Experian Fico score...where do I get the real one?

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Well, with us, it was when the mortgage broker handed the reports over and said, "Here are your scores, so here are your rates."

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Exactly. So late that it's like playing blackjack. If the consumer can purchase the scores at any time, aren't the lender scores merely verification?

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Ah, now I understand what you are saying.

Yes, back when we could buy all three of our FICO's, and when TU98 was still more frequently used, it was great to go into the process already knowing where you stood.

Don't many people get an initial score early in the process, before paying umpty-ump fees, to know where they stand?

I'm certainly not defending the current state of affairs. I think it should be mandated by law that consumers can have access to their three FICO scores, including TU04, even if we have to pay for them. Periodically, elected officials announce that they're going to look into this, and then it quietly goes away. Perhaps there needs to be more noise from consumers on this. A lot more noise.

[marty56]

Even if we can't see or EX score, a copy of all 3 CRs, a TU and EQ FICO score and this forum should cover all bases.  I don't buy the arugument that we are at FICO's mercy just because we can't see our EX score.

As I have said many times, focus on the content of your CR and the scores will take care of themselves.

[JudiB]

haulingthescoreup says:

Don't many people get an initial score early in the process, before paying umpty-ump fees, to know where they stand?

I'm certainly not defending the current state of affairs. I think it should be mandated by law that consumers can have access to their three FICO scores, including TU04, even if we have to pay for them. Periodically, elected officials announce that they're going to look into this, and then it quietly goes away. Perhaps there needs to be more noise from consumers on this. A lot more noise.

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THAT was what I've been making all this fuss about!!!  What good does it do you to have that information later in the process...you want BEFORE you shop so you know where you stand.  Particularly at a time when things are changing so fast...and when there are, as we now know, so many unscrupulous lenders out there!!!!  The key words here are transparency and disclosure.  Right now, that's not what we're getting!

I'm beating the drum!  I've already sent out messages to some of the lenders I know to start actively put this in their correspondence and newsletters that go out to their realtor and client mailing lists and plan to blog about it on my own website as well as Trulia and Zillow and others.

INFORMED IS EMPOWERED!!!!

[vanillabean]

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@JudiB wrote:

THAT was what I've been making all this fuss about!!!

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Right. But what is consumer protection? That you know your score before you in good faith can't pull out? Or to be sure that the lender scores are correct? Or both?

[vanillabean]

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@marty56 wrote:

Even if we can't see or EX score, a copy of all 3 CRs, a TU and EQ FICO score and this forum should cover all bases.

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I can easily imagine a middle score case of EQ and TU 98 being above the cutoff amd TU 04 and EX being below.

[JudiB]

my-own-fico writes:

Right. But what is consumer protection? That you know your score before you in good faith can't pull out? Or to be sure that the lender scores are correct? Or both?

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To me, consumer protection would be (1) consumer has direct access to ALL the FICO scores (assuming THOSE are the scores upon which the lender is basing their rates) so that the consumer knows BEFORE they commit to accept a rate exactly what the parameters of that rate would be.  If lender stipulates you must have a 760 TU FICO (or EX FICO, etc.) to get a 4.5% rate, consumer should have access to an independent (outside the lender control) means of determining what their TU FICO (or EX FICO, or whatever) score is so they know what sort of rate SHOULD be available to them, and (2) because FICO is what lenders are using, and because FICO is what the primary reporting agencies had been selling to consumers for so long, the fact that "credit score" on those sites (and their sister sites) should clearly stipulate that the "scores" being offered are not FICO and are not the scores being used by lenders!

Like THAT'S ever going to happen!  Which means it's up to us, as consumers, to beat the drum whenever, where ever possible.

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous-own-fico wrote:

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I can easily imagine a middle score case of EQ and TU 98 being above the cutoff amd TU 04 and EX being below.

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That can happen if your scores are borderline in the first place. I advise folks (and am routinely ignored) not to even consider buying a house with scores.in the 600,620,640 range. That's cutting it much too close. Wait a year or 2 and bring your scores into the 680, 690, 700 range at the very least. That way at least score wise you know you are good to go in most cases.

[llecs]

TU especially.....I pulled the mortgage trigger on 12/4 and you can see in the siggy below the difference between TU98 and TU04. It was totally opposite for DW. Her TU04 was higher by over 50 points!

[killercreditbuilder]

if you go to credit krama .com and they have a pre approve persona loan there that i filled out i was denyed buy the sent me email with my real experain score of 657 i pay for experian so called score it said 715 that major diff also my credit one card offers experian score it is 660 on there so real close