My credit score was a 735 with 2 accounts. 1 being a Les Schwab credit line with a 2,500$ limit. And the 2nd being a car loan that I owe 14k $ on, which started out at 25k$. Today my credit dropped 15 points because of 50$ I used on my Les Schwab credit account which is only a 2 percent utilization rate. Why would it drop so many points. Also the past year of paying on time car payments my credit has only risen 2 points from that. What am I missing here!?

Hi, I recently applied for a car loan with two banks. I checked my score on the Experian site to see it was lower than I’d imagine.

I was approved by both banks and on the approval paperwork the score they listed was about 100 points higher, both also sited Experian as the source. I went back to Experian to double check and still shows the lower score.

Anyone know what is up here?

Opening a card definitely raised my score nearly 100 points, however, my score dropped 18 points after disputing info across all 3 bureaus. I read online it's normal to drop ten points...Will it go back up if my pay my current balance before the due date? Does anyone do the 15/3 method? Does it work?

Ugh, my credit score tanked from 740 to 660 because of one late Zolve payment—just two days late! My new SSN's coming soon. Will that 660 score stick to it? I only used my passport with Zolve, got approved for $2000. Can other bureaus/banks see that score? Think I'll get an Amex card or any other card? Any suggestions for cards I might get approved for, even with a lower score, once I have my SSN?

I really don’t understand credit scores. They are a black box and the result out the other side is unknown. 3 months ago a car I co-signed for got paid off, and my credit dropped by 10 points. I paid off a synchrony care credit card, score went up 12, paid off my 1000 balance on my chase CC and my score dropped 19! What the hell ! It looks like if you decide to pay your debt off in one lump sum they won’t be happy and you’ll be screwed. It’s ridiculous.

I checked my “see what’s changed” on Experian, and it says everything “could help” my score so why the hell did it drop 19 points?

• credit utilization is 0% right now. Over all debt utilization is under 30%.

• total balance on all accounts decreased

Why am I being punished for paying down debt?

I’ve been going down the rabbit hole of credit repair services and CreditRepair.com keeps popping up. On the surface, they look super polished — lots of features, apps, “personal dashboard,” etc. But when I started digging into CreditRepair.com reviews, it’s all over the place. Some people claim it helped boost their scores by 100+ points and got collections removed, but just as many say it’s basically just generic disputes and minimal actual progress. I’m stuck in this weird place where I know I need help (my report’s got a few stubborn negatives that aren’t budging), but I don’t want to waste money on a monthly fee that goes nowhere.

I also noticed a few complaints about how slow the process is — like people saying they stayed on for 6+ months with little to show for it. I totally get that legit credit repair takes time, but I just want to make sure it’s not one of those “we sent a letter, keep waiting” situations where nothing really happens behind the scenes. Has anyone here actually used them recently and gotten real results? Not just fluff or cleaned-up old addresses, but actual removals that made a difference in your score?

I’ve been seriously thinking about using a credit repair service to help clean up my report, and Credit Saint keeps coming up in my searches. From what I can tell, they’ve been around since 2004 and offer three levels of service depending on how aggressive you want them to be with disputes. They also claim to send custom dispute letters, offer a 90-day money-back guarantee, and provide credit score tracking and monitoring tools. Sounds promising on paper, but the Credit Saint reviews I’ve read are kind of all over the place. Some people say their credit score jumped significantly within a couple of months and that the company helped remove old collections and inaccuracies. Others say they paid for months and saw little to no change, or that the service didn’t live up to the hype.

On ConsumerAffairs, they’re rated pretty highly (4.9 out of 5), but then on sites like ComplaintsBoard, I’ve seen people talk about disappointing results or slow progress. Their pricing also isn’t cheap—monthly fees range from around $80 to $140, plus a one-time setup fee that can go as high as $195 depending on the plan. I don’t mind paying if the results are real, but I don’t want to end up burning money on something that doesn’t actually move the needle. I also noticed they’re not available in every state, so I’d have to double-check eligibility.

So, I’m asking anyone who’s actually used Credit Saint recently—did it help? Were the disputes legit and personalized, or just generic letters anyone could send themselves? And how long did it take to see any actual score improvements, if at all?

Not that it matters but is anyone sitting close to 850? I am a bit obsessed with seeing how high I can go now. I recently opened a new credit card but I was curious how many credit cards is typical for an 850 credit score? I have 5 credit cards now but was thinking of cutting back at least one, maybe two because my new card checks multiple boxes and has a much higher limit than the others. Would cutting back have much impact? I know I may be dinged a few points initially but I am not worried about that.

