Score 4mos after discharge was 666, now 632...why?

[dean407]

My discharge was in Oct 2011. I was considering getting a different car, so I checked my score on myfico and to my surprise instead of it being higher than 666, it was much lower at 632.

I haven't applied for any credit within that time, nor have any late payments.

On the summary screen the difference between back in Feb and now is that is shows "Amount of Debt" : that was VERY GOOD, and now it shows as NOT GOOD. ????

The only debt I have is my car which I pay on time and the amount owed is obviously less than it was last year.

Otherwise, I have a revolving balance at my credit union of $250 for pay loan advances. I have used that option a few times as I only get paid once a month. The loan automatically gets paid after I get paid.

Did my score go down because the limit is $250 and the amount owed is $250? It will be paid in full Friday morning.

It shows that account as paid as agreed, credit limit $250, scheduled payment $250.

That's the only other debt I have since February. No other changes, and no credit inquiries in the past 12 mos.

If that $250 is what brought my score down 34 points, how quickly would it go back up? As soon as the credit union reports it as paid to the credit agencies?

Thanks for any insight.

Regards,

Dean

[justbroke]

Utilization has the HIGHEST impact on your credit score, other than missing payments! If you have just one account over 90%, the scoring model is NOT nice about it and your score could drop 40 points! You should never allow any revolving account to report more than 30% utilization with a goal of keeping it less than 10%!

When the scoring model sees you going over 30% utilization, it triggers the model to assume that you are using all of your credit because you have no money. There are different trigger points, and I don't understand them exactly. From my experience, the triggers are at 10% (but very little impact), 30%, 50%, 60%, 80% and 90%+ (with the impact being low to higher). Just having ONE account report that you're at or near your limits will impact the entire model... even if you had thousands available on another card (known as overall utilization).

Apparently, the model is working. As you can see, you had money issues and used your line of credit and it reported as being well over 90%. That in turn shows that you are in financial trouble and the model reflect as much.

[dean407]

justbroke:

That is what I figured. That's good news since it will be paid Friday.

[kawh]

If you absolutely have to use that line of credit, you could try to find out when they report to the credit bureaus. Most of the credit cards I have had report monthly, just after the billing period ends.
But you may need to call & ask them. When you know what day(s) they report to the bureau, be sure to have your balance paid down for a couple of days before that date.

[dean407]

Just wanted to update this thread. I just checked my equifax score with myfico and it's now 670. :-)

[justbroke]

See what paying down will do? I am telling you, it is up to a 40 POINT HIT if you keep your utilization over 30% across all cards, or over 90% (or so) on one card (high utilization).

[BankruptinNJ]

My discharge was in Oct 2011. I was considering getting a different car, so I checked my score on myfico and to my surprise instead of it being higher than 666, it was much lower at 632.

I haven't applied for any credit within that time, nor have any late payments.

On the summary screen the difference between back in Feb and now is that is shows "Amount of Debt" : that was VERY GOOD, and now it shows as NOT GOOD. ????

The only debt I have is my car which I pay on time and the amount owed is obviously less than it was last year.

Otherwise, I have a revolving balance at my credit union of $250 for pay loan advances. I have used that option a few times as I only get paid once a month. The loan automatically gets paid after I get paid.

Did my score go down because the limit is $250 and the amount owed is $250? It will be paid in full Friday morning.

It shows that account as paid as agreed, credit limit $250, scheduled payment $250.

That's the only other debt I have since February. No other changes, and no credit inquiries in the past 12 mos.

If that $250 is what brought my score down 34 points, how quickly would it go back up? As soon as the credit union reports it as paid to the credit agencies?

Thanks for any insight.

Regards,

Dean

I really would avoid pay day loan advances completely. Do you pay high interest on them? Yes, I know you say they are automatically paid off, but it's a dangerous way to live.

I also get paid only once a month, and it gets pretty dicey that last week, but spaghetti and spaghetti sauce are very cheap, and so are ramen noodles!