Hey Slippery-- Just doing some catch-up reading over lunch. When I pay down a card, I usually leave a balance of about $20, bc I too have noted that FICO (the real one) rewards usage, and also because CC companies will report a $20 balance, and not always take the time to update if you are at zero. However, those goofy codes will sometimes chastise me for having "too many cards with balances" even when that means 6 cards with a total of less than 1K. Who knows? I got all 3 of my scores up over 800 a few months ago, but have not been able to repeat it since. I don't think it really makes much difference on even big approvals, like mortgages, but it was a psychological victory and I am very stubborn.
odd, was too many revolving accounts the main reason code or further down the list? I just looked at some of my old score power reports and not so long ago I had 7 balances and over 1k in balances. You might need to get yourself on a different scorecard by say adding an auto account or installment account or something of that sort. Incidently racer is correct I saw something posted a few days back that was an advertisement for FICO that said they do a sample of the credit files and refigure out what are the main factors that predict a cominng delinquency for a particular scorecard. So your score may have dropped simply because people like you started defaulting. Guilt By Association
I will be adding an auto loan later this year and I have a feeling that my score will go up. I resisted applying for credit for a long time and then last year got a couple of new cards. I thought adding new credit would hurt my score, but it actually raised it. The strangest thing about the "too many" reason code is that it cites "Open and CLOSED" accounts. It seems strange to me that they would hold closed accounts against you. I try to focus on Equifax FICO, since I know that the other scores aren't accurate, however here in SoCal, the lenders seem to pull Experian and TU more frequently. I hate the new 4 report limit on Equifax though. Experian certainly has the most customer friendly online service.
It seems strange to me that they would hold closed accounts against you. Calypso =============== Anything to trash your scores. The END ************************* LB 59