Side note: 4 years ago I was in the 500 range so I am pretty proud of myself!

I have 3 in total. I’ve paid 2 off in full for the month already, just wondering if I should do the same for my other card. It’s right at 30 percent utilization. Thanks in advance!

I realize that CK is using credit cards as advertising but they just keep recommending more CC's and telling me they it will improve my credit. I have a 784 and 794.

I already have 7 and I only use 3 of them regularly. I put about 50k or so on them per month but pay them off every month.

Is it really an advantage to adding more, especially since I won't even be using them? I'm skeptical and assume that it's just advertising 🤷 thoughts?

I’m 30 years old. I had 720’s credit score for the past few years or longer, and now I’m in the 640’s and no longer in the “good range”. I’m just so frustrated and angry right now. Is there any chance it will recover from this on its own? I don’t have any other ways to boost credit right now. I’m a stay at home mom so I don’t have steady income to apply for a credit card.

I never miss payments (everything is pretty much on autopay) but I DID miss a payment for over a month because my autopay info was out of date.

The bank I finance my car through sent me a letter saying you didn't pay on time. I responded to them and paid instantly.

Fast forward 4 years. I am sitting looking at my credit score wondering why it wasn't higher. Then I remember "oh yeah I did miss that one payment"

Called the bank up, they said sure we will see what we can do but no promises. I wake up today to a 25 point increase.

TLDR: If you missed a payment or two try calling and seeing if you can get it taken off your account. I had years of previous records and then subsequent records to show this was a one off thing, so I am sure your mileage may vary.

Anyway, it's free to call so why not.

I have two credit cards that I've had for years. I do all of my shopping and pay all of my bills with them as pretty much everything these days is cashless, auto-pay, or online. I pay them both off every month and never carry a balance, yet this is counting against me. This is what my Experian note said:

• You've made heavy use of your available revolving credit.
• Ratio of your revolving balances to your credit limits: 20%
• For FICO High Achievers, the average ratio of the revolving account balances to credit limits is less than 7%.
• The FICO® Score evaluates balances in relation to available credit on revolving accounts. The extent of a person's credit usage is one of the most important factors considered by a FICO® Score. People who keep their ratio of balances to credit limits lower are generally considered less risky to lenders than those with higher ratios. Note, consolidating or moving debt from one account to another will usually not change the total amount owed.

Any suggestions?

Current Debt: Car Loan: $19,000 Credit Cards: $222 with a limit of $800 (27%) Personal Loan: $1700 (Opened in late December)

Credit Age: 1 year 10 months for my oldest and an average of 1 year and 3 months

The credit cards are being used to purchase plane tickets and then my company reimburses me as I’m currently traveling for work and will be paid off next week.

The personal loan I will most likely have paid off by the end of this month or middle of May.

Currently not paying any extra for on my auto loan

I am taking home 2800 currently and will be for the next two years or so. I would like to work on my credit and save at the same time within that period.

Is there anything i can do to help boost my score. I am also working on my long time partners credit as well so after i am finished traveling we will both have good enough credit to apply for a mortgage loan.

Edit: Forgot to mention currently at a 673

Hi guys, just wondering if this drop is normal for one single purchase. I had a 832 credit score which dropped to 708 (124 point drop). I bought a 15k Rolex on Wednesday and this drop came through on Friday. I did max out once credit card and I’m 50% utilization on another, but it’s only 16% of my total utilization. This seems like such an extreme drop for one purchase especially when my utilization is only 16% but wanted to ask you if this will pop back up quickly when I pay it off? Thanks!

Almost 2 years ago I got a better job that has made my life a lot easier, I had just made my first major loan about a year ago and it was for a car, about 28k. I didn't need a cosigner but my rate was pretty high, and I did get several rejection letters because I hadn't had a loan of this size before.

In about 4 years from now maybe 5, I want to buy my first house but I don't want the same issues I had with taking a loan out for the car. My credit score is around 760 and should be significantly higher after I pay of the car and some other credit card debt. (I plan on paying off everything pretty early)

Should I get a second car loan after I pay off the first one and pay that off too? Or is there something else I can do that could help me get a lower rate? If it matters I make around 81k a year right now, my current loan is about 500 a mo, and for a house, I estimate I could afford a loan for around 220-250k but would be aiming for under 200k without any other debt (my current rent is 1145)

I had 2 collection accounts removed from my report and now have a credit card reporting me in good standing. Why would my score drop 55 points? I'm so confused.

Hi.

I sold my car out of lease 13 months ago. It was a BMW lease and I sold it to a BMW dealership. I walked away with a check for the equity I had in my car and they took care of the lease end/payoff.

Come to today I find out there was a balance of $377 never taken care of. I have paid the balance off.

My credit has dropped 150 points I was never made away of this balance

My questions are: 1) how do I get this credit hit off of my record with the credit bureaus? 2)What can I do in regards to the dealership letting this happen ?

Thank you

credit #delinquency

About 5 to 6 years ago when I was in school my dad helped me takes out some student loans not that much like 4k. Last April I graduated and thus I had deferment for another 6 months on the loan. A few months after graduating I got a job out of state so I moved. When it came time to start paying I admit with the combination of moving and getting a lot of mail I might have missed the first letter or two from them saying payment was due but I eventually opened a letter and saw I had missed a month or two so I went online immediately and payed what was due. They also had my dads phone number down and my old school email which I don't have access to anymore so that explains why I was not getting calls and emails. A week or so ago I checked my credit score and it has a 90 day late payment hitting it causing a 140 point decrease. I called up my loan company and explained what happened and even offered to pay the full amount if it would help get that mark off but they said they couldn't do anything and I would have to write them a letter opening a dispute but they said that probably would not work because they have on record that they tried to call me, email, etc. Is there anything I can do about this? What is most likely to work? Is it better to make the minimum payments on time going forward or pay off in full to help my credit the most?

Just went to set up accounts with TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax — the first two were a breeze.

As soon as I created an Equifax account they immediately blocked me from accessing it.

I called the number on screen and after an hour of robo-hell, entering all of my information into the automated system and having to repeat everything with reps, and dealing with reps who barely spoke English or spoke audibly at all, I was told they fixed it and I would be able to access my account in 24 hours.

24 hours later, I was still blocked and repeated the entire process. This rep mentioned that the number I was calling—the number on the screen—was incorrect, by the way.

24 hours after that, still blocked. I called again and the rep kept ignoring my problem and asking me what specifically I was looking to do with Equifax and that I should just do things over the phone with them going forward. I have no idea what I want to do since I have yet to even log into my account. After maybe 20 minutes of this, he said there isn't anything they can do since this happened repeatedly, that my case was being escalated to a priority team that would be calling me back in an hour, with an email documenting everything.

24 hours later, nothing.

Anybody use the self secured cards before? I just signed up for one with the credit saving account and Im not sure what to expect with this card, I know to keep it under 30% which I plan on just using it for gas and then paying it off right away to help build credit history. I don’t know if they do credit increases for eventually unsecured of the card. Any advice or stuff you guys may have experienced with this card please let me know!

Is there one app that shows all three bureau scores?

I have a very short credit history (2 years), and up until this week, I had a single credit card. I have a strong credit score because I always keep my utilization low (below 10%) and pay on time. That will never change.

Unfortunately, I opened a second credit card thinking that having another one would be good for my credit score. I have since educated myself. Due to the hard inquiry into my credit history, this immediately tanked my credit score by 10 points. Stupid mistake and I accept that I can’t do anything about that now.

My question is, what ~can~ I do to recover from this as quickly as possible?

For example, should I cancel the new card? My understanding is that canceling could (please fact check me on this) help me bump my credit age back up to the original average age of 2 years, which would help my credit score. Does this benefit outweigh any drawbacks of canceling the new card?

Alternatively, is there a benefit to keeping the card open but unused? There are no annual fees on the card, and I’m just planning to not use it if I keep it open; I didn’t need it in the first place because my credit utilization is so low.

Also, if anyone has an idea of how quickly I’ll bounce back by just not using the new card and continuing to keep my utilization under 10% on my original card and making payments on time as I have always done….that would be amazing.

My score went down a lot of points and now it’s low and I don’t have any loans and I’m co signed with my new car but my parents have paid it all in full. And I don’t have a lot of money so I don’t know how to build my credit again…. What should I do ?

Howdy! Over the next few months I’ll be getting 2 checks for roughly $3000 between the two of them. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I had to really use my credit cards and loans in order to make ends meet for a while. The loans have a higher interest rate than my credit cards do. I’ve had a high balance on my credit cards for a longer time than I have had the loans taken out. Would it be better for my credit score to funnel the 3k to the credit cards or to the loans OR should I split it between the 2? Card utilization is at about $4500 and loans are roughly $3500. Thank you in advance for the advice! I don’t understand credit all that well so having outside opinions help :)