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Annica
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Score dropped

I paid a large bill for a family member and my score dropped 40 points afterwards, is there a way to fix my score when? 

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4 Replies

Score dropped


@Annica  wrote:

I paid a large bill for a family member and my score dropped 40 points afterwards, is there a way to fix my score when? 


There is really no way to fix your score; it is an algorithm based upon several factors. The best you can do is use credit wisely, pay bills on time, and have some patience.

 

You can, however, check your credit reports (free from the site below) to make sure there are no inaccuracies and dispute any inaccuracies that exist.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

Anonymous
Not applicable

Score dropped

that may not be the reason.    only the rating agency has the info to know why your score dropped.  

 

paying large bills usually does not affect credit scores if paid on time. it could actually increase your score because credit utilization would go down. incurring large bill does. 

 

 

heres some info from FICO

 

What goes into FICO® Scores?
FICO® Scores are calculated from the credit data in your credit report. This data is grouped into five categories; the chart below shows the relative importance of each category.
1. 35% - Payment history: Whether you've paid past credit accounts on time (10 years or longer is best and not every payment goes into your credit history)
2. 30% - Amounts owed: The amount of credit and loans you are using (rating agencies like to see that you are using less than 30% of your credit line 
3. 15% - Length of credit history: How long you've had credit
4. 10% - New credit: Frequency of credit inquires and new account openings
5. 10% - Credit mix: The mix of your credit, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts and mortgage loans

 

you should also know that you can have many different credit scores.    different agencies use different models other than FICO    

 

timing can affect scores which generally are updated only once a month

 

say  your rating date with one agency is the 19th.  on the 15th you incur a large bill substantially increasing your credit utilization.     even if you pay it on the 20th, you going to take a hit on the 19th rating.  next month assuming no more large bills or other events that can affect your score , it should go up 

 

 

once a year for free you can get your credit report from the 3 major rating agencies.  I do not know if they show credit scores on them.  

Score dropped


@Anonymous wrote:

once a year for free you can get your credit report from the 3 major rating agencies.  I do not know if they show credit scores on them.  


They do not and they are allowed to charge a reasonable fee with respect to revealing credit scores.

Score dropped


@Anonymous wrote:

paying large bills usually does not affect credit scores if paid on time.


The thing that is strange in this instance (unless there was some sort of typing error) is that the OP stated that he/she paid off a bill for a family member. That should have had absolutely no effect on his/her credit score since the payment was not related to his/her account. So, the decrease should not be related to the payment.

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