Utils Experiment - No score increase at 20% on EX

[sh9730]

SO, I ve been waiting for the results of an experiment on utils and the score increases between percentages.  I started a couple months ago at 45% utils and then got to 30% and then today down to 20%.  All three of my CRAs show the same accounts on them so it should be a pretty good test.

Below 30% - Saw good score bump (10-20 points) on all three CRAs.

Scores after that - TU 690 - EQ 708 - EX 689

Pulled last week and was at 20.5% on all three CRAs and had one more payment to report that would push me down to 19.7% (I intentionally wanted to make it a small payment to keep it very close).

Today that payment reported on EX - NO SCORE CHANGE at 19.7%!  Now, to be fair TU and EQ have not yet reported the last payment that breaks below the 20% barrier so I cannot swear I wont see a bump there....

BUT

On TU (where I currently stand at 20.5% utils) I tried the score simulator and tried to pay just enough to bring me below 20% in one month and it keeps me in the same range (690-720). I also tried to see what it said when I did 3 months with amounts that would put me significantly below 20% but above 10% and still same range (690-720).  BUT, when I put in payment amounts over 3 months that would bring me below 10%, BINGO! new range (710-750). 

SO, I think that the score bump at 30% is big, and the score bump at 10% is big, but the score bump at 20% is minimal, if at all - everything else being equal of course. 

Unfortunately (well fortunately for me!) I wont be able to fully test the remaining segment because at the same time I pay to 10% over 3 months (which is about what I m gonna do!), I also lose my last CA showing also!! So, I wont be able to attribute any score changes accurately to a particular thing.

But, it was interesting to test this right at that 20% level.

[Anonymous]

Not to take anything away from your observations, since you have provided great information, but just wanted to point out that for FICO purposes 19.7% = 20%.  You need to get below 20% (i.e. 19%) in order to see the effect of crossing the utilization threshold.

[sh9730]

Yeah, ya know...I was thinking that....when I pulled my EQ daily after the last payment finally posted there...(they are soooo slow sometimes!) it does show the utils rounded to 20%. Some other stuff should start posting soon and it should just take one of the other ones to post for me to be below 19% so that might bump it....I hope so!!  I mean it was a nice experiement...but I would have rather gotten a score bump!!

[bott6698]

Your test is great and please keep us posted. As far as the score simulator I think it is really stupid. I have had way higher increases then what they said I would by doing the same thing, Sometimes it says score would remain the same if I made the change and when I made the change it went up 20 points. I think the simulator is retarded and I form one am not going to use it anymore. I love sw and my orman kit per month but I am done running the simulator because it never shows the boost that I know I really could get,

[Anonymous]

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bott6698 wrote:

Your test is great and please keep us posted. As far as the score simulator I think it is really stupid. I have had way higher increases then what they said I would by doing the same thing, Sometimes it says score would remain the same if I made the change and when I made the change it went up 20 points. I think the simulator is retarded and I form one am not going to use it anymore. I love sw and my orman kit per month but I am done running the simulator because it never shows the boost that I know I really could get,

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IME, the simulator is quite accurate in predicting scores resulting from changes in revolving utilization.  Any other actions seem to be hit or miss, though.  There are a number of factors it does not account for, like inquiries aging one year and baddies falling off or being deleted.

[bott6698]

check this out cheddar to prove my point. I have a heloc that is 17k, maxed out as 17k and the cra is reporting as a revolving loc account. Well Timothy said if I was able to pay that off I should see a 50-150 point uppage in score. When I run the score simulator to pay off the loc it shows about the same score.'

Please explain because I really don't see how even the revolving simulator could be accurate

[Anonymous]

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bott6698 wrote:

check this out cheddar to prove my point. I have a heloc that is 17k, maxed out as 17k and the cra is reporting as a revolving loc account. Well Timothy said if I was able to pay that off I should see a 50-150 point uppage in score. When I run the score simulator to pay off the loc it shows about the same score.'

Please explain because I really don't see how even the revolving simulator could be accurate

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The only CRA I am aware of with issues of reporting a HELOC as a revolving account is EX.  As there is no simulator available for EX, I'm not sure how you were able to simulate Timothy's suggestion, unless you did it on a different CRA's simulator, in which case Timothy's suggestion doesn't apply because those other two CRAs don't count your HELOC as revolving.

[bott6698]

Just checked and even wierder more reason I am no gonna trust the simulator. My TU report on my actual orman fico report it does not show as revolving BUT on the score simulator for TU it shows in my revolving account balance... I put in the simulator to pay off the entire balance and it shows the same score.   If something is fishy with just mine I would like to know and maybe I can get it fixed or something.. EQ by the way shows correctly on both the report and the simulator not including in revolving and your right on EX the actual report shows it as revolving but of course can't access the simulator for ex