last year my credit score was 750.
i have 2 credit cards, each with a $1,000 limit. I have never, EVER missed a payment on either card, ever. I pay off both cards, in FULL, every single month. I never reach the limit, or go over it. I usually only spend about $400 on each card. so basically, I'm VERY good with credit cards. no 'flaws' (unless I'm missing something!??)
however. two small annoyances have come up in the last year.
- the first, is a bill for $40 from EZ-PASS. apparently, one time my ez-pass didn't work at a toll, and I received a penalty for $40. I responded promptly to the state, saying that I did not cheat them, it merely did not work, and I asked them to deduct the NORMAL TOLL FAIR from my balance. I always have money on my ez-pass, so there's no reason to lie. anyway, they refused to do this, and insisted I pay the fine. I kept arguing it, and they sent the damn thing to collections. I finally gave up the fight and paid the $40 several months after it went to collections (this was in fact, today)
- the second thing. Somehow, I have an outstanding medical bill of a whopping... $6.50. thats right. less than 7 bucks. it's dated from 05/01/10. somehow I never noticed it, and got a few reminders. my idiot fault for not paying the dumb $6.50, but I moved and the bill stopped coming to me (guess the company didn't get the address change). anyway, I paid it today.
that's it though.
so now, I have no idea how credit scores work. is a total of $46.50 really enough to COMPLETELY destroy your credit score? Shouldn't the fact that I pay off 2 credit cards EVERY MONTH perfectly completely override this? It's almost like doing the right thing has zero positive effect on your score, so you're always 'flat-lined', but any little thing can cause you to drop majorly into the negative zone.