My 720 score dropped 48 points over a $32 library fine

I paid a late fee on a book I forgot in my car for 6 weeks, and the library reported it to the collections agency. Found the notice buried in my credit karma alerts on Tuesday. Has anyone else gotten nailed by a tiny bill that ballooned into a collections mark?

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1 Comment

simontorres28d ago

Oh boy. I hate to be that guy, but 48 points is a lot for a single collections mark on an otherwise clean file. Usually something that small hits you for way less, like 15 to 25 points. If you lost 48, there's probably something else going on, maybe a missed payment on a card or a hard pull you forgot about. Also, a $32 fee usually has to go to a debt buyer and sit on your report for a couple months before it actually gets reported. You might be looking at a mix of two things hitting around the same time. Check your full credit report, not just credit karma, and see if there's another ding hiding in there.