Credit Advice

This happened to me. My credit has been the same for 1 year, no late pmts, only difference i paid off my all my credit cards, which are still open acccts. my credit score on credit karma in Feb was 664, after i paid off my cards it decreased to 644. I don't understand how paying off debt can decrease credit score. Like i said no lates, no inquireies all that stuff

It is important to understand that comparing scores from different providers is often difficult. Different lenders often use different bureaus or different credit scoring models. Also, timing is a very important factor since credit scores can change anytime.

When it comes to improving your score, there are several things to consider. First, your past derogatory accounts (collections, delinquencies, liens) are going to affect your credit score for some time to come. Each time a new derogatory is registered on your credit report; it could lower your score for years to come so avoid them moving forward.

Second, improving a credit scores involves being able to demonstrate responsible spending to other lenders. This means you should have accounts in good standing.

If you have some bad accounts (late payments or previous mistakes), one option would be to apply for a secured card here:
http://www.creditkarma.com/creditcards/secured_cards

These cards have guaranteed approval but they also have hefty fees. Secured credit cards will provide you a credit limit equal to your deposit. Most importantly, they report your credit account to the bureaus and help build your credit history, that is of course that you keep it in good standing. Once your credit score moves into the 650 range, try applying for non-secured card. Remember to use credit sparingly and don't spend beyond your means.

Third, improving your credit score will take time. It takes years to build a good credit score but only a few missed payments to destroy it. So make sure you have the right expectations and don't get discouraged. Check your score every month and see how it tracks over time. That is one of the feedback mechanisms that should keep you motivated. If you want to see how time will affect your score, try the credit simulator "https://www.creditkarma.com/simulator". It can take your specific credit report and forecast how time and good payment history will improve your score.

Good Luck!

yea me too. I paid off EVERYTHING for about 3months after opening a credit card account and when I checked my score here, it actually lowered my score.

I am not sure this will answer your question but I hope this helps.  I recommend that you yearly obtain your free credit report from all of the three major reporting agencies.  I have had a few situations come up on this report that were not shown on others.  This happens in my opinion because you may only get reports back from one of these threeTransUnion or Experian or Equifax.   In the case of bankruptcy accounts that are reported discharged to bankruptcy can stay on your report as I have been told for up to seven years.  They may have been sold to another agency so the lendor can possiby recover monies owed but they will still and can list on your report as being discharged.  This does not mean the account is still open but it indicates on inquiry that at one time or another you had an account with them and it was discharged.  Pay close attention to the dollar amounts on your credit report.  If it was sold or discharged it should show a $0 balance. Federal Trade Commission provides a yearly free annual credit report.  You can accesss this yearly and check your information for all 3 reporting agencies.  I will tell you that if you have filed for bankruptcy this was the same way your lawyer obtained informaiton about the accounts you have opened and if you are wanting to file and have talked to an attorney they will more than likely ask you to get this after you hire them.  Be careful however, if you are using an attorney that lets you pay a reduced fee if you do some of the work I will also inform you that YOU WILL NEED THIS FOR YOUR BANKRUPTCY and it has to be current.  If you get this report now and need it in August or September you will have to pay for a new report in order for it to be current. http://www.ftc.gov/freereports Credit Scores are affected by a wide variety of things you do.  I have had my score go down due to a few things.  In October I had paid off three credit cards, re-charged $100 on one card the next month and closed the high interest account in Nov.  This caused my score to fall by almost 50 points.  From what I was told it was due to the closeure of the high interest card.  If you visit the credit stimulator section of this stie you will see that if you mark the box reflecting you will close a card your score goes up.  Mainly due to companies seeing that you don't have the availabe credit. In one case I obtained my free annual credit report saw that my ex husband's pick up was listed on my credit.  Of course the truck was in our names when we were married in 1999 but see this on my report in 2004 and being divorced in 2002 I wanted it off.  I did not want the banks to think I owed for this vehicle.  I fought and fought to get this off and when I did my score fell 10.  Reason being, the dollar amount owed was at $0 dollars on my credit report, he still owed and refinanced the truck in his name which did not show on my report.  The account was in good standing and being I fought it to have it removed, lenders could no longer see this.  They had no idea it was a good account, with on time payments and no money owed.  That hurt my score so I recommend if you have $0 account that was on time and it is not negative to your report....leave it be. I am not certain if you have a good account standing and include them in bankruptcy now showing a $0 balance if you should try and remove this.  I would call and ask your bankruptcy attorney they can answer this for you and would tell you the best thing to do.  I know that you don't want the bankruptcy listing on your report but it is going to affect you so if the account is in good standing, with on time payments and a $0 balance but states discharged to bankruptcy I would rather explain that yes, I was on time, yes it was in good standing but I could no longer afford and included on bankruptcy rather than fighting consuming time and energy all the while it is still reflected in your overall score, and if it is not hurting focus on fixing your score overall than fighting to remove a few words that may hurt you in the long run.  I would think??  If I am wrong please fill me in as I am working my bottom off trying to fix all I can with my overall score. Happy New Year!

Will unemployment overpayments show up on your credit report

I too have had the same experience with my credit score. I have paid down all four of my revolving accounts and  three installment loans almost paid off no late payments no inquirries no new accounts no missed payments no collections etc.. Basically nothing negative.. But still my credit score drops I check my credit reports from all three bureaus every month nothing appears wrong but I dont understand how paying down or paying off debt causes my credit score to fall. It seems to not make any sense how is it possoble for one to have a credit score in the high 700 with this kind of scoring system?