5 Ways to Kill Your Credit Scores

The curtain has parted, albeit slightly, on the mystery of how your credit rating is calculated. Find out what these common credit problems can do to your standing.

By Liz Pulliam Weston, MSN Money

One of the questions I'm asked most often about credit scores is exactly how much certain actions affect people's scores.

Until now, the best I could do was say, "It depends." That's because the company that created the leading credit score, the FICO, has been wary about releasing specifics.

Fortunately, that just changed. At my request and for the first time, the company (also known as FICO) has released details about how specific actions, from maxing out a credit card to filing for bankruptcy, can affect people with different credit scores.

I asked the company to compute the results of those actions for two examples: a person with a 780 score, which is an excellent score on the 300-to-850 FICO scale, and someone with a 680 score. The results:.

Effect on a 680 score
Maxed-out card = 10 to 30 drop in points
30-day late payment = 60 to 80 drop in points
Debt settlement = 45 to 65 drop in points
Foreclosure = 85 to 105 drop in points
Bankruptcy = 130 to -150 drop in points

Effect on a 780 score
Maxed-out card = 25 to 45 drop in points
30-day late payment = 90 to 110 drop in points
Debt settlement = 105 to 125 drop in points
Foreclosure = 140 to 160 drop in points
Bankruptcy = 220 to 240 drop in points

Source: FICO

The results are given in a range because FICO is still a little nervous about revealing too much about its proprietary scoring. But the range is fairly tight, and we can clearly see the disparate impacts of the different actions.

A guide, not a guarantee
Before we go further, I have to make this clear: Your mileage may vary.

People with the same credit score can have very different credit profiles more or fewer accounts, a different mix of accounts, a longer or shorter credit history, use of more or less of their available credit, etc.

Because of those differences, the same action -- maxing out a card, say -- can have different effects on people with the same score, depending on the details of their individual credit profiles.

For the sake of this exercise, FICO assumed both people had several active major credit cards as well as a mortgage, a car loan and student loans.

The person with the 780 score:
-Has at least 10 credit accounts in total and a 15-year credit history.
-Uses 15% to 25% of her credit card limits.
-Has no late payments on her credit reports.
-Has no collection accounts or other major negatives.

The person with the 680 score:
-Has six credit accounts and an eight-year credit history.
-Uses 40% to 50% of her credit card limits.
-Was 90 days late on an account two years ago.
-Was 30 days late on another account one year ago.

Here's what you need to know about each action and the effect it had:
Maxing out a credit card
Using 100% of your limit on any credit card puts you at risk of over-limit fees. It also takes a bite out of your credit score.

Our person with the 680 score might lose 10 to 30 points from this one action, while the 780 scorer could shed 25 to 45 points.

The difference points up an important fact: The higher your score, the more points you tend to lose from "bad" actions. That's because the scoring formula is sensitive to any sign you're getting in over your head. Maxing out a credit card is considered one of those signs.

You also should know that it typically doesn't matter to the formula if you carry a balance or pay off that maxed-out card as soon as you get your statement. What's usually reported to the credit bureaus is the balance on your last statement. Even if you pay the debt in full before the due date, the maxed-out card will hurt your score.

Skipping a payment
Mailing a payment a few days late normally won't hurt your score, although you may incur late fees and trigger higher interest rates. The big hurt comes when you miss a payment cycle entirely.

A 30-day-late report would shave 60 to 80 points from our lower-scoring person and 90 to 110 points from our higher scorer. In other words, one lapse of attention could plunge the 680-scorer into subprime credit territory, and our 780-scorer could find credit much harder to get and more expensive.

This is why it's so important to set up automatic payments to ensure your bills get paid on time, all the time. With credit cards, you can set up automatic payments that take the minimum payment out of your checking account to ward against a late payment. You can always make a second payment that reduces your debt or pays it off entirely. You can sign up for automatic payments on the Web site of your card issuer.

Settling a credit card debt
All the advertisements about "settling your debt for pennies on the dollar" make debt settlement sound like a great solution. But failing to pay what you owe a creditor will take a serious toll on your score.

The 680 scorer would lose 45 to 65 points with this maneuver, while the 780 scorer would shed 105 to 125 points.

Our scenario assumed that our borrowers would miss one payment before settling the debt with their credit card companies. In reality, debt settlement negotiations can drag on much longer, with each missed payment taking another chunk out of your score.

