Privacy Guard?

[Anonymous]

I have been using privacyguard.com to get my FICO scores and reports, but I am wondering if their scores are FAKO? I've tried signing up for both myfico and CCT, but because Experian gives me "no score" neither one will actually work. PrivacyGuard is the only one that works that gives a FICO score.  But on PG my EQ score currently says 577, but I recently applied for an auto loan and got a letter in the mail from one of the lenders who didn't approve me showing my EQ FICO as 584. So which one is correct? I did get a car loan approval by the way, just with a different finance company. I'm just wondering why there is a difference between the two scores I'm seeing for EQ.

Also PrivacyGuard currently shows me a 512 score for EX while others are not able to give me a score for EX, including the EX website itself. So I'm wondering where that score is coming from?

I really wish I could just use myfico. I am willing to pay $30/month to monitor my reports while I am rebuilding. But it simply will not work since EX won't give me a score.

EDIT: I just checked PG out again and it is now showing no score on EX.  Still sure where the 512 even came from, but it's gone now even though it was there yesterday. Still confused about the EQ score differences though.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you want to know: are the scores at PrivacyGuard FICO scores?

I did not know the answer, so I googled that question.  The top link gave me the answer, though I had to click through a couple links.

https://www.privacyguard.com/credit-score.html

Here is the relevant text.  You'll see that they are not FICO scores.  Nor are they Vantage scores, which some lenders also use. Google knows everything. 

There are many different credit scoring companies, each with its own formula for calculating credit scores. In turn, each lender may not use the same score for determining a person's creditworthiness. PrivacyGuard provides members with access to their personal CreditXpert Credit Scores™. CreditXpert scores are based on the data contained in each of your credit reports, so they can provide a quick and accurate assessment of the strength of each of your credit files. Your CreditXpert® Scores™, although different from the scores lenders use, are intended to reflect common credit scoring practices. They are designed for educational purposes to help you understand your credit.

[Anonymous]

Great info! Thank you so much. I will try again with myfico once my newest accounts show up on EX, so I can get my real FICO scores. It was mentioned to me that I may need 6 months of active accounts to get a score with EX, if that's the case it should be this month since my student loans just turned 6 months old. But we will see if march brings something new! Thanks again for your help!

[Anonymous]

You may want to consider other options -- outside of the myFICO products and PG -- depending on your budget.  Some people (and I am one of them) hate paying money if he can find a workable solution that is free or almost free.  Depending on what you are looking for, there are a number of solutions out there that cost almost nothing.  The myFICO products cost $30 or more per month.

[Anonymous]

What other options could I be missing? I've tried CCT and gotten the same result as with myfico, wouldn't give me my scores because I have no EX score. I'm definitely interested in cheaper options that will give me my true FICO scores. I use CK and PG currently.

[Anonymous]

There is no way to rush becoming eligible for a true FICO score.  As you observe you will need an account that is at least six months old.

Getting your initial FICO scores (once eligible) can be done with the $1 trial at CCT.

Beyond that you'll need to think through what you want a credit monitoring service for.  You can get a free FICO 8 score and report at Experian each month here:

https://www.freecreditscore.com/

And you can track your general trends and improvement at Karma for free.  3-4 times a year you can supplement that with the $1 trial at CCT.  If you pull that on the exact same day you pull you Vantage scores at Karma, you will begin to get a sense of how your particular Vantage scores connect with your FICO 8 scores, and pretty soon may be able to make a reasonable guess as to what your FICO 8's are just by looking at your Vantage.

As you gradually apply for credit cards, you will find that your credit cards give you free FICO scores.  Discover and BOA give you TransUnion FICO 8.  Citi gives you EQ FICO 8 Bankcard Enhanced.  Amex and Chase give you Experian.  etc.