FICO Score Variations from MyFICO.com to Broker's Report

[MarineVietVet]

Hello and welcome.

One thing I will ask is where did you get those scores? No one has been able to pull their own Experian FICO score since February of 2009. Creditors can pull Experian and also there is a CU in Pennsylvania that supplies that information to it's members only. You can only buy true FICO scores at a few places. One place is here at myfico. I suggest you do an internet search for "myfico discount codes" to save a little money. You can also purchase your Equifax score at www.equifax.com (If you look hard enough) and your Transunion score at www.transunioncs.com.

There are a myriad of places out there that will sell you a "credit score" but only a few have the scores used by most lenders (FICO scores). If you don't see the word "FICO" from anyone trying to sell a "score" then run away very fast. Those are called FAKO scores around here and cannot in any way be compared or correlated to FICO scores.

So the scores sold at True Credit, the Experian website, freecreditreport.com, freescore.com, freecreditscore.com etc.etc are not the real deal.

From a BK years ago to:
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
6/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

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[Anonymous]

Oh my, I've been scammed!  I have a subscription I've been paying $15 a month for which gives me one credit report per month with all 3 credit scores and all 3 credit reports.  In addition, it is supposed to send me an e-mail update anytime there is a change to any of these.  And included is identity theft information.  I got it at 3-In-One True Credit.  The credit reports had all my information on them and it was up to date.  Thank you for any education on this matter than you can provide me.  I have cancelled this service.  Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Many auto lenders use an auto-enhanced version credit score, that can differ significantly from other versions of your credit scores. Also different scoring models use different ranges. The most common Fico scoring models have a 300-850 range, but other scoring models can go lower, or as high as 990, and there can be variances of 100-200 points from one score to another. Also, an auto lender will generally only pull a credit score based on one credit reporting agency, not all three. Often the CRA chosen depends on geographical location or other factors. They don't pull three reports and use the lowest score.

(Edit - Just saw your reply above. True Credit packages the Vantage score with their service. Vantage scores have a range of 501 to 990, so it's very common for a Vantage score to be 140-200 points higher than a corresponding Fico score used by a majority of lenders.)

American General is considered a consumer finance company which can be a negative factor in scoring. In addition, having a title loan on a previous car might be a negative factor when an auto-enhanced score is computed.

Many people aren't aware that sale of an auto is conditional on final credit approval, and it's not unusual for some customers to find out after they have driven off the car lot that credit was denied and they need to obtain alternate financing or return the vehicle. Of course, car salesmen don't spend a lot of time explaining such technicalities.

In the contract, it should have a section that describes the ability and limitations for the dealer to cancel. A 10-day period is fairly common. What can happen, for example, is the financing entity might not be able to confirm income or some other piece of data until several days after the original transaction, especially if the original sale was on a weekend.

If you have a relationship with a credit union, or want to start one, you might see if one can approve auto financing for you. CUs tend to have pretty good auto loan rates, and are much more straightforward with their customers than many auto dealers ...

[Lel]

To add to what marinevietvet has already mentioned, which is accurate, there are a couple other things worth mentioning.

First, in addition the the "plain vanilla" FICO scores, there are also industry-specific scores.  For car buying, lenders will often use the so-called "auto enhanced" credit scores, which give added weight to previous auto loans.  When I bought a Toyota last year, the dealer pulled Experian Auto Risk v2 version of FICO.  I suppose it is possible that those car title loans are weighing on your auto enhanced FICO score.

Second, while it's true that you didn't realize that the TrueCredit scores aren't the scores used by most lenders, they still give you a general sense of your credit standing.  Plus, it offered some other useful services, including regular credit reports (which aren't affected by the credit scoring formula that was used), credit monitoring, and identity theft protection.  So, it wasn't all bad, and you're not the first (not certainly won't be the last) to believe that the TC scores were useful for credit application purposes.

