How do “addresses” affect your score?

[MeanWS6]

I have never been late, missed a payment, etc. TU is 713, EX is 718, EQ is 720.

One of the CRA’s is reporting a PO box for my current address (which is the billing address of my CC), but the other two have my home addy. Should I update this to reflect my home addy. Furthermore, all 3 show previous addresses that I have not lived at for over 3 yrs on one and 5 years on the other. Is this making my score lower and should I seek to update/remove them?

[morrow]

Addresses dont affect your score....I wouldnt worry bout it.

[breathing_easier]

Furthermore, all 3 show previous addresses that I have not lived at for over 3 yrs on one and 5 years on the other. Is this making my score lower and should I seek to update/remove them?

It is very common for the CRAs to be reporting at least one or two previous addresses. If these previous addresses are attached to older negative TLs, sometimes people try to get them removed, hopefully making it easier to have the negative TL deleted. However, you have to be careful as older positive closed accounts that are reporting that may be attached to these addresses can also *poof*. As morrow said, though, addresses have little impact on your score. If they're accurate and not attached to any negative TLs, they really aren't doing any harm.

[Ravenous Wolf]

The common misconception is that credit scores from the CRA is what determines if you get approved for credit.

It is the lending policy that determines your approval for credit.

Many creditors have it in their policy that they want stability in their lenders and they severely penalize people who do not have stability.

In some cases, that is sheer stupidity if someone is living in an apartment and moves around a few times but has lived in the SAME city their entire lifetime.

As a result, I have been using my private mailbox as my residential address since 1999 even though I have moved around several times until now.

And it is great telling a creditor that I have been at the same address since 1999 (sometimes I stretch it even longer).

For a credit score, it has no impact.

For the lending policy of a creditor that determines whether or not they will grant you credit, it may have a TREMENDOUS impact depending on their policies.

[breathing_easier]

For a credit score, it has no impact.

For the lending policy of a creditor that determines whether or not they will grant you credit, it may have a TREMENDOUS impact depending on their policies.

Good point, RW. I was just speaking to FICO in my post.

[Ravenous Wolf]

The CRAs do have a flag if they are unsure if they have the right address.

Or if they suspect that you are using an address that is not a residential address.

I have had HAWK alerts and an Experian alert on my credit reports and it took me a long time to get them straightened out.

For creditors with a strict lending policy, they don't want anything that remotely smells of fraud so they may require proof of residence which is what I have had to do numerous times in the past.

As for an address, it is actually a violation of federal law to take any address into consideration for credit approval or credit rating.

In the past, banks were notorious for discrimination.

One form of discrimination was called redlining.

If you lived in a certain part of a city that was believed to be undesirable, then it was redlined and banks would automatically decline you for a loan just because of where you lived. Perfect credit history was totally irrevelant.

On many city maps, it was easy to redline because boundaries were easy to distinguish, like blacks lived here, Mexican's lived there, poor white people lived over there, etc...

Today, it is illegal to use an address for a basis of credit unless it can be connected to legitimate purpose like stability, fraud, etc...

[breathing_easier]

I'm having a problem with Experian because they have my current address of 10 years listed as a "non-residential address." My house is located smack dab in the middle of a subdivision, albeit a 65-year-old subdivision, and is definitely not a business, nor have I ever run a business out of my home. An Experian rep told me that well, once upon a time the Post Office must have verified that this was a business address and there is "no way we can change it." To quote RW, that's just big green donkey [EXPLETIVE DELETED]. [Note to RW: If you have a copyright on that phrase, my apologies.] I can't wait for the IRS to come knocking on my door to collect the taxes from that phantom business I'm running out of my home.