Credit Score Variances

[Anonymous]

Hi Everyone!

I'm hoping that someone can help me understand the variances in the credit scoring. Here is some history before I get to the meat of my question.

About 4 years ago I moved to Chicago on a new assignment with my company. I made the move knowing it would be difficult financially, but in the long term it would pay off(and it has). In the process I got in debt and did not handle it very well, it caused a few collections and I have since then paid them off. I went shopping for a new car last year and had a horrible time and in the process discovered my credit score was in the low 500's. Ouch. Then to boot I was dropped by my only major credit card. After that I started paying attention and signed up for Truecredit by TU and have been working on my credit since. I went shopping for a new car again feeling confident because according to TrueCredit my scores were: TU:701 - EX:663 - EQ: 672. I was denied. I then decided to sign up with myFico and see if there were any variances. The credit report shows the same by it shows my score as 618! Thoughts?

Thanks!

[llecs]

Welcome to the forums!

While the report info from TrueCredit is good, the score unfortunately are not FICO scores. They are a non-FICO score we call a FAKO. Specifically, the FAKO score from TC is called VantageScore. Vantage factors in stuff the FICO does not, and vice-versa. The formulas are totally different and their score runs from 501-990, whereas FICO's is 300-850. For most, their VantageScore is higher than their FICO by a fair amount, though mine oddly runs 30-40 points lower than my FICO score if pulled the same day.

Other than myFICO.com, you can get your EQ FICO from Equifax.com (it's hidden) or from your lender. Other than myFICO.com, you can also get your TU FICO from transunioncs.com (note the -cs) and from your lender. Finally, as of last year, Experian no longer allows consumers to pull their own EX FICO score, but you can get it from your lender or on your checking statement if you happen to have a checking account with a CU in PA called PSECU. Any other score from any other source are not FICO scores, but a knock-off we call FAKOs.

BTW, some lenders use a FICO score, as pulled from here, and yet others use a different FICO version called an auto-enhanced FICO score which weighs your score more towards your past auto-borrowing experience. In other words, your FICO score pulled from here and your score pulled from your lender may or may not match.