Third, the thing that I'm most worried about is the sequence of events with the car dealer.  A well-described scam is exactly as you have described: you go to the dealer, apply for credit, are told that you're conditionally approved, and you drive off the lot.  You enjoy the car for a couple days (sometimes a couple weeks), get really used to it, and then hear that your credit application was actually denied.  You are then given the choice of turning the car back in or agreeing to financing terms that are not favorable to you.  By this time, some car buyers are so smitten with their new vehicle that they agree to the lousy terms.

In this day and age, auto financing approvals are pretty instantaneous.  There should be no reason why the dealer couldn't have given you firm financing terms at the time of purchase.

Lastly, another dishonest sales tactic is for dealers to lie about the credit scores they pull.  That's why it's always good to go armed with a copy of your credit report and score - and with financing from an outside entity like your bank.

[MarineVietVet]

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@Lel wrote:

To add to what marinevietvet has already mentioned, which is accurate, there are a couple other things worth mentioning.

First, in addition the the "plain vanilla" FICO scores, there are also industry-specific scores.  For car buying, lenders will often use the so-called "auto enhanced" credit scores, which give added weight to previous auto loans.  When I bought a Toyota last year, the dealer pulled Experian Auto Risk v2 version of FICO.  I suppose it is possible that those car title loans are weighing on your auto enhanced FICO score.

Second, while it's true that you didn't realize that the TrueCredit scores aren't the scores used by most lenders, they still give you a general sense of your credit standing.  Plus, it offered some other useful services, including regular credit reports (which aren't affected by the credit scoring formula that was used), credit monitoring, and identity theft protection.  So, it wasn't all bad, and you're not the first (not certainly won't be the last) to believe that the TC scores were useful for credit application purposes.

Third, the thing that I'm most worried about is the sequence of events with the car dealer.  A well-described scam is exactly as you have described: you go to the dealer, apply for credit, are told that you're conditionally approved, and you drive off the lot.  You enjoy the car for a couple days (sometimes a couple weeks), get really used to it, and then hear that your credit application was actually denied.  You are then given the choice of turning the car back in or agreeing to financing terms that are not favorable to you.  By this time, some car buyers are so smitten with their new vehicle that they agree to the lousy terms.

In this day and age, auto financing approvals are pretty instantaneous.  There should be no reason why the dealer couldn't have given you firm financing terms at the time of purchase.

Lastly, another dishonest sales tactic is for dealers to lie about the credit scores they pull.  That's why it's always good to go armed with a copy of your credit report and score - and with financing from an outside entity like your bank.

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A very good point which I always seem to forget.

Another thing I forgot to add is that although the scores from these places are useless the reports themselves are accurate. Even then you don't have to pay for a report. By law everyone is entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three CRA's. You probably already know this but many people still don't. You can get those free reports at annualcreditreport.com.

From a BK years ago to:
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
6/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

Credit Scoring 101
Common Abbreviations
Frequently Requested Threads
Whats In Your FICO Score

[Anonymous]

I thought I had covered all my bases.  I knew (I thought) what my 3 scores were and told the dealership before I applied.  I did not know there were industry specific scores.  I have listened to Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman for YEARS and no one has ever mentioned that.  My scores were 750 and above on the 3 I got from True Credit.  When the dealer told me his showed 609, I questioned it.  He then told me Experian alone had 31 to choose from.  I suppose each was specific to an industry.  I signed all the paperwork on Friday afternoon about 6:00 p.m.  The finance manager said it had been approved, I signed all the papers and drove off with my car.  Something didn't feel right about it, so I called the salesman and asked if everything was in order.  That's when he told me they were having trouble getting the loan thru. "We thought it had been approved but now they are kicking it back."  I said "Well, do you still have my car? And can we unwind the whole transaction because if I will want my car back if the new one can't get a loan."  I am giving them the benefit of the doubt because they got it to go thru today (the last day of the month) and it was the same interest rate but 5 months shorter on the term.  It is a very large, very reputable Toyota dealership that I have used satisfactorily for about 25 years.  I hope they didn't gouge me on the interest rate.

