What Can Cause Your Credit File to "Split or Mix !"

[Meya]

I know everyone likes to pull their credit report on a daily basis, but that can become a problem when you utilize this feature. Here's why, according to Pamela Allen on "Card Ratings.com", debt smart, and DebtCC:

1. Consumers using and pulling their personal credit report on a daily basis from monitoring services can cause problems, compiling soft hits to the credit report. If the file gets too large, Equifax cannot handle it and will result in a split file. Some accounts will show on one credit report while other accounts show on another credit report.

2. Sometimes it just looks like you have no credit history, and other times it mixes other people’s credit reports right in with yours. If creditors don't know to look for the warning signs, they will flat out decline credit because they think it was all your credit that was bad.

3. On the mortgage side when the files are split, the files are received as Equifax 1 and Equifax 2. What is different is that on the credit report are two credit scores, one for each file. But it is all merged on the mortgage reports. These are very complicated. It may very well be all of the consumer's information that just got split because two names were used. Mortgage lenders pull three bureau credit reports through different systems. Sometimes the system has the capability to pull in mixed reports or split files, which will show the conflicting information. This is something consumer reports don't always show.

Mixed files can do the same. Did you know that when you get married and start using your marriage name under your maiden social security, you are mixing your files? For example, a married name verses maiden name. If that is the case, Equifax advises to add both scores and divide by two for the end score to be used. But also follow up informing Equifax that the file needs to be re-merged. This may be a way to escape your old debt for some people, but when one of the 3 cb's catch on, you will be destroyed with two names instead of one. It is best to clear up your past before destoying your future cb with your new spouse. Remember, you are as one when you say "I DO" and there has been numerous divorces over financial reasons. Also, as scribes mentioned before, a father and son who live at the same address, or who don’t add “Sr.” or “Jr.” when completing credit applications, can cause a mixed file.

For the record, I think we better take advantage of a montly pull and leave the daily pulls alone. As long as we have a credit monitoring service watching our backs when our credit report chagnes, we are pretty much safe.

[hjm331]

That's good info for all of our fellow credit addicts here!

[Meya]

So what are you getting at? MR. First-n-Line!

[alpha]

In terms of getting accounts mixed up, I was just having coffee with a friend yesterday and she said her husband's son (who is a junior) had run up some debts (and was using their mailing address), so their tax refund was being held up because the tax people thought they were the same person. So now they have to go meet with someone and take proof that they're different guys.

[Meya]

I am somewhat going through the same info as your friend. My husband son, who is a jr, got traffic tickets in my husband name and he have to go to court for the same thing. I am soooo upset with my husband because he just sit around and says, "I remember when I used to do that to my daddy when I was young" and I am steady telling him, "Well time has changed, if your 20 yr old son is passing as a 38 yr old man, then you need to go take a look at him because he might be on some serious drugs."

[alpha]

So, Meya, is that one of those things that you always hear -- "just wait till you have kids of your own and see what they do to you"?

[Rockin35]

Now I'm really confused. I thought the soft hits do NOT show/reflect to the credit grantor. Are you saying that the Bureaus system still housing "every single" hit whether it be consumers pulling their own files AND banking institutions but when the credit is pulled by a bank they only see the hard inquries? Is this correct? And the reason why it "splits" or "produces no file" is because the bureaus reading of your credit file is on basically "overload" from us pulling so many reports monthly on ourselves plus the big bank hard inquiries?

Im amazed, I really am. Can this also decrease your credit score? I think I have experienced this......

Rockin35

[Meya]

Let me unconfuse you then. When banks (such as our creditors) pull a softie on us, they only do it once per month and some do it every 6 months. But, when we pull it everyday, then yes it will cause your file to split. It overloads the space that is available on our credit file, then that is what causes the problems. There is one person you don't have to worry about, and that is the BIG EXPERIAN!!!! They hold enough space for you and somebody else too.

[Ash]

How do you know if your file is split?


The reason I asked is for the last 30 days I have been playing
cat and mouse with myfico. If something is going on they send
me an email. Well a few weeks back they sent an email that said
your score went up 45 points!!! The thing is 2 days later they send
an email saying sorry your score dropped 45 points. The next
week the same thing happens I get a fico score alert my score is
up 37 points so this time I try to see whats going on and I pay
for a score power report before the score drops again.


