c/credit-scores

Had one week last spring where my score jumped 48 points and I still don't know exactly what caused it

I paid off a $600 medical collection and my Equifax went from 612 to 660 in seven days, but the other two bureaus barely moved - has anyone else had one bureau react way stronger than the others to the same change?

Hit 800 credit score and honestly it's not the golden ticket everyone says

Finally crossed 800 last month after years of micromanaging everything and my car loan rate was only 0.3% lower than when I was at 740, so what's the real difference for most of us?

Vent: Paid $40 for a credit monitoring service that did nothing

I signed up for CreditShield Plus back in March after seeing their ad on Facebook. They promised to alert me on any changes and give me my score from all three bureaus monthly. After 6 months I realized they only pulled from Equifax and the alerts came 3 days late. My score dropped 25 points from a late payment I didn't find out about until I checked Credit Karma. Total waste of $240 since I could have gotten the same info for free. Anyone else get burned by one of these paid services?

Found out my credit score dropped 60 points because of an old library card

I was sitting at my kitchen table last Tuesday evening, checking my credit score on Credit Karma before applying for a car loan, and I saw it had dropped from 720 to 660. I nearly spilled my coffee everywhere. I started pulling up my reports from TransUnion and Equifax, trying to figure out what happened, and there it was. A collections account for $14 from the public library in Austin where I lived five years ago. Apparently I returned a book late in 2019 and they sent it to a third-party agency without telling me. I called the library first thing the next morning and they admitted it was a mistake in their system. Three weeks later the collection was removed and my score bounced back up to 730. Has anyone else had a tiny bill like this somehow end up on their credit report?

My credit score jumped 48 points in 4 months after paying off a single $200 medical collection

I had this old medical bill for a quick care visit back in 2021 just sitting on my reports, and after I settled it for $120 and waited for the deletion to go through, my score went from 612 to 660 - has anyone else seen that kind of bump from removing just one small collection?

My dad told me to keep a store card open for the credit limit and it backfired hard

He said closing a Kohl's card with a $2,000 limit would wreck my score so I left it open for like 4 years. I never used it and forgot it even existed until I checked my report last month and saw a late payment from an annual fee I didn't know about. Dropped my score from 740 to 680 just like that. Has anyone else gotten burned by old advice about keeping cards open?

Got burned by a credit monitoring app last week - watch out

I signed up for a free credit tracking app back in March 2023, one of those ones that promise to catch fraud fast. Last Tuesday I got a notification that my score dropped 40 points out of nowhere. Turned out the app had been showing me the wrong model, like the VantageScore instead of FICO 8, for over a year. I only caught it when a lender pulled my real score and denied me for a card. Check what scoring model your app uses before you trust those numbers. Anyone else get blindsided by a misleading credit tracker?

Appreciation post: credit karma actually helped me spot a mistake

I used to think those free credit score apps were just trying to sell me stuff. But last month I saw a random collections account on my report that I never had. Called the bank and they confirmed it was a mix-up from someone with a similar name in Phoenix. It took two weeks to fix, but my score jumped 40 points after they removed it. Has anyone else had luck catching errors through free monitoring stuff?

Pro tip: check your authorized user status before it hurts your score

I was talking to my daughter last weekend about her plans to buy a house next year. She mentioned her credit score was stuck around 640 and she could not figure out why. Turns out she was still listed as an authorized user on a card her ex-boyfriend added her to back in 2019. That card had a $5,000 limit that was always maxed out and he was late on payments 3 times. She had no idea being an authorized user could even hurt her that much. I helped her call the card company to remove herself and within a month her score jumped 45 points. Has anyone else found unexpected damage from an old authorized user account like this?

Took 3 credit card denials before I noticed the real reason

I kept getting denied for new cards even though my score was 720. Took me three tries and a deep dive into my reports to see an old collections account from 8 years ago was still sitting on Equifax. Has anyone else found a random mistake like that on just one of the three bureaus?

Vent: My credit score dropped 30 points because of a medical bill I already paid

Found a $200 doctor visit from 8 months ago on my report last week. Called the billing office and they said it was already settled, but the credit bureaus still had it marked as unpaid. Spent 3 hours on hold with Equifax to get it fixed. Anyone else deal with paid bills still wrecking your score?

Watched my credit score jump 48 points in 90 days after one stupid mistake

Got denied for a car loan back in January. Score was 612. Found out I had a $300 medical bill from 3 years ago that went to collections without me even knowing. Paid it off and disputed it. By April it hit 660. How long did it take you guys to bounce back from something like that?

