Community Chat

[JaneMarple]

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@missy1 wrote:

Waiting to hear all the high scores......

No, you don't lose a lot of points for one inquiry.

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[SydneyH]

If you are over 700, I wouldn't be overly concerned.....

[tansy]

If it's obvious you are shopping car loan rates or for a mortgage, I believe all of the inquiries within a certain period of time (maybe 30 days) only count as one ding to your credit score.  So nothing to worry about, @151949.

[Pook]

Hard inquiries stay for 2 years.  I had an approved loan from my credit union and a check for my new vehicle purchase.  The dealership (knowing full well I didn't need financing) put in for loans from 4 other financial institutions causing my score to go down 5--10 points (depending on the credit reporting company) for the hard inquiries which made 5 hard inquiries instead of the 1 for my loan.  The only thing I could do was to harass the dealership enough to write a letter saying what they did to send to all the different credit scoring places to be put in my records but the hard inquiries stay for 2 years.  Dealerships get some sort of incentives for procuring loans or seeming to.  I bet many have had this happen to them.  Also I found out that more than 2 hard inquiries send red flags out and many places do not care what the reason is so you could be denied loans, etc and even have your insurance fees raised upon reviews - even if your score is really good!

[KathyPet]

PEople keep,referring to "A credit score" like it is one entity.  THis is not the case.  EAch of the three major credit bureaus has their own scoring system with their own individual range of scores. FOr someone to say their credit score is 750 is absolutely meaningless unless put in the context of the high and low scores that particular credit bureau uses.  A credit score of 750 may be very good if that bureau has a top score of 800 but not as good if that bureau has a top score of 900.

To further muddy the waters a lot of large credit grantors now have their own individualized credit scores which are provided by the credit bureau based on the particular criteria that the credit grantor wants to be considered and the weight that credit grantor wants assigned to individual entries in your credit report.  FOr example you may get a standard Experian report and have a credit score of 750.  YOu may then apply for a car loan and your bank might use Experian to run your score but Experian might use a Special formula that the bank wants used and all of a sudden your 750 "standard" Experian credit score has fallen to 700 using the bank's special formula.  A example of this is called Vantage Scoring which is a speciality formula used by Experian.  MOre and more financial institutions are using these special formulations which cannot be determined by a consumer ahead of time.

[Pook]

Like @KathyPet stated, there are more than one and even the top 3.  My auto insurance company uses one that I had never heard of before and my score was 12 points higher than Experian and even a bit more than the other 2 major common credit bureaus.  Also what I noticed that even though Credit Karma says they use I think Experian and one of the other major ones, their score is always up to 10 points lower than what comes directly from the major bureaus.  They are in business to refer users to credit cards so I don't use that one anymore.  

[KathyPet]

personally I think that these specialized scores are very misleading and unfair to consumers.   FOr example you might have your standard FICO score from Equifax and Experian and Trans Union and all three might have your score in the excellent range.  YOu are looking at car loans and your bank or credit union has a range of car loan rates shown.  You assume that based on your scores you will qualify,for the lowest rate so you apply with that bank or credit union and surprise surprise!  THey use their own specialized score and all of a sudden your excellent credit score drops and you are told you don't qualify for the lowest rate.

[151949]

When we applied for the mortgage on our current house the lender sat down with us and explained the use about credit scores and mortgages. Apparently , most credit scores are based on a 0 to 900 scale. So say your number is 850 - you would think you have really excellant credit. But mortgages have a totally different scale of 1 to 1000, and the numbers are not so much based on your past credit history, as they are on their perception of your ability to make the payments.So even though you have a excellent history , there is much more emphasis put on current income and stability of your income with a mortgage. So your number 850 - may drop to 750 and it would be on a higher scale so your excellent credit would only then be good credit #. And this could be something totally out of your control  - for instance if the company where you work is considered unstable.

[LilacTree]

When I applied here just over two years ago for a rental, I brought a printout of my three credit scores with me to the meeting.  They completely ignored those scores and never even checked them through their sources.

I was approved based upon one thing.  I had a 100% score on paying all of my bills every month significantly in excess of the minimum and early.  That was the only criteria they used.  And I continue to do that.

Mortgage companies and car dealerships use the FICO score and, obviously, as I have learned here, their banks also have their own criteria.  I find that a questionable practice, making one's FICO score useless. All of their ratios and financial comparisons are subject to their subjective purpose, which is to get you to pay the highest interest rate at the longest loan term, no matter what your credit score is.

I agree with management here.  What matters is how you pay your bills. Since my income comes in the middle of the month, my rent is always paid two weeks in advance.  And my other bills are paid as they come in, prior to the "due date," and always significantly more than required.

So even with my paltry income, with the right priorities, one can keep "good" and "very good" FICO scores.  I will never have a high enough income to score "excellent" anymore, but I can still completely support myself, as I have done since 1975. 

Always remember, when you are in the market for a new car, you wait until the end of the year, walk into a car dealership, and tell them what you want to pay for the car you want, the value of which you have already determined.  When they start their "routine," you stand up, say "thank you," and walk out (and you have to mean it).  Most of the time, they will come after you and you will get your price.  If they don't you have lost nothing.  There are a zillion cars out there.  (BTW, it took me a long time to learn this.) 

[Burnsite]

Hard inquiries stemming from my (successful) second mortgage app. in 2014 are still on my record now, so they don't go away that quickly.   They don't affect the score much, though.

Just today, I got a notice from Credit Karma that an account had been closed and there was a change in my credit.  A few weeks ago I used a tax refund to completely pay off my car loan, and paying off the loan _lowered_ my score a little. 

I'd rather have title to my car than a few extra points of credit.