Settling a debt with a collection agency would hurt less, probably much less, because the FICO formula is set up to weigh more heavily what the original creditor says about you than what a collection agency reports. But if our borrowers were settling with a collection agency instead, their scores would be lower to begin with, because they would have collection accounts on their records.

Also, you should know that the amount of debt your creditor "forgives" in a debt settlement solution is typically added to your taxable income. So you may save some money by settling a debt, but you'll give some of it back to Uncle Sam in higher taxes.

Losing a property to foreclosure
Foreclosure deals a severe blow to your credit score: 85 to 105 points for our person with the 680 score and 140 to 160 points for the one with the 780 score.

Foreclosures have implications for your future ability to get a mortgage as well. Although your score may start to improve as soon as the house is gone, mortgage lenders may not be willing to extend you another home loan until two to four years have elapsed.

In an attempt to protect their credit, many people attempt short sales, selling their houses for less than what's owed, with the lenders' permission. Unfortunately, these transactions, even if successful, are often reported as settlements. And a settlement, as you've seen, is pretty bad for credit scores. To lenders, a short sale isn’t quite as bad as a foreclosure, though, and it may be easier to get another mortgage once you’ve rebuilt your credit.

Filing for bankruptcy
FICO spokesman Craig Watts once called bankruptcy the nuclear bomb of credit actions. Filing for bankruptcy would shave 130 to 150 points from the 680 score and 220 to 240 points from the 780 score.

This is different from the other black marks, where the higher scorer was still left with better numbers than the lower scorer. In this case, both would wind up near the bottom of the credit barrel. Getting new credit, particularly in the current credit-crunch environment, would be extremely tough.

Sometimes, of course, bankruptcy is the best of bad options. But if you can't pay your bills, you should at least explore the other possibilities: forbearance, credit counseling or even debt settlement.

Finally, if you have any of these five black marks on your record, remember two things: The impact on your score may differ from what's shown above, and regardless of how many points you lost, you can rebuild your FICO score over time.

You can start by using a free FICO score estimator, such as this one at Bankrate.com, or MSN Money's credit score estimator, which similarly models a score on Experian's 330-to-830 range, to see where you stand.

Or you can sign up for free credit scores from sites such as Quizzle, Credit.com and Credit Karma, which use the actual information on file about you with the credit bureaus. But the scores you get still may not be the ones lenders actually see.

Or you can buy your Equifax or TransUnion FICO score from MyFICO.com. (Experian no longer sells FICO scores to consumers, although it continues to sell the scores to lenders.) With paid scores, you'll get specific advice about how to improve your numbers. In general, when you're trying to build a credit score, you should:
-Pay your bills on time, all the time.
-Reduce your credit utilization; below 30% is good, below 10% is better.
-Have a mix of credit on your reports, including installment loans (mortgages, auto loans and personal loans) and revolving accounts (credit cards and lines of credit).
-Refrain from closing accounts.
-Apply for new credit sparingly.

Liz Pulliam Weston is the Web's most-read personal-finance writer. She is the author of several books, most recently "Your Credit Score: Your Money & What's at Stake." Weston's award-winning columns appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board and helps middle-class families cope at Building a Brighter Future
Published Nov. 11, 2009

A New Way to Look at Debt

I heard this gentleman the other day on XM Comedy while I was driving and nearly drove off the road! Have a laugh on me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5bbvMR8Ee4

Riding the Waves

Last year, I said that the waive of credit defaults was just beginning. First to go were those subprime loans which should never have been done in the first place, many a result of fraud and/or greed in the mortgage and real estate business. It was obvious that these loans would default. Debt and payment ratios were out of whack, in both mortgages and auto loans, and it was inevitable that these loans would go bad sooner or later.

The second waves of defaults were people who initially could afford their loans, but severe income reductions or unemployment left them unable to pay their bills. No one expected the economy to turn around so badly or abruptly, and people making good money suddenly found themselves in the situation where their payments exceeded their income. This group probably includes those newbie investors, who bought investment properties with little or no down payments, and found themselves unable to pay the mortgage or sell the property. Buyers were scarce, and mortgage money dried up. Values crashed, and many of these folks walked away from their investment properties, trying to save their primary homes.

Now we come to the third wave - folks who can still pay their mortgages or car payments, but owed so much more than the collateral is worth that they are simply walking away. Credit scores are getting trashed, but what's worse is that these folks don't understand how to deal with their newly damaged credit. People with 700+ credit scores are finding themselves faced with the prospect of trying to secure credit with a score, in some cases in the low 50o's or even lower.

