Why has my credit score gone down when i haven t missed any payments

your credit score is affected by more than one reason, so you might have made your credit card bills payment and loan due payments on time, but your credit score is going down. many people assume that if they have paid their dues on time, their credit score should be high, and when it's not the case, they wonder why. if you also want to know why your credit score is going down, even though you have paid all your bills on time, then we are here to help. read below to find out the five most common reasons why you may have a lower credit score range than you expected:

1. you have a high credit utilization ratio

you might have paid your bills on time, but you also need to check the balance you carry on each credit card. if you have a high credit utilization ratio, it can cause a drop in your credit score. you should check your credit limit usage on both an overall and per-card basis. it's ideal that you should not consume more than 30% of your credit limit on any card. if you want to have a good credit score, scale down your credit utilization ratio. for example, you have a relatively low limit on a credit card and you use it to buy a new air conditioner. if you don’t pay off enough before the next billing cycle, your credit score can drop. however, credit card providers typically report to the credit bureaus every month, so as soon as your credit card payment, your credit score will improve.

2. you missed payment and the same is showing on your credit report

missed payments that are 30 days late or more can severely damage your credit score because timely payments are one of the biggest factors that build your credit score. the worst part is that the late payments stay on your credit report for over five to seven years. you can improve your credit report by piling up a streak of on-time payments, but the recovery will be slow, especially if you have a high credit utilization ratio.

3. identity theft or a mixed credit file is decreasing your credit score

it happens sometimes that someone else’s credit activity is being reported as yours in your credit report. if your credit score is dropping constantly even after you pay your bills on time, check your credit report to find out if someone else is using your credit card or applying for new credits in your name. if this is the case, you should immediately inform the credit card company and the lender about the fraudulent activity. it is also possible that your credit files have become mixed with your namesake which is dragging your credit score down. whatever be the case, you should inform the credit bureaus to rectify the misinformation.

4. you applied for new credit in a short gap

credit bureaus cut a few points from your credit score every time you apply for a fresh credit card or a fresh loan. it does not matter whether you have applied or the lender has offered the credit. whenever a lender inquires about your credit score and credit report, it is considered a hard inquiry and causes a drop in your credit score. having multiple credit applications is linked with a higher risk that you won’t be able to pay as agreed, and as you know - higher risk equals lower credit score. if your credit score is dropping because of too many credit applications, the solution is to stop applying. The hard inquiries generally disappear from your credit report after two years. if you want to get a new credit card or a fresh loan, first do your research to find out the product that best fits your financial requirement and your eligibility for the same based on your current credit score. once you are satisfied, then only apply for it.

5. there's a default judgment and you don’t know it

your credit report contains information from public records such as lawsuits and settlement orders. it might be possible that there is a default judgment against you that you might not be aware of. for example, if a summon letter was issued but was misdelivered or not forwarded to you, then you would know nothing about the lawsuit.if this is the case, you should make a decision whether you want to accept the judgment, settle it or challenge it further.

Dear myFICO,

I've noticed that my FICO score has been steadily dropping over the last few months. In January my score was in the mid 700s and now it's in the low 700s. I don't have any late payments or any other negative marks on my credit report, so why is this happening to my score?

Allison
Birmingham, Alabama

Dear Allison,

While you haven't spotted any obvious reasons to explain why your FICO® score has been dropping over the last few months, there may be less-than-obvious changes to your credit profile which may have caused this drop. Keep in mind that your FICO score is essentially a predictive tool that evaluates your risk to a lender at a given time. So there may be reasons why your score has been dropping that may not be apparent, but still are considered from a risk perspective. The first step is to look at the negative factors returned with your current FICO score. Factors like "seeking credit" or "high credit usage" can be puzzling since they aren't obvious, so let's take a closer look at both of these in a bit more detail.

A very common, yet not entirely obvious cause, for a score to drop is an increased utilization ratio. An increased what ratio? Yes, this is credit scoring lingo, but it basically measures how much of your credit are you using in relation to your total available credit. For example, if you had 2 credit cards each with a $1,000 credit limit ($2,000 available credit) and you charged $500 on each ($1,000 balance), you'd have a 50% credit utilization ratio ($1,000 / $2,000 = 50%). In general, the lower this ratio, the better for your score. Therefore, if you've been using more of your available credit lately, that could account for a drop in your FICO score. For a more detailed description of the credit utilization ratio, read this article.

Applying for new credit accounts, such as department store cards or lines of credit can also account for a small FICO score drop. Each time you apply for new credit, an "inquiry" is added to your credit report. Each of these inquiries can have a small impact on your FICO score, and several inquiries in a short time frame will have a greater impact on your score than a single inquiry. So, if you've recently been seeking new credit, this also may have caused your FICO score to drop. Inquiries only account for up to 10% of your FICO score and there are some exceptions so read this article to get the whole story on inquiries and their relationship to your FICO score.

Now that you know what a utilization ratio is and that seeking new credit can hurt your score, the next obvious question is why does your FICO score care about these factors? The short answer is that research has shown that people who are using more of their available credit are more likely to miss future payments than those people using very little of their available credit. In addition, research also indicates that a person who is actively seeking credit is more likely to miss future payments than a person with the same credit profile who is NOT seeking credit.

These two reasons may explain why your FICO score has been dropping. Since you've noticed a steady decline over the last few months, it may be the case that you've been gradually using more and more of your available credit in addition to applying for new credit accounts. This does not necessarily mean that you've become a credit risk - but these could be signs that credit trouble may be looming. If possible, pay down the balances on your credit cards and hold off from opening any new credit accounts. By doing this, you should see your FICO score bounce back fairly quickly - as long as the rest of your credit profile remains unchanged.

However, if you cannot pay down your balances or if you find that you cannot make ends meet without finding additional credit, then you should take an honest look at your financial situation and determine if trouble might be on the horizon. You might benefit from speaking to a certified credit counselor who can help you figure out your available options - here is a list of US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) certified credit agencies. From the myFICO team, we hope that this article has helped you identify potential credit concerns before they develop into serious problems.

Sincerely,
myFICO Team

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Why does my credit score go down when I pay something off?

Why credit scores can drop after paying off a loan. Credit scores are calculated using a specific formula and indicate how likely you are to pay back a loan on time. But while paying off debt is a good thing, it may lower your credit score if it changes your credit mix, credit utilization or average account age.

How do I find out why my credit score dropped?

Why Did My Credit Score Drop?.
You Have Late or Missing Payments..
You Recently Applied for a Mortgage, Loan or New Credit Card..
Your Credit Utilization Has Increased..
One of Your Credit Limits Decreased..
You Closed a Credit Card..
There Is Inaccurate Information on Your Credit Report..

Why did my credit score drop 100 points for no reason?

What causes a 100-point credit score drop? Your credit score might gradually fall by 100 points due to things like increasingly racking up credit card balances, applying for new credit cards and loans, and closing older accounts.

Why has my credit score gone down when I haven't missed any payments UK?

Put simply, your credit score can go down if a lender reports any 'negative' information to the credit reference agencies (CRA). If the new information the lender reports to the CRA makes you seem like a less reliable borrower, it can cause your score to drop.