to around 30%, and a week later, they reported the amount just over 50% AFTER the funds were processed, which caused my score to drop 18 points today!!! I specifically paid ~$1000 last month to show low utilization on my account, and it did me no good. UGH...I think I'm going to try and have them update the info through dispute, or something. I know we all know this, but, this is good proof of why it's important to keep the utilization down. All my cards have low balances, and although folks often say 50% is fine, you can see that my damage is an immediate 18 points just from one card. FYI, previous utilization was 5%.

[Anonymous]

Yes, Amex reports a month behind.

It's not a good idea to dispute anything about a positive tradeline unless you want to run the risk of losing it from your reports entirely.

Generally, if you are counting on a certain amount of utilization reporting on your Amex, you need to plan two months ahead.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yes, Amex reports a month behind.

It's not a good idea to dispute anything about a positive tradeline unless you want to run the risk of losing it from your reports entirely.

Generally, if you are counting on a certain amount of utilization reporting on your Amex, you need to plan two months ahead.

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Yeah, the way they report really annoys me! Re: me disputing, I have actually done this before. I'm not disputing the account itself; I am disputing the balance. I was actually told to do this before by creditors, and someone at Equifax. It bring the information to current.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Yes, Amex reports a month behind.

It's not a good idea to dispute anything about a positive tradeline unless you want to run the risk of losing it from your reports entirely.

Generally, if you are counting on a certain amount of utilization reporting on your Amex, you need to plan two months ahead.

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Yeah, the way they report really annoys me! Re: me disputing, I have actually done this before. I'm not disputing the account itself; I am disputing the balance. I was actually told to do this before by creditors, and someone at Equifax. It bring the information to current.

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Sometimes it works.  Sometimes it backfires and the account ends up being deleted.  Creditors don't always understand the intricacies of these things and sometimes give bad advice.

Whether it's worth the risk of losing the tradeline is up to you.  Just be aware that every time you do this, you are taking that risk.

[Anonymous]

Yep, same here.

[Anonymous]

It's always worked for me when I've done it. It's not a dispute on the account as a whole; just on the balance. Also, if it's deleted, I'm sure it'll show back up through the system automatically. Quite frankly, I could lose an account with no worries; the account is pretty new and it may help! lol

[Anonymous]

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ssstevie wrote:
It's always worked for me when I've done it. It's not a dispute on the account as a whole; just on the balance. Also, if it's deleted, I'm sure it'll show back up through the system automatically. Quite frankly, I could lose an account with no worries; the account is pretty new and it may help! lol

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I understood that, and it doesn't change my answer.  Sometimes it works, and sometimes it backfires.  I'm glad it's always worked for you so far.

[Anonymous]

I'd not dispute it on TU! Eq is ok, Ex ok. TU could delete the whole account. But I'd contact Amex to update manually before disputing. I learned the hard way not to dispute. Besides disputes last up to 30 days, might be easier to wait for the next Amex update.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I'm sure it'll show back up through the system automatically.

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Not always! My accounts did not show back up since the CRAs blocked them after deleting them for me. I really needed those account back on. The lender manually added them back in, but lost years of history.

[MidnightVoice]

ssstevie wrote:

.UGH...I think I'm going to try and have them update the info through dispute, or something.

Is there some urgent reason for you to do this?