I was prepared for the extended warranty speel and I dodged that one.  Thanks for all your help.  I wish I had known these things before I went car shopping.  My older Toyota had rolled over 100,000 miles and could not pass emissions standards.  I could not renew the tags.  I consulted with a repair shop and was told they would have to tear the car down to find where the problem was and that could be very costly.  He said there was no way to know what it would cost until they tore into it.  Based on the fact that 3 different places had told me my car was worth about $3,000, it needed new tires and an oil change plus the repairs.  I opted to buy a new one rather than risk the cost of repair.  Thank you all so much for your information.

[MarineVietVet]

May I ask what interest rate you ended up with?

For what it's worth I know I get taken every time I buy a car. I just try my best to minimize the damage as much as possible.  

From a BK years ago to:
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
6/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

Credit Scoring 101
Common Abbreviations
Frequently Requested Threads
Whats In Your FICO Score

[Anonymous]

I didn't have much of a downpayment and they insisted my credit score, the Beacon 5.0 auto industry option, was 609.  I ended up signing for 22 percent.  I plan to make payments for a few months, save up some money, then finance it with my credit union.  Hopefully, my Beacon score will increase or the credit union will use my regular FICO score.  If that doesn't work, I am going to make massive principal payments to decrease the outrageous interest.  Now I know why Dave Ramsey says credit is bad!

[MarineVietVet]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I didn't have much of a downpayment and they insisted my credit score, the Beacon 5.0 auto industry option, was 609.  I ended up signing for 22 percent.  I plan to make payments for a few months, save up some money, then finance it with my credit union.  Hopefully, my Beacon score will increase or the credit union will use my regular FICO score.  If that doesn't work, I am going to make massive principal payments to decrease the outrageous interest.  Now I know why Dave Ramsey says credit is bad!

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Dave Ramsey has some good things to say but I disagree that credit in and of itself is bad. Credit is a tool and a means to an end but like any tool it can do much harm if not understood and used correctly. Knowledge is such an important part of credit use and money management. You can never learn too much about credit and debt. I'm convinced no one can ever know everything out there but we can try. 

Have you not already learned what not to do next time? You now know about different types of scores that you will carry forward. Knowledge, knowledge, knowledge. If you stick around here you'll be amazed at what you can learn.

I hope you will keep reading and keep posting.

Edited to add: My CU doesn't use the auto enhanced FICO and perhaps you can find one also.

From a BK years ago to:
9/09 EX pulled by lender 802
3/10 EQ- 800
6/10 TU -772

You can do the same thing with hard work

Credit Scoring 101
Common Abbreviations
Frequently Requested Threads
Whats In Your FICO Score

[BungalowMo]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I didn't have much of a downpayment and they insisted my credit score, the Beacon 5.0 auto industry option, was 609.  I ended up signing for 22 percent.  I plan to make payments for a few months, save up some money, then finance it with my credit union.  Hopefully, my Beacon score will increase or the credit union will use my regular FICO score.  If that doesn't work, I am going to make massive principal payments to decrease the outrageous interest.  Now I know why Dave Ramsey says credit is bad!

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Can I ask, why didn't you finance through your CU to begin with?  They traditionally have better rates than a bank.

I have to address this as well:  Dave Ramsey can afford to say credit is bad...he can afford to say "pay cash for everything" & a FICO score is an "I love debt score".  He is a millionaire...and 99% of the general population is NOT.  That basic mindset is not realistic for the rest of us.  We have to educate ourselves, learn what is and is not a sound decision regarding our finances, and ask questions when we are not sure. 

To have access to things we want, like a home and a vehicle or two, or emergency $$ on the road, most of us need credit.  There is nothing wrong with credit.  It all depends on how you utilize it.  The very most important lesson I have learned (besides timely payments every month) is that I had to stop looking at my credit as an extension of my salary.  I look at it now, more as a "loan, until payday" especially if I have the full, charged amount in my checking acct.  As soon as the balance posts, I pay it in full.

At some point in time, I may need a big chunk of one of those cards, should I have a problem with my vehicle while travelling.  Having access to that kind of backup is a nice thing.  And I won't beat myself up if this is one of those times where it may take several months to pay off.  That card gives me 0% interest for a year on auto related charges.