Too many delinquent or derogatory accounts

VantageScore code numbers

Code numbers can differ by bureau and score version. The wording of the statement is what to match.

What puts this reason on your score

VantageScore's explanation says you've had too many accounts with payments at least 30 days late, or accounts a lender reported as derogatory. A stretch of tight money often produces it: a few cards and a car loan each slip during the same few months.

The model treats the number of troubled accounts as a signal of its own. That's why this code often shows up next to 'Delinquent or derogatory status on accounts is too recent' after a rough patch. One problem spread across five accounts reads worse here than one problem on one account.

What to check on your credit report

• Count the accounts with any late mark or negative status on each report. The counts can differ by bureau.
• The same debt listed twice, such as the original account and a collection both showing a balance
• Closed accounts. A paid, closed card still shows its late history.

What you can do about it

• Get every account current and keep it there.
• Dispute duplicates, and accounts that aren't yours, with the bureau that shows them.
• Don't close old accounts to hide lates. Closing doesn't erase the history, and it can raise your utilization.

The free drop off calculator can help with this step.

How soon a change can show

Each negative item ages off on its own schedule, up to seven years from when it first went delinquent. Until then, the code weakens as months of on-time payments are reported on every account.

If you are applying for a mortgage

A mortgage underwriter looks at the pattern. Several lates bunched in one bad stretch, followed by a clean record since, is easier to explain than lates scattered across years, so write down what happened and when.

Guides that go deeper

• How a late payment affects your credit score, using FICO's own numbersFICO's own simulation shows a 30-day late can cost a 793 score far more than a 607 score. Why that happens, and what FICO weighs about each late payment.
• When the same debt shows up twice on your credit reportOne debt can legitimately appear as two tradelines, but only one should show a balance. How to tell a normal pair from a duplicate, and how to dispute it.
• How long late payments stay on your credit report, with the date mathLate payments can be reported for up to 7 years, and paying the account doesn't shorten that. Which date starts the clock, and how to find yours.
• How to read the payment history grid on your credit reportEach account on your report has a month-by-month strip of OK, 30, 60, 90, and other codes. What each one means, which marks are errors, and what to check.
• What your credit score reason codes are telling youReason codes list what held your score back the most, in order. What the common ones mean, which you can act on, and which to leave alone.