@drave199 wrote:
Now to my question. When i applied for that dirt bike loan, i asked what my score was who they used. She said it was transunion and it was 825. I thought that was awesom. about 5-6 months later, i decided to apply for a credit line increase on my student card, seeing how i wasnt ging to close it. I got approved and it is now $2600. When I recieved the letter from BofA telling me all about the credit line increase, it said my transunion score they used was 777. I imagine for it to drop a few percentage points is normal for it to drop 48 in just 6 months seems odd. I pulled my free annual credit report just to make sure there werent any mistakes and there wasnt. Im no expert but is this normal?
Not enough info on your specific situation but probably yes. There isn't just one scoring model used by creditors. It's not just the CRA that matters but the model as well. Even FICO doesn't have just one model -- see also the Understanding FICO Scoring subforum and its stickies. Odds are that your bike loan and your CLI did not use the same FICO model. On top of that, there were certainly data changes between one score and the other.
Make sure you always consider the specific model when referencing scores and do not assume different models to be equivalent. It's not just that their scoring ranges can differ but they evalaute report data differently. Consider the new thread on the FICO 9 model in this subforum and how people are finding that their scores differ from FICO 8 as just one example of how models can differ.
Even without knowing the models you can't just assume what should be based on time. In 6 months one's scores could significantly improve, see little to no change or significantly decrease. It all depends on one's credit profile and how the various factors
http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx
add up and how the specific model evaluates the report data. Everyone's profle isn't the same. Those with thin profiles and/or profiles with issues may see bigger impact from some changes than those with thicker profiles in good standing.
@drave199 wrote:
Just today i signed up on here to check my current scores as i am thinking about applying for a car loan soon. Currently my Fico 9 scores are Equifax-770 Transunion-772 Experian-784. (not sure if i should be using the Fico 9?)
You should consider any scoring model's relevance to a given creditor/product. In other words, if a creditor/product uses a TU FICO 8 then you can only reference a TU FICO 8. An EX FICO 8 Bankcard is not relevant to that creditor/product nor would any score based on a CRA other than TU and based on a model other than FICO 8.
AFAIK no creditor has adopted FICO 9 just yet.
@drave199 wrote:
Im not really complaining about these scores but i expected these to be higher.
On what basis? Educate yourself on how credit is assessed before setting expectations. If you're not aware of the different scoring models then you're probabyl not quite where you need to be in order to say what your scores should be. The models are assessing your report data as they should. It's your understanding of them that isn't in line with the models. Those are good scores.
@drave199 wrote:
I wonder if its because my credit history is still pretty short?
That definitely plays a part. Keep in mind that building credit is a long, slow process. You're still just starting out. Get yourself in the right mindset and be prepared to be in this for the long haul. The popular saying is that it's a marathon, not a sprint.
@drave199 wrote:
Am I overthinking this?
No, just not aware of the details that are known. We don't know all the specifics of any of the scoring models or underwriting criteria for specific creditors/products, however, there is still a bit of information out there that would help you understand better. Don't overlook the subforums,. the stickies and even other discussions as resources. Topics like scores are very common.