For the most part, the customers care little about the consequences of their actions. Many are still under the assumption that, because “everyone is doing it”, defaulting on their loans shouldn’t matter, and they should still be entitled to low interest rates and no stip loans. They balked at providing proof of income, or phone bills and references, figuring the lender shouldn’t require and documentation for their loan. However, lenders I deal with are now asking even good credit customers for POI and POR.

Many dealers I talk to have cut back their subprime departments, finding it too difficult to do these deals anymore. Prime deals are getting tougher, and F&I profits are shrinking. But faced with the new waive of subprime customers; maybe dealerships shouldn’t completely abandon special finance. Now is the time to put your ace in the game, the special finance expert you hired to help get through these tough times. Lender relationships, knowing what deals to send to what lenders, will help dealers sell more cars, make more money, and earn new customers who appreciate a true professional, who can guide them through this newly uncharted territory they face.

I’d like to think we’re starting to see the light at the end of the credit tunnel. I just hope it’s not the headlight from the oncoming train!

Auto Loan Applicants Face Tougher Scrutiny

Dealers Must Heed Lenders’ Demands for Proof of Income, Residency, Phone Bill

By Donna Harris
dharris@crain.com
Automotive News 10/12/09

Dealer consultant Frank Martin has come to expect auto lenders to call a customer's cell phone to confirm the customer's credit information – right in the middle of the finance transaction. It is just a sign of the times.

“Even customers with high Beacon scores get calls," says Martin, who works in Boca Raton, Fla., and sometimes fills in for absent F&I managers in the stores he serves in the Southeast.

In many markets, major lenders are requiring proof of income and sometimes proof of residence even from customers with excellent credit.

Although lenders have stepped up standards during the credit crisis, finance experts also attribute this intense scrutiny to additional factors:
- Some banks report an increase in fraudulent credit applications related to the credit squeeze,
- Identity theft continues to rise.
- Lenders are subject to greater government regulation requiring them to confirm the accuracy of customer information.

Like A Mortgage
"We have seen credit restrictions the rise in each of our regions throughout the last eight to nine months even on high-prime customers," says Jeff Dyke, executive vice president of Sonic Automotive Inc., the nation's fourth-largest dealership group based on new-vehicle unit sales last year. "That includes both proof of income and proof of residence."

Chuck Butler, owner of Butler Automotive Group, says that over the past year, applying for a car loan has become almost as complicated as applying for a home mortgage.

Butler says lenders require that total debt be no more than 50 percent of income, giving them a huge cushion, "They used to allow as high as 70 percent debt," says Butler, whose dealership group encompasses four import and domestic stores in Medford and Astrland, Ore.

Julie Westermann, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, says the bank has adjusted its underwriting model to require proof of income but typically just for customers with credit scores at the lower end of prime. Experian defines prime customers as those having credit scores between 680 and 739.

Gil Rabani, finance manager for Vacaville Pontiac-Buick-GMC in Vacaville, Calif., says the lenders he works with are focusing on customers' phone numbers. "If the name and number don't match with the name, phone number and address listed in their records, customers not only have to prove income but provide a phone bill," Rabani says.

Ken Basdeo, finance manager for Star Auto Group in Queens Village, N.Y., says some major lenders are requiring proof of income on customers with A+ rating. "For 75 to B0 percent of the deals, we're required to provide proof of income and proof of residence," Basdeo says.
.
Some banks report an increase in fraudulent credit applications. Dealership employees and their customers are sometimes inflating income on the credit application to boost the chances of obtaining financing.

Identity Theft Rises
Identity theft also is rising. Such theft affected almost l0 million victims in the United States in 2008, the latest data available from the Javelin Strategy and Research Center, up 22 percent from 2007.

"Fraud has been increasing as the economy continued to sour," said Nicholas Stanutz, senior executive vice president of dealer sales for Huntington National Bank. Stanutz estimates credit fraud is up l0 to 15 percent.

Martin's firm provides temporary help to dealerships when the F&I manager is out sick or on vacation. The Florida consultant says lately, dealers have called on his firm to fill the job because they fired the finance manager.

"Many dealerships have become more seriously proactive in preventing fraud," Martin says. "What used to be a slap on the wrist has now become cause for termination."

Red Flags
All financial institutions must comply with the federal Red Flags rules requiring them to create a written plan to protect consumers from identity theft. Although enforcement of the rules was postponed a year to Nov. 1, many lenders already have stepped up their efforts to confirm customers' identities.

