Credit score dropped but I don't know why

Ebe_Scrooge

penners324 said:

Score dropped because you cleared debt on a Tuesday morning not on a Wednesday 

All joking aside, the score dropped because a debt was cleared, end of.  The CRA scores drop in response to any change in credit circumstances, whether positive or negative.  Conversely, they steadily rise in response to a long period of stability.  In an example like this, what the CRA sees as a negative will actually be seen as a positive by a lender, who look purely at the underlying data.

[Deleted User]

Ebe_Scrooge said:

penners324 said:

Score dropped because you cleared debt on a Tuesday morning not on a Wednesday 

All joking aside, the score dropped because a debt was cleared, end of.  The CRA scores drop in response to any change in credit circumstances, whether positive or negative.  Conversely, they steadily rise in response to a long period of stability.  In an example like this, what the CRA sees as a negative will actually be seen as a positive by a lender, who look purely at the underlying data.

Excellent, thank you so much

NewLeaf1986

cymruchris said:

NewLeaf1986 said:

kal-el said:

NewLeaf1986 said:

kal-el said:

Hi all,

im aware that credit scores don't mean a great deal but I was curious about this one. I received a notification from credit karma that there had been changes on my account and a hard search had been done. Upon looking at my file I couldn't see any hard searches appear, the report was up to date also. The only changes I could see were the credit card and loan balances go to zero after I cleared them last month. For some reason my credit karma score dropped from 625 to 614. Would anyone happen to know why?

It's because Jupiter wasn't aligned with Mars and a full moon rising didn't coincide with a menstral cycle that week.

Hmm I see your point but it doesn't match up with my tarot reading 

A better guage of your real-world credit worthiness is tools like the moneysupermarket credit cards and loan checker tools as these give you a realistic view of who wants to lend to you based on your personal details and a soft search of your credit file at the time. 

Again those are only vague indications the same as the credit scores - when you use comparison sites to establish eligibility - the card or loan provider they list has no say in the matter. The CRA uses its own data - looks at who has applied for what - whether they've been successful or not - then groups people together to give a percentage chance of obtaining that product compared to their sample of people in a similar financial situation to yourself.

It could say - 100% - and you'd still get a no. It could say 0% and you'd still get a yes.

The BEST way to know is to try the eligibility checkers directly on providers websites - the provider is then directly measuring your data against its own criteria - and whatever they say - is far more likely to be accurate.

From personal experience - I was told by the comparison websites that I had a 0% chance of a Virgin credit card - and on the Virgin website - inputting all the same details - I was pre-approved. Went ahead with the application - went straight through.

I was also told by comparison websites that I was 0 percent likely to get a Sainsburys card. Again, on the Sainsburys website - eligibility  said yes - and my card arrived in a few days. 

I appreciate your skepticism but more and more the lenders themselves are leaving soft searches on mine and my OH's credit file when using comparison sites like this. 

And yes - you're absolutely right - even more accurate again is using the eligibility checkers on the lenders own website.