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why did my score take such a hard hit?

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Anonymous
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why did my score take such a hard hit?

I had a new account hit and my score dropped 33 points, why? I thought opening up more line of credit was good in moderation? I just bought a new car too is that going to hit me and ding me as well? When Can I expect an increase then? Im scared to think of what it did to my other two credit scores, which wern't as good. I went from a 675 to 673 to a 708 and then back down to 673. ARRRGGHHH. What can I do to get those points back?
Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: why did my score take such a hard hit?

Did your utility increase too? How heavily is your age going to be effected by 2 new accounts? 30 points is pretty severe, but you do lose points for inquiries, age, and new credit every time you open an account -sometimes that is offset by lower utility or better credit mix but many times it is not for 6 to 12 months. You will probably be better off in the long run.
Message 2 of 8
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: why did my score take such a hard hit?

Like debtisgood mentioned, you took a hit on your history. Also new credit is I think 10% of your score.
 
Of my last 5 CCs added, I took anywhere from a 10-25 point hit on each new account. Most of my points did return after 4-6 months.
 
Adding new credit can be seen by lenders as a bad thing.
Message 3 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: why did my score take such a hard hit?

Well I had no credit cards except a 300 high interest rate I used to get my credit better. So I went from 300 available credit to 2500 limit.. I have an 11 year credit history. I had a repo on my credit which is coming off in 9 months. I am making payments on my cc's every two weeks. I am also paying my car lease bi monthly as well.
 
I want to buy a house this time next year so I want to improve my score as much as possible.
 
thanks,
Message 4 of 8
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: why did my score take such a hard hit?



tebs78 wrote:
Well I had no credit cards except a 300 high interest rate I used to get my credit better. So I went from 300 available credit to 2500 limit.. I have an 11 year credit history. I had a repo on my credit which is coming off in 9 months. I am making payments on my cc's every two weeks. I am also paying my car lease bi monthly as well.
 
I want to buy a house this time next year so I want to improve my score as much as possible.
 
thanks,


A 11 yr history isn't bad at all, but what took the hit was your average age. Dropping by even one year will lead to a significant point loss. Combine that with your new accounts, which will drop any score regardless of history, you took a decent hit. But as mentioned, you'll gain most of those points back in a few months.
Message 5 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: why did my score take such a hard hit?

Yes, the new account and your new car both dinged all 3 of your reports probably by similar increments.  The car and new account will hit your report as each lender reports to the CRA.  Most lenders report every thirty days.  You can find out when by just calling the lenders and asking them. 
 
The others are correct as to why your score went down.  Opening the the new account and buying a car within a short amount of time of each other could have cost you up to 5 points for each inquiry (inquiries = 10% of your score) even though two per year is moderate openings. 
 
Also, if you are using more than 20% of the available limit of either your old or new card, that could lower your score by several points (utilization=35%).  However, your score can quickly rebound (even within 30-60 days) by paying your cards down to 20% or less than the available limits before the next time the lenders report to the CRAs.  But since you don't plan to use your credit until next year to buy the house, you can take some time paying the balances down as long as at least 2-3 months before you actually apply for the mortgage, you make sure the utilization is under 20%.
 
Also, your 11 year history suffered because the new accounts lowered your average age which meant you probably lost a few more points there too (aging=15%).  This is a long shot, but do you have any accounts over 10 years old with zero balance that you were not using?  Sometimes after 10 years of inactivity, dormant accounts with zero balance fall off your report.  If any of your older cards have fallen off, even though you have been using credit for 11 years, your aging is now being averaged based on the age of the oldest card remaining.
 
I hope this helps.
Message 6 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: why did my score take such a hard hit?

I have read, on more than a few web sites, that the average FICO score is now 693. So, your 708 was above the average. Someone here, I think TNWM, has pointed out the FICO tendency to push people to the average. Meaning, if your score were lower, you'd probably see a small hit, so as not to move you too far away from 693. However, since you were above 700, you are penalized more than would a person with a lower score. Make sense? This explains why people with high scores get zinged harder than someone with a lower score for the same item.
 
 
 
Message 7 of 8
Madison
Regular Contributor

Re: why did my score take such a hard hit?

EQ raised my fico score 44 points and a week later dropped it 25 points. And it just raise my score 2 points after 3 weeks of no activity. Crazy
 
Message 8 of 8
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