I just received a notice from a score monitoring system that my fico score dropped three points because of a change in my report. When i checked out the reason, it was because I disputed one of the accounts which caused a change. Nobody told me that disputing would cause my score to drop. The worst of it is...that was only ONE. I disputed SEVERAL items on ALL THREE credit agencies! Did I just commit suicide??
Scores can definitely drop after a dispute depending on what was disputed and what happened with the dispute. For example, your credit history (or the length of time you've had credit) is one of the things that can affect your score. This is determined by the age of the oldest account in your credit file. If you dispute your oldest account and that account gets deleted, then it looks like you haven't had credit for as long and your score may go down. Also, the scores tend to like a mix of credit... some credit cards, an auto loan, a mortgage, maybe a store card, and if you have a good mix then it can increase your score. If you dispute an account that gets deleted then it can change your mix and it can cause your score to go down. Part of the problem comes from the fact that no one knows the exact formula used to calculate the credit score. We have general information... late payments cause it to go down and older accounts can help it to go up, but no one can say for sure that if you get that older account with late payments deleted if the up of deleting the late payments will outweigh the down of removing the older account. Now, that all said, as long as you're disputing accounts with negative information (particularly newer negative information) then overall your score should go up. Even if the disputes cause your score to go down, it should only be a temporary dip and you scores should be able to go back up even higher than they originally were once that negative information is gone. You won't be able to get a really high score with much or even any negative information on there at all, so the more you can delete the better your score will be in the future.
Also, keep some perspective. -3 points is far from suicide. The score from a pristine report (e.g. high 700s) can plummet to below 700 just by getting some stupid collection agency entry for a $100 phone or doctor bill.
My brother (with help from me gleaned from here) was in the 700's. He went to buy a new truck, it was time and the incentives plus 0% was prime for him. He was refused the 0%. We checked why: A local apartment complex had hired a collection agency. That agency, unable to locate the individual in question, put a collections notice on every person in the local phone book with that name! And it ain;t a very uncommon name. We sent validation, the collections told him to come in and prove he wasn't the person. We filed in court, and once the smoke cleared, he was back in the 700's and had some extra cash to put down on a truck. We also called all the people with the same name and notified them what the scum had done, and what their options and rights were. I highly suspect that little collection office went broke, as the building is empty and for sale now.
GREAT POST!!! This is the attitude to take. Fight for your rights and make the bast@#ds pay. This is the ONLY way to even the playing field. Argento