Compared my Experian Boost to just waiting it out on a secured card

So I was trying to fix my credit score last summer after some dumb choices in my 20s. I signed up for Experian Boost hoping it would help by linking my Netflix and phone bills, and honestly it gave me like a 12 point bump at first. But then I got a secured card with a $500 deposit from Capital One and just used it for gas and groceries for 6 months. The Experian Boost felt kinda fake, like it was only pulling from things I already paid anyway. Meanwhile that secured card actually got me a real score jump of 45 points after 6 months of on time payments. Has anyone else tried both and felt like the card route is just way more solid?

Just realized I was paying my credit card wrong for 2 years

So I always thought paying the minimum was fine as long as I paid on time. Then my buddy who's a bank teller asked me my APR and I just shrugged. He pulled up my account and showed me I was racking up $47 in interest every month on a $1200 balance. Now I pay the full statement balance every Friday and my score jumped 30 points in 3 months. Anyone else make this same dumb mistake with their first card?

The day I found out checking my credit score costs me 15 points

I was on Credit Karma last month and saw a little note that said some lenders do a hard pull just for checking a pre-approval rate. I had done that 3 times in one week for car loans, and boom my score dropped 15 points. Has anyone else accidentally tanked their score from just looking around?

Appreciation post: Chose the secured card over a store card and it actually worked out

Honestly, I was this close to opening a Kohl's card last year for that 35% off discount. But I went with a $200 secured card from Capital One instead, just to build some history. Took about 8 months of paying it off in full each month, and my score went from 540 to 680. Just got approved for a real unsecured card with a $1500 limit last week. Anyone else have a secured card that turned things around for them?

Hot take: My credit score jumped 48 points after a random call with a bank teller

I was at my local Chase branch in Austin last month paying off a store card and this older teller asked me why I keep applying for new cards. She said every inquiry drops my score for 6 months even if I get approved. So I stopped applying for anything for 90 days and my score went from 682 to 730. Has anyone else seen this kind of jump just by sitting still?

Had to pick between a secured card and a credit builder loan to fix my 580 score

My credit tanked after a medical bill went to collections in 2022. I was stuck at 580 and needed to rebuild fast for an apartment lease coming up in April. The bank offered me a secured Discover card with a $200 deposit, but my buddy swore by a credit builder loan from Self. I went with the secured card because I could control the spending myself. After 6 months of paying it off every month, my score jumped to 640. The apartment still wanted a co-signer though. Anyone else try the loan route and have better luck?

That one bad week where my score dropped 40 points for no reason

I was checking my credit score like I always do, and it dropped from 720 to 680 in just a few days. Turns out a medical bill from a visit to urgent care in Phoenix got sent to collections without me even knowing about it. I called the hospital and they said they sent it to the wrong address, but the damage was already done. Has anyone else had luck getting a collection removed after a billing mixup like that?

The week my credit score dropped 40 points over a $17 late fee

Last March I had autopay set up for my smallest credit card, the one I only use for Netflix. Well, I forgot I switched banks and the payment didn't go through. Got a late fee of $17 and a 30 day ding on my report. Took me 3 months of on-time payments to get back to where I was. Anyone else had a tiny mistake cost way more than it should have?

Finally cracked 700 after 3 years of being stuck at 640

Showerthought: My credit score tanked after I paid off my car loan early

I was at my kitchen table last month checking my credit karma app and saw my score dropped 40 points. Turns out closing that installment account reduced my credit mix and average account age. Anyone else get hit by this when they thought they were doing the right thing?

Torn between a balance transfer and a personal loan for $4,200 of credit card debt

I had to decide last month between opening a new balance transfer card or getting a personal loan from my credit union to cover $4,200 I racked up on my Capital One card after the holidays. I went with the personal loan at 9.8% APR because I didn't want another hard inquiry on my report right away. It's working out okay so far but the monthly payment is tighter than I thought, and I'm kicking myself for not just paying it down slower. Has anyone else here picked a loan over a balance transfer and regretted it or been glad they did?

TIL my credit score dropped 40 points because of a $3 water bill I forgot to pay

Was checking my credit report last night and saw a 40 point drop out of nowhere. Turns out a water bill from when I lived in Austin back in 2021 went to collections. I never even got a notice about it because I had moved. Anyone else had something this small mess up their score for years?

Paid $40 for a credit monitoring service that did nothing I couldn't get for free

I signed up for CreditKarma Plus last month thinking the paid version would give me real updates on my score changes. Turns out it just showed me the same VantageScore I already see for free and locked my Equifax report behind another paywall. Has anyone else wasted money on these premium services before realizing they're useless?