When I pull it instead of the higher score mentioned in the email
I see a lower one. I had been chatting
with one of the Moderators at myfico and he said something
about a file split or an account that keeps coming on or off. He
told me to try and pull the report when your score goes up then
compare the credit reports together. This never works for me
because when I pull it I don't see the higher one its the same old
score as usual for the last few months and the reports are
exactly the same. I know something funny is going on too because
I'll see a jump of about 10 or 12 points at times but not by 40 points.
This Oct-08 I'll be 6 years out of BK so that should not be a factor in
the scoring formula right now.

I decided to go directly to Equifax and I signed up for the gold
watch so I could compare it to myfico. Then I have trouble
getting my reports. With the gold watch you are supposed to
be able to get unlimited reports but I couldn't do it. I kept getting
a computer error. Eventually I was able to see a score power report
but Eq showed the lower score. Alot of people had been
complaining lately about myfico score alert so I wanted to see if the
problem was the timing of the emails. Saturday I get a email
from EQ first showing a new account and shows the lower score.
Early Sunday morning myfico sends their email but they show the
higher score. Now I just don't know what to do I give up.

I've completely stopped my apps for now because I have no clue
what my score is.

[Adicus]

I have heard that if you "bump" daily, you might potentionaly split your credit file.

I intentionally do a soft pull daily on Equifax & TransUnion because they limit on both types of inquiries are 60 or so by doing this it drops one by one the oldest hard inquiries on my file. My score has gone up 38 points in the last few months. I’m hoping that it won’t split my file anytime soon. By the way this doesn’t work on EXPERIAN, they caught on to this.

[hjm331]

What are the consequences of having a split file?

[Adicus]

From what I have heard; split account information. Kind of like a computer glitch or so. One can only determine your worthiness by printing out your report and manually analyzing it. It can be fixed but it will require the patience of a saint.

[Meya]

What are the consequences of having a split file?

Thanks for answering the question addicus

Hey Hjm331, Ash, an Addicus, the main reason for me starting this thread is because of people who pull their credit report daily. I am trying to save them from the pain they will suffer when their file splits. Pulling your credit report daily is really unnecessary if you are signed up with a creditor because it does not do anything but makes you look stupid in the long run. I understand what you were talking about Adicus when you said you pull daily, but dont think that your creditors do not know what you are doing as well as the credit monitoring service.

If a person pulled their credit report on a daily basis for what you have heard adicus, then "morally" it is wrong, because they have intensions on cheating the system (who by the way is in progress to make that person look stupid). Why keep doing this daily and then your file split? The next thing you know there are going to be a lot of crying and new threads started about what happen to them........nahhh, I take that back, they are going to stay away from the board because they are going to be too embarrased to tell what happen to them. Like you said Adicus, it is going to take the patience of a saint to wait until the cb fix the file back (if everything comes back).

Hjm331 and Ash, you will know when it is split, you will not see all of your credit card accounts on your file. The best thing to do is pull it when you receive an alert or you can pull it once a week if your monitoring service provide that option for you.

[Adicus]

Have you ever cheated the system? or did anything that would be clasified "morally" wrong? Those are two strong references regarding bumping; I like to consider it a loop hole.

I have spent countless hours disputing in accurate information on my credit reports and the CRA's act like they could careless. I BUMP daily because I pay for those services and I get instant gratification.

[Meya]

Have you ever cheated the system? or did anything that would be clasified "morally" wrong? Those are two strong references regarding bumping; I like to consider it a loop hole.

I have spent countless hours disputing in accurate information on my credit reports and the CRA's act like they could careless. I BUMP daily because I pay for those services and I get instant gratification.

Well, yes I have back in the days when I did not care, but when I discoverd "Intergrity" and "Payback" I made a 360. I am not trying to talk bad about anyone for what they are doing and do not feel like I am targeting you. You, and everyone else have a choice to do what you want to do, but like i said before, I am just giving heads up for those who DO NOT KNOW the consequences of pulling their credit report too much and the end result. Since *B* is not what we really want expressed around this board I will really appreciate if we can drop that conversation and move forward with "Split and Mixed files".

Thanks for your feedback Addicus!