"No one wants to be the clerk that overlooked inconsistent proof of income or the credit manager that approved a deal with something missing," says Charles Ognibene, a Boston attorney who represents major banks and finance companies.

While Ognibene says regulation has prompted closer scrutiny of every deal, competition also comes into play: "Before the credit crisis hit, if a finance company pushed back an application because something was inconsistent and asked for more information, the dealer might have gone to another finance source. Now, with limited finance buyers, the dealer must heed when his finance buyer demands that i's be dotted and t's be crossed."

Consultant Martin agrees: "No one can afford to be cut off by a lender who is actively buying their paper. "

Sub Prime Car Buyers Still Can Find Credit

Customers Face Larger Down Payment, Shorter Loan Terms

By Arlena Sawyers – asawyers@crain.com
Automotive News 10/12/09

Even though credit is tight and captive finance companies are focused on prime customers, sub prime customers still can find credit, say dealers, lenders and other financial experts.

Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit at Experian Automotive, says lenders are requiring larger down payments and shorter loan terms from all consumers – especially those with sub prime credit - in an effort to manage the lenders, risk.

"It makes sense," Zabritski says. ,,As banks better manage that risk, it helps them offer better loan products to the general market."

Willing To Lend

John Cavanaugh, CFO of Automotive Credit Corp, in suburban Detroit, says many lenders have either reduced their sub prime lending or pulled out of it altogether. But Cavanaugh's company is in it for the
Long haul.

Ln late September, Automotive Credit announced that it had secured a $50 million line of credit from Wells Fargo Preferred Capital, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co.

Automotive Credit purchases the loans of auto buyers with credit scores of 500 and below. About 60
Percent of its customers are franchised dealers.

"Our portfolio is performing well, and we continue to have good access to capital that allows us to grow our business and do what we’ve done successfully for a long time,', Cavanaugh says.

Jonathan Neubauer, CEO of Vehicle Acceptance Corp., of Dallas, provides financial services for dealers who operate buy-here, pay-here operations. Neubauer says his company provides dealers cash advances that when coupled with a customer’s down payment, can cover the dealer's investment in the vehicle. Vehicle Acceptance charges dealers a flat fee to service and collect loan payments.

A small number of the dealers that do business with the company also have new-car franchises, Neubauer says. "We're trying to get the word out that we are lending money,,, he sa1n. "We are willing and able to lend money to buy-here, pay-here dealerships."

The Right Vehicle

Experian Automotives Zabritski says 12 percent of people who purchased vehicles in the first half of
2009 had sub prime credit scores of 550 to 619, down from almost 15 percent in the first half of 2008.

She attributes the decline to a number of factors, including lenders that didn't provide financing or consumers who could not qualify for loans.

Consumers qualifying for deep sub prime loans - scores under 550 - made up about 16 percent of vehicle buyers through June, up from l5 percent in the same period last year

Anthony Stalworth, vice president of sales and marketing at Automotive Credit, says sub prime financing works best when dealers provide customers the right vehicles. He ,says those vehicles typically are 2 to 7 years old, a domestic brand and in good condition.

"That is where the biggest amount' of depreciation is already off the cost of the vehicle and allows our customer to get in at a reasonable payment;" Stalworth says.

"lf they do a good job putting the 'customer in a nice car and treat the customer right, we have a much better job of collecting”

No Cash, No Car

Bill Perkins, owner of two Chevrolet dealerships and a Buick-Pontiac-GMC store in suburban Detroit, promises customers he will find them financing - no matter their credit history- with one caveat 'they have to have $1,995 down; you can't buy a car without cash now, says Perkins, who sells about 140 used vehicles a month at his three dealerships. About 40 percent of the used vehicles he sells are to customers with sub prime credit.

Tony Testo, sub prime finance manager at Landers Automotive Group- in Little Rock, Ark., which handles nine new-car franchises, says he works with five financial institutions to finance his sub prime customers.

Testo says he spends an hour or i more with each customer explaining that he can get them into a good 3- to 6-year-old vehicle, but they will have to pay higher interest rates because they are high-risk customers' Testo also tells customers they need to have a down payment, typically $500 to $2,500. Testo says he empathizes with customers who find themselves in a financial bind, but he wants them to be realistic about their vehicle purchase.

"most of these people have been banged around, treated badly and told no over and over again," he says' "i tell them yes, but we have to do this together

Thank Goodness He Didn't Try To Finance A Car!

