will the real score please stand up?

[mamabear]

I'm so confused!  My bank says they use Equifax.  In Feb. they pulled score and said it was 597.  Now, I know this is April and things change but actually not much has changed.  Truecredit says my equifax score is 568 which I have now learned is a FAKO.  Equifax.com Scorewatch says 481?  Will MyFico say differently?  What is the REAL score?  What will MOST lenders see?  I guess I just don't get it!!!! 

[Anonymous]

Your ScoreWatch score is your FICO score for Equifax.  It is not a FAKO.  If you pull all three credit reports through myFICO, those will be your FICO scores and will be what most creditors use when determining credit worthiness.

[mamabear]

Thanks....now I hate to be so dumb about it but I'm still a little confused.  So, I go to a bank, and they pull my score...will they see 3 scores and go by the median score?  Will different banks go by different CB scores?  So, to get a real good idea, I should pay to get myfico scores on this site?

[Anonymous]

I would suggest you pull all three scores at least a couple of times a year so you know where you stand.  This is because, between the three credit bureaus, your scores may be drastically different.  This is because different creditors report to different bureaus and do not always report to all three.  It's good to know all three of your scores and what is on your reports.

As for which bureau a creditor pulls, that varies as well.  Don't think just because someone says "Credit Card Company X predominantly pulls Trans Union".  This is inaccurate because the bureau a creditor pulls varies by the company and the region in which you live.  What is common for people in Montana may not be the same for folks in Oregon.

I have always been told, heard and read that for a mortgage your FICO score is used, all three credit reports are pulled and they use the median score.  This also has been recently challenged on this board (as different scores are popping up that different from FICO) and I was just told recently by my bank that they don't do this.  My bank uses Equifax for loan determinations, mortgage and otherwise.  They pull the other reports but base their decision on the EQ report.

I used a lot of advice from this board and two or three others as to which CC I should apply for to get my revolving line of credit.  The only thing I managed to do was ding my reports up a little with inquiries and have a FICO drop as a result.  I eventually got the FIRST card I applied for, however, so that's a good thing.

I would suggest getting it straight from the horse's mouth.  If you want to know how a particular bank determines if they will grant a loan, call them up and ask them point blank.  It could save you a few points on your FICO scores.

Message Edited by HouseHunter on 05-05-2007 08:27 PM

[Anonymous]

mamabear,

They are ALL real scores. It's simple a question of who is using which and for what. FICOs and FAKOs tend to track together. When a FAKO rises the corresponding FICO tends to rise.

Ask your bank straight out whether they are using your EQ FICO score or an EQ Vantage (FAKO) score.

[Anonymous]

Is it best to no your FICO score and your FAKO score???

[Anonymous]

IMHO