THose Credit scores you can get through your credit card providers

KathyPet · ‎03-09-2010

THis whole credit score reporting just gets sillier and sillier. I just checked my score on one of my credit card sites and it shows a score of 830 out of 900, This puts my rating as exceptional but then comes the bad news. IT seems as if they simply must find something to,ding you on. THe only negative comment they can make is that several of my credit cards show a balance. OH THE HORROR! NOw they even say that they have no idea if the balance has been paid just that at the time the card was reported to them there was a balance showing. SO it seems that it is perfectly fine to have credit cards it just is not OK to actually use them. I have several charges that automatically are charged to a card each month. THings like my Netflix and Sirius XM radio subscriptions. My service contract for my heating and AC maintenance and of course every time I download a app from the Apple Store or a kindle book from Amazon a charge appears. THese are paid in full each month but somehow the fact that I actually use the cards seems to deeply disturb the credit scoring gurus. LIke I said sillier and sillier.

CareBears · ‎08-30-2015

@KathyPet I get dinged because I do not have a high credit limit, MY choice, every time they ask if I would like a credit increase because of on time payment etc, I decline I just do not want it, and then they ding me?

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

@KathyPet I totally agree with you about how stupid the credit rating thing is. You can owe thousands of dollars BUT if you pay at least the required limited amount on each you have a great credit rating.

You go looking for a car and start talking about getting one every time the car dealership checks your rating....whoops, that lowers your credit rating...even if you don't get the car there....and on and on....

None of it makes sense. No matter how someone tries to justify it, it doesn't make sense.

I know people with lots of money. Many of them are like me in that they own their own home, they paid cash for their car, they are often widows or widowers, they don't have any or a few credit cards. Yet, they laugh at their credit ratings because they are so low.

I've loaned people money so they could pay on a loan so that immediately their credit rating would go up so they could borrow more money (part of it was to pay me back)! Crazy, right?

I have to wonder how this country got to this? It doesn't make sense. People will come on here and go on and on explaining how it "works". I'm usually a person who will say, "Talk to me. If you can convince me something opposite of what I believe, I'll change my mind".

However, when it comes to this, there's no changing my mind. I've seen too many people affected by this credit rating thing.

millieshops · ‎03-09-2010

Any credit rating is only a guideline, and it's a guideline for us and for those who might want to lend us money via a credit card or some kind of insurance, rental, etc.

I use my credit nearly every day (and check them just as often) I have no loans except for those cards because I'm at that stage in my life where I'm not about to take out a car loan or a mortgage. Credit card loan - every single month of my life for years and years!

I do not expect my scores to be "perfect" assuming perfect means that 900 score. On the other hand, I don't worry when they fluctuate within my desired bracket. I understand what the scores mean, I know how I use credit, and I as long as I can do that - whatever system companies and small business owners have to use to protect themselves when it comes to credit is fine with me.

I don't think the system is really that tha silly. I would never lend money to someone I knew had a score in one of the low brackets. You have a 622? No loans from me! I might well lend that same money to someone in one of the higher brackets, but I certainly wouldn't much care whether that score was 875 or 801 or even 799. People with those scores have been using their money wisely even if they at the moment see a need to borrow.

KathyPet · ‎03-09-2010

MY point is that even with a very high score they just have to find something derogatory to say. NOw they didn't say that my balances on the cards are two high vs my credit limit. A balance of under $100 on three or 4 cards that have limits,over $10,000 is hardly excessive. THey didn't say that I have too many credit cards. NOpe the only negative thing they could find to say is that some of my cards had a balance shown. HOw absurd! LIke I said it is now considered a negative mark against you to even use the credit cards you have.

flickerbulb · ‎03-09-2010

I paid off my mortgage early. I refinanced years ago from a 30 year to a 15 year.

I made extra payments and paid that off to a zero balance. When I checked my credit, it actually went DOWN a lot of points because I no longer had a monthly reoccurring payment.

So, I have decided I do not care what the credit score is because the system is flawed. I also paid off my car and it went down.

You would think they would look favorably at someone who successfully paid off a car AND a mortgage, but it is the opposite. Makes no sense.

bonnielu · ‎03-11-2010

And the scores seems to vary depending upon who is reporting it. I remember checking my score, buying a car and the score was so much better when I applied for the loan right in front of the financial manager seting up the car payments.

At this point yes, I do have a mortgage. I do have a car loan. I do use my credit cards for purchases in most cases getting cash back or reward points for travel. But I pay on time the full balance. If I cannot do this I do not buy. I do not buy what I cannot afford to pay off each month.

Havarti · ‎03-08-2014

I have a FICO score of 850 out of 850 but my Transunion credit score is 829 out of 839 and it further states under and area entitled “Key factors that adversely affect your Credit Score” that my negative is… “the length of time accounts have been established”. WHAT???????????? I am no spring chicken so the accounts I have reflect my age AND the fact that my credit is good with each & every one of them and has been for many years. How is that a bad thing?????? It should tell them positive things about my financial history.

I totally agree that they have to find some silly thing for everyone, and I also agree that lowering your score just because some business checks your rating is totally wrong….what does that have to do with anything…especially if you do not borrow to open new credit following that check. It is like so much stuff today…,logic and common sense has gone out the window.

Snarky responders need not reply. Move along and share your views elsewhere.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@Annabellethecat66 wrote:
@KathyPet I totally agree with you about how stupid the credit rating thing is. You can owe thousands of dollars BUT if you pay at least the required limited amount on each you have a great credit rating.

You go looking for a car and start talking about getting one every time the car dealership checks your rating....whoops, that lowers your credit rating...even if you don't get the car there....and on and on....

None of it makes sense. No matter how someone tries to justify it, it doesn't make sense.

I know people with lots of money. Many of them are like me in that they own their own home, they paid cash for their car, they are often widows or widowers, they don't have any or a few credit cards. Yet, they laugh at their credit ratings because they are so low.

I've loaned people money so they could pay on a loan so that immediately their credit rating would go up so they could borrow more money (part of it was to pay me back)! Crazy, right?

I have to wonder how this country got to this? It doesn't make sense. People will come on here and go on and on explaining how it "works". I'm usually a person who will say, "Talk to me. If you can convince me something opposite of what I believe, I'll change my mind".

However, when it comes to this, there's no changing my mind. I've seen too many people affected by this credit rating thing.

@Annabellethecat66

First, I agree ..... it's a crazy system. It's also a HUGE mistake to let a dealership(s) check your credit score ..... You are NOT required to let them check your credit if you just want to chat & get information about a new car.

Don't allow yourself to be pressured. The best place to discuss financing is with your banker, so when you visit any dealership, you already know the car loan numbers and can negotiate more effectively. JMO

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

I haven't checked my credit score since we bought our first condo 10 years ago and we weren't even taking out a mortgage. I'm 56 and we have our forever home, we don't take out car notes anymore and we at this age, we have all the credit cards we'll ever need. I know it's different for younger people but as I told my girls. Pay your bills on time, don't bounce checks, don't carry more credit than you absolutely need....and your credit rating will take care of itself. As for credit cards and services that you do not use. Yes, those count, even with a zero balance because the credit is open. If you have cards or store cards that you never use, you have to formally close them out to get the off your credit report.