FICO Changes Could Lower Your Credit Score. Credit-scoring company Fair Isaac is making changes that will create a bigger gap between consumers deemed to be good and bad credit risks.

Wall Street Journal ^ | January 23, 2020 | AnnaMaria Andriotis

[karpov]

Changes in how the most widely used credit score in the U.S. is calculated will likely make it harder for many Americans to get loans.

Fair Isaac Corp., creator of FICO scores, will soon start scoring consumers with rising debt levels and those who fall behind on loan payments more harshly. It will also flag certain consumers who sign up for personal loans, a category of unsecured debt that has surged in recent years.

The changes will create a bigger gap between consumers deemed to be good and bad credit risks, the company says. Consumers with already-high FICO scores of about 680 or higher who continue to manage loans well will likely get a higher score than under previous FICO versions. Those with already-low scores below 600 who continue to miss payments or accumulate other black marks will experience bigger score declines than under previous models.

The changes are an about-face from recent years, when FICO and credit-reporting companies made changes that helped increase scores for some consumers, such as removing some negative information, including civil judgments, from credit reports.

Credit scoring and reporting companies also recently started factoring in such information as bank account balances and utilities payments to help give consumers with limited credit histories a better shot at getting loans.

Those recent moves can help revenue-hungry lenders identify more creditworthy consumers and make it easier for them to be approved for loans. Average FICO scores have been rising steadily following some of these changes and an improving economy.

...

One of the new versions, called FICO 10 T, will place greater weight on recently missed payments. Consumers who fall behind or stop paying their debts are likely to see their credit scores fall more with this model.

[karpov]

The changes are plausible, and in any case decisions to lend should be made people risking their own money, not politicians. Sanders disagrees: Bernie Sanders wants to replace private credit reporting firms with free, public registry

[where's_the_Outrage?]

I paid off my house (no new loans) in Nov and my credit score dropped 30 points. Still haven’t figured out that one.

[Damifino]

This FICO change is interesting as it reassigns the use of unsecured personal loans. Curious how my score will be affected as I currently have and have many many times in the past used my personal unsecured line to acquire vacant land.

It's difficult, if not impossible, to get traditional financing on land using it as security.

[ASA Vet]

When I changed banks, my new bank did a free credit check on me. They found I’m not even in the system. My mom isn’t either. She never has had her name on any debt.

[rstrahan]

FICO needs a complete investigation by the Feds. Their ratings scores are rediculous.. They can cut it tremendously overnight, takes years to recover. And there is no way to see why as everything is proprietary.

[Terry L Smith]

I’m the guy they hate.
I use no credit cards.
I pay cash, only.
I owe no loans.
So, why worry about a method to control you, if they have no hooks on you??

[outofsalt]

We have flipped several houses. Each time we sell one and get the debt off the credit bureau reports our scores have dropped. This is only a part of what lenders look at, however. Your debt to income is also considered and not just debt utilization.

One aspect that really frosts my Wheaties is that there are many scoring models used by lenders. One scoring model may be 750 and another 680. There needs to be greater standardization across the models.

[Malsua]

I paid off my house (no new loans) in Nov and my credit score dropped 30 points. Still haven’t figured out that one.

I paid off everything except the mortgage last December and my score went up to 850 from the high 700s. It was pinned 850 until I bought a 2nd home in July and now it hovers around 815.

I have not missed any payments in 15+ years on anything. I'm still not quite sure what the issue is. I guess total outstanding debt? I dunno. I'm certainly credit worthy.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Bttt

[dfwgator]

White Loan Officer: Uh, Harry, why don’t you, uh, take your break now? I’ll take care of.. uh.. Mr. White.

Loan Officer: Well.. okay. Thanks, Bob. [ exits ]

White Loan Officer: [ laughs, then sits ] That was a close one, wasn’t it?

Eddie Murphy: It certainly was.

White Loan Officer: We don’t have to bother with these formalities, do we, Mr. White? Huh?

Eddie Murphy: What a silly Negro!

White Loan Officer: Just take what you want, Mr. White. Pay us back anytime. Or don’t. We don’t care.

[sheana]

When we had a house payment and car payments, etc. we had the highest score you could get since everything was paid on time. Now we have no house payment, or car payment and our credit cards are paid off every month. We owe no one anything. I’m sure our score is a lot lower now but since we don’t need it I haven’t even looked at it.

[Buckeye McFrog]

That answers my question about why my score just went down a tick, even though NOTHING in my situation has changed.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I predict that eventually ALL credit scoring will be banned for being RAAAAAAAACIST.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Dave Ramsey: “All your FICA score is is a record of how well you kiss a*s to the banks.”

[left that other site]

Because you paid off your house, the bank can no longer take it away from you. So, theoretically, according to the bank, you are a greater credit risk than before.

I know. It’s ridiculous, egregious, preposterous, and outrageous, but that is how they think.

Faithfulness, thrift, and honesty are not good qualities with them, and they really don’t want you as a customer, because you pay your bills on time, do not accrue a balance, and therefore, pay very little interest on loans. So, they are not making any money off you.

Just my humble opinion, so don’t flame me! :-)

[Ken H]

"Terry L Smith HAS no FICO score."

[patriotspride]

I paid off my house (no new loans) in Nov and my credit score dropped 30 points. Still haven’t figured out that one.

---

Same deal. Pay off an account with thousands it drops Add$ 50 on another you haven’t used in awhile it goes up.

Have 40 years of never missing a payment. No extra credit...

Pay off multiple houses, no credit

[Mr. Jeeves]

Sounds racist. We need a few billion more dollars directed into programs to mitigate the effect of this white male policy on underserved communities. /s

[willyd]

There is no issue. You have taken on more debt, which makes you more of a credit risk than if you didn’t have that debt. That is it. Also, your second home isn’t covered by homestead exemptions, so your threat of losing it through sickness, loss of job, etc.. is higher than on your first house.

[Terry L Smith]

And im glad of it!
I am not beholden to the bank.