When do Scores Drop

[RickInMich]

Hi,

We filed on November 29, which was just five days ago. I use TrueCredit to monitor my reports and score, and today I see the bankruptcy was listed by TransUnion and Equifax. That is, the public record of bankruptcy was listed. None of the credit card companies have reported IIB or anything. Obviously, my scores dropped, but not very much. Do they drop first just by filing bankruptcy and then as each account gets listed as included? I have to believe that's when the scores will really drop. But at this point, they haven't dropped far.

So does anyone know when the scores actually drop? Thanks.

[rrockinggramma]

IMO, the score drop depends on a lot of factors. Those who paid their cards right up to filing, then filed, and then missed payments come out in better shape then those of us who gave up a long time before filing. Those who continue to make on time car payments and mortgage payments also fare better than those who foreclose and repo. So I think it just depends on your situation.

[JollyGG]

Actually the public record will drop your score the most then when each creditor reports as IIB and 0 balance your scores will go back up a little because your credit report now shows less debt.

[JollyGG]

IMO, the score drop depends on a lot of factors. Those who paid their cards right up to filing, then filed, and then missed payments come out in better shape then those of us who gave up a long time before filing. Those who continue to make on time car payments and mortgage payments also fare better than those who foreclose and repo. So I think it just depends on your situation.

So true. I paid my cards righ up until filing. I am in the mid 600 right now and expect to hit 700 early next year.
Others saw their scores drop as they missed payments and then the last dip when they filed.
Others had scores so low from missed and late payments that bankruptcy actually improved their score.

[RickInMich]

Wow, I hope you guys are right!!! I didn't miss any payments up to the filing date. Well, actually, that's not true. It looks like one reported a late this past month. But my scores only dropped 64 points on TransUnion and only 15 points on Equifax. I just don't know how that's possible. I'm scared there's a mistake or something. I would be thrilled beyond words if that was the only drop I was going to experience.

Thanks for all the info!!

[boinga]

I also paid on time right up until filing. But my scores dropped quite a bit. Not very much when the BK was reported, but a lot when the creditors started reporting the BK on the accounts.

Mine were low 700's before, then dropped about 20 pts immediately after filing, then another BIG drop a week later. Here are the changes between 11/19 (file date) and 11/26:

TransUnion .......... -132
Experian .............. -111
Equifax ................ -71

They are now all in the fair/poor range. I hope it's true they start going back up easily if you have no history of late payments.

What I've heard is that if you have a high score before filing it will definitely take a noticeable hit at first, but if you have a poor score to start with, filing BK will probably improve it initially.

[JollyGG]

I also paid on time right up until filing. But my scores dropped quite a bit. Not very much when the BK was reported, but a lot when the creditors started reporting the BK on the accounts.

Mine were low 700's before, then dropped about 20 pts immediately after filing, then another BIG drop a week later. Here are the changes between 11/19 (file date) and 11/26:

TransUnion .......... -132
Experian .............. -111
Equifax ................ -71

They are now all in the fair/poor range. I hope it's true they start going back up easily if you have no history of late payments.

What I've heard is that if you have a high score before filing it will definitely take a noticeable hit at first, but if you have a poor score to start with, filing BK will probably improve it initially.

Are the IIB entries also changing your balance to 0?

[nazstar]

What I've heard is that if you have a high score before filing it will definitely take a noticeable hit at first, but if you have a poor score to start with, filing BK will probably improve it initially.

Well hot-diggity-dog! I had a 745 about 2 years ago and then everything started to spiral and it's in the low 500s now. I was wondering how low could it go after the bankruptcy - but maybe it will go up a bit.

[RickInMich]

I also paid on time right up until filing. But my scores dropped quite a bit. Not very much when the BK was reported, but a lot when the creditors started reporting the BK on the accounts.

Mine were low 700's before, then dropped about 20 pts immediately after filing, then another BIG drop a week later. Here are the changes between 11/19 (file date) and 11/26:

TransUnion .......... -132
Experian .............. -111
Equifax ................ -71

They are now all in the fair/poor range. I hope it's true they start going back up easily if you have no history of late payments.

What I've heard is that if you have a high score before filing it will definitely take a noticeable hit at first, but if you have a poor score to start with, filing BK will probably improve it initially.

Ah, okay. Then I'm sure it will be similar for me. I was thinking, wow, is that all it's going to drop? But your score drop seems more in the neighborhood of what I expect. I'll wait another week to run the scores and report back.

[alwaysmordrbils]

Wow, I just looked into mine, and only a small few of my creditors are showing that they're part of the bankruptcy!! Guess I have a lot of leg work to do since it was 2005 when my Chapter 13 started!! I'm so happy I started coming to this site!!!

[Keebler]

Mine and my wifes will be updated in my signature if you're interested...

[RickInMich]

Keebler,

Thanks for the info. Have you filed yet? If so, did you miss any payments before filing? Oh, and what service do you use to monitor the scores? I use TrueCredit, but a post I just read today says those may be FAKO scores. I didn't realize that. I think I'm going to cancel that subscription and go to MyFico.

[Keebler]

...

[js1980]

I filed on October 26th. When I filed, I was current on all of my loans, etc. My Scored were in the 640's. Since then, my scores have gone up. They have been steadily climbing as more and more creditors continue to report IIB, etc.

Right now there are two or three items listed as 30 days late. They all reported after the filing, so I'm not sure if I will be able to dispute those.

I am a little worried about my Credit Union loan. I can see them continuing to report the loan as being later and later, but we'll see.

Right now my scores are in the 680s according to transunion! Isn't that bizarre!

[RickInMich]

Keebler, your situation sounds nearly identical to mine. Oh, how I know now that the balance transfer game just delays the inevitable. We were making all our payments fine, but charging living expenses. We were slowly adding to our debt every single month. Finally, this past summer, it hit me like a ton of bricks. This is not working. We'll never get out. We remained current basically right up to filing. I think there was one we missed a payment on before filing.

js1980 brings up an interesting point. Are we able to dispute a late payment posted AFTER filing? That's what looks like happened to us just recently.