Comments on: Consumers Paying Off Debt Helps Economic Recovery

By: Person

Person — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:32:27 +0000

JF, I really appreciate the reply! In my case of $2500 per statement, my credit card limit is $30k, so that’s only 8.3% and I still have $27.5k credit available. But somehow that triggers the “revolving” flag. It seems it would make more sense for Equifax to instead look at the balance the user is paying interest on, which is the net amount owed beyond each statement. People who pay credit card interest are less credible; people who pay the entire balance for 10 years running aren’t

By: EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF

EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:07:22 +0000

@Person – Credit scores are calculated with a lot of different factors and can vary for each consumer based on their financial situation. Because your credit report is updated every day, your bureau score is recalculated continuously. It could change every day as credit grantors, public records, and collection agencies report data. So your credit score from a month ago is probably not the same score today. Check out some other blogs for more information about how credit scores are calculated: http://blog.equifax.com/credit/why-are-your-credit-scores-different/

Thanks for reading and commenting, and we hope to see you back on the blog again soon.

By: EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF

EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:05:58 +0000

@Anonymous – Credit scores can vary over the course of the month based on your balances and available credit. It could change every day as credit grantors, public records, and collection agencies report data.
Check out this blog on why your lender’s score might be different from your Equifax credit score: http://blog.equifax.com/credit/why-is-the-credit-score-my-lender-calculated-different-from-my-equifax-score/

Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you on the blog again soon.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:51:10 +0000

Just wondering… I’ve had the Equifax Complete product since 1/21/11. I’ve “updated” my score numerous times over those months since signing up. Sometimes 5 times in the same month as I was considering making large purchases. In the 26 times I’ve ran it my score has varied only 15 points. Most of the time it’s a 5 or 6 point variation. I ran my score on 3/4/12 and then on 3/18/12. The variation was that the 3/18 score was 3 points lower. On 3/7/12 I applied for a loan at a local lender (who only uses Equifax for credit info) and my score was 21 point’s higher than the score I got from Equifax on 3/4. How could my score vary that much in just 3 days with nothing changing in my finances?!? I believe the accuracy of the score Equifax gives you as the user of their product versus what a lender gets is very different. Needless to say I canceled my subscription and attempted to get a refund of a portion of the monthly fees I was charged to no avail. I stongly advise anyone who is considering using Equifax’s products to reconsider based on the apparent disparity of scores you get versus the ones a lender gets.

By: Aloha

Aloha — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 22:32:24 +0000

Person, I know what you mean by their flawed methodology. It takes equifax up to 4 months to even change balance owed on credit accounts, so you will never show as paid off unless you quit using. The 2500 should not count but a couple points against you as a percentage of your overall credit though unless you have a very low credit limit to start with.

By: Person

Person — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 04:24:41 +0000

Equifax’s credit score calculation is flawed. My score is less than the maximum due to “AMOUNT OWED ON REVOLVING ACCOUNTS IS TOO HIGH”. I’ve never had any loan except my mortgage, I charge everything to my credit card, and pay the entire statement every month. I’ve done that consistently for 10 years.

Is Equifax’s calculation perhaps confused because it sees an average credit card balance of $2500? If so, it’s a flawed method. Equifax’s 1 product is credit score calculation; it needs to get this right.

I charge everything to my credit card for convenience, automatic tracking, and a free $50/mo. This in no way makes me less credible.

By: EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF

EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:44:21 +0000

@Inquiring Mind – Collection accounts generally remain on your credit file for seven years from the date the account first became past due, leading to the account’s placement with a collection agency. You can find more about how long information stays on your credit report here: http://blog.equifax.com/credit/faq-how-long-does-information-stay-on-my-credit-report/

Thanks for reading and commenting.

By: EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF

EFX Finance Blog Editor, JF — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:40:20 +0000

@Heytonia – thanks for reading and commenting. Hope to see you back on the blog soon.

By: Heytonia

Heytonia — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:34:13 +0000

Hi Inquiring mind,

As far as I know, all debts stay on your credit report for 7 years. I would like to suggest that the next time you decide to pay off a collection or even a charge-off that you send a PFD (Pay For Delete) to the company you owe the money to. Basically, what this does is negotiates with the company (before you pay it) to delete it entirely from your report once you have paid what you owe. I’ve done it a few times so I know it works.

Good luck!

By: Inquiring mind

Inquiring mind — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:32:35 +0000

Once a debt has been paid, how long before it falls off the credit report? It of course shows as paid but its still showing as a collection/negative account which brings down the credit score.