unexpected drop in Experian credit rating by 19 points

[dash1729]

Hello,

 

Does anyone know what might cause an unexpected drop in someone's Experian ( FICO Score 8 ) credit score? I received alerts from Experian recently that my score had dropped by 19 points and my rating from "Exceptional" to "Very Good".

 

This is a significant enough drop--I believe it goes a bit beyond a random fluctuation--that I want to understand why. There were no other alerts from Experian explaining why my score dropped--usually in the past when there has been a significant drop there is a clear explanation as to why but not this time.

 

There were no alerts explaining why my score has dropped. My credit usage has dropped a bit since last month and there are no new accounts, no newly closed accounts, no new inquiries, no collections, no late payments, and no public records showing on my Experian credit report. In short, it is a bit of a mystery why my credit score would have dropped. Little has changed since last month apart from a modest drop in my credit usage, which should have resulted in either a small improvement or no change--not a 19 point drop.

 

Has anyone else had experiences with an unexplained drop in credit score?

 

[hdporter]

Absent an apparent reason for a score change in that magnitude, conventional wisdom suggest that it may be because you shifted to a new scorecard.

 

For more background on this, I suggest you search the forum on terms such as "FICO scorecard" or "scoring segregation" (or some other combo if those terms).

 

Please understand that the terms "exceptional" and "very good" have no meaning from the perspective of a creditor.  Your score remains strong enough that you most likely pass the score cutoff with any creditor and will likely qualify for their best [or next best) terms.

[hegemony]

19 points? I would kill for such excitement.

[shifter]

EX doesn't alert everything. They miss a lot. If you compare your report today with last month, you'll probably notice something different. Or it could be bucketing but 08 has always seemed to be less suseptible there. Or you'll get another alert in 2 days that your score went up 19 points. Either way it's not worth being concerned about. 

[MP80]

This situation happens frequently in Experian bureaus, especially when all recurring accounts have no balances reported during the snapshot soft query.

 

Alternatively, a drop of more than 10 points occurs before your next FICO increases by 14-20 points while showing no identifying description of a negative mark report of determination.

[Kat58]

1 hour ago, MP80 said:

This situation happens frequently in Experian bureaus, especially when all recurring accounts have no balances reported during the snapshot soft query.

 

This^

 

[MP80]

4 hours ago, Kat58 said:

5 hours ago, MP80 said:

This situation happens frequently in Experian bureaus, especially when all recurring accounts have no balances reported during the snapshot soft query.

 

This^

Greetings, Mis. Kat! Nice to see you! 

[Flyingifr]

17 hours ago, dash1729 said:

Hello,

 

Does anyone know what might cause an unexpected drop in someone's Experian ( FICO Score 8 ) credit score? I received alerts from Experian recently that my score had dropped by 19 points and my rating from "Exceptional" to "Very Good".

 

This is a significant enough drop--I believe it goes a bit beyond a random fluctuation--that I want to understand why. There were no other alerts from Experian explaining why my score dropped--usually in the past when there has been a significant drop there is a clear explanation as to why but not this time.

 

There were no alerts explaining why my score has dropped. My credit usage has dropped a bit since last month and there are no new accounts, no newly closed accounts, no new inquiries, no collections, no late payments, and no public records showing on my Experian credit report. In short, it is a bit of a mystery why my credit score would have dropped. Little has changed since last month apart from a modest drop in my credit usage, which should have resulted in either a small improvement or no change--not a 19 point drop.

 

Has anyone else had experiences with an unexplained drop in credit score?

 

The reason you score dropped (pick as many as you wish):

 

Incoming tides in the Bay of Fundy were lower than expected

 

Overcast skies in Phoenix AZ

 

Jupiter aligned with Mars

 

Supernova in the galaxy Umphradumpf

 

You didn't do the Time Warp again

 

Mairzey Doats and Dozie Doats and Little lambs eat ivy

 

Where do you get the silly notion that there needs to be a logical reason for a credit score to tank? Whatever reasons they ultimately give you will probably be pure nonsense. I have had major drops in my credit score, and the reasons given were (keep in mind my scores are all 800+)

 

Too many recent inquiries (I had one at the time)

Too much of credit lines in use (I never go above 3%)

Too few revolving accounts, and at the same time, too many revolving accounts

No Installment debt - "Mix of types of debt"  (I had recently paid off my car loan and, the following month, my mortgage)

[Kat58]

On 12/20/2023 at 2:01 AM, MP80 said:

Greetings, Mis. Kat! Nice to see you!