Michael Jackson’s credit score: 564

by Karen Datko

TMZ, the news source for all things Michael Jackson, expressed amazement that MJ had terrible FICO scores.

"Here's a shocker -- Michael Jackson had an abysmally low credit score," said a story at the Web site. In 2007, TMZ says it has learned, Jackson's scores from the three major credit bureaus were 592, 524 and 575, averaging out to just under 564.

It's really no surprise, considering his well-documented ultra-extravagant spending and financial woes, including the fact that Neverland Ranch nearly slid into foreclosure. But there's a lesson for everyday people in the specifics that caused the King of Pop to have poor scores.

Here are the reasons given in the TMZ report:
- A derogatory public record or collection filed.
- The amount owed on delinquent accounts.
- Number of accounts with delinquency.
- Too many inquiries in the last 12 months.

To put this in perspective, FICO scores have a range of 300 to 850. A score under 620 puts you in the subprime market. (Experian offers a state-by-state look at average scores and debt.)

Michael Jackson may have made a mess of his finances, but he did prepare a solid estate plan, including a will, a living trust, and trustees and executors who are experienced and knowledgeable.
All told, Jackson's estate is worth hundreds of millions -- a number that's still being figured out. The total is expected to be considerably larger than his estimated $435 million of debt. Plus, the size of the estate has grown by $100 million since he died on June 25, and is expected to make $50 million to $100 million a year, The New York Times says. Compare that with the $55 million Elvis Presley's estate earned last year. The NYT also said:

In life, Mr. Jackson faced a precarious financial future, as he piled on debts to finance his tastes in art, to travel on private jets and to keep up Neverland. In death, his estate may enjoy the financial security he never had.

Jackson will be buried on Sept. 3, according to the Glendale News Press

Will the real FICO score please stand up?

by Karen Datko

This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.

Earlier this week we took a look at how to get your free FICO credit score from myFICO.com. Operated by the Fair Isaac Corp., creator of the FICO credit score, it offers consumers a free credit report and FICO credit score when they sign up for a 30-day trial of Score Watch. The FICO credit score myFICO.com provides is from Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus.
And that's where some confusion can creep in.

There are three major credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. And each of these credit bureaus calculates a consumer's FICO credit score, which can be and usually is different for each credit bureau. In other words, you likely have a different FICO credit score from each of the three major credit bureaus. And to add to the confusion, each of the credit bureaus calls its version of the FICO credit score by a different name.

So let's quickly sort all this out:

FICO credit score. FICO stands for the Fair Isaac Corp., the company that created the formula for the FICO credit score. Fair Isaac was founded in 1956 by engineer Bill Fair and mathematician Earl Isaac.

Fair Isaac does not calculate credit scores. While Fair Isaac created the FICO formula, it does not actually use it to calculate a consumer's FICO credit score. To use the formula, one needs credit information about the consumer, and that's where the credit bureaus come in.

Three credit bureaus. The three major credit bureaus in the United States use the FICO credit score formula to calculate a consumer's FICO credit score.

Three different scores. Because each of the three major credit bureaus has slightly different information on each consumer, the FICO credit score it calculates is usually different from the others. As a result, most consumers have three different FICO credit scores.

Three scores and three names. Each of the three credit bureaus has branded its FICO credit score with a different name. Equifax calls its score the Beacon score; Experian calls its score the Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model or Score Power; and TransUnion calls its version of the FICO credit score Empirica.

VantageScore: You may have heard of VantageScore, which is a credit score formulation created in 2006 by the three credit bureaus in an effort to compete with the official FICO credit score. VantageScore has not been widely adopted by lenders and creditors.

Clear as mud, right? Now, how do you get your credit scores? As you may know, consumers can get a free copy of their credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. But if you want your FICO credit score, myFICO.com is the place to go, while FreeCreditReport.com offers its own version of a credit score. Here are the details:

MyFICO.com. MyFICO.com is run by Fair Isaac and offers consumers a credit-monitoring service called Score Watch. When you sign up for a free 30-day trial of Score Watch, myFICO.com gives you a free copy of your credit report and FICO credit score as reported by Equifax. You can also purchase from myFICO.com your credit report and FICO credit score as reported by TransUnion for $15.95.

FreeCreditReport.com: Known for its snappy commercials, FreeCreditReport.com is run by Experian. It offers a credit-monitoring service called Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring. In exchange for signing up for a seven-day free trial, you'll receive a copy of your Experian credit report and a credit score from Experian that is not a FICO score.