Updates on fico scores

[CreditBob]

If no information on your credit report such as balances, inquiries, opening new accounts does not change then your fico score will not change.

If you have had a balance on a credit card or any revolving account with high limits or maxed out, and then paid it down to 5% utilization your score would change. Here is the key to when. Most creditors report monthly and in some cases quarterly around the same date of that month. You will have to contact each creditor and find out one of these three terms that they use-billing cycle date, the report date, or the billing date. That is when a creditor closes out the month and reports the information to the credit bureaus. For example my cycle date is on the 20th business day of the month which is right before the month ends. Then around the 7th of the following month I will see the new updated fico score.

If for example it is reported quarterly there is one thing that you can do. That is dispute the balance with the credit bureaus. They have thirty days to do their investigation unless something changes which at this time I am not aware. So instead of having wait 90 days you can get your report & score updated about a month later.

[Anonymous]

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CreditBob wrote:

If no information on your credit report such as balances, inquiries, opening new accounts does not change then your fico score will not change.

If you have had a balance on a credit card or any revolving account with high limits or maxed out, and then paid it down to 5% utilization your score would change. Here is the key to when. Most creditors report monthly and in some cases quarterly around the same date of that month. You will have to contact each creditor and find out one of these three terms that they use-billing cycle date, the report date, or the billing date. That is when a creditor closes out the month and reports the information to the credit bureaus. For example my cycle date is on the 20th business day of the month which is right before the month ends. Then around the 7th of the following month I will see the new updated fico score.

If for example it is reported quarterly there is one thing that you can do. That is dispute the balance with the credit bureaus. They have thirty days to do their investigation unless something changes which at this time I am not aware. So instead of having wait 90 days you can get your report & score updated about a month later.

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This is generally correct unless time ages an account, an inquiry hits 1 year, or your average age hits a magical number that equates to points.

While it is great to know your reporting date, often it is easier to find it out by examining your reports and what the balance is. If it is from your last statement date it lets you know they report on that date, no matter when it updates. Many CSR's do not know when they report to bureaus. I have even had one tell me that the bureau grabs the balance from them and not vice versa.

[Anonymous]

I once paid all my credit cards to zero balances and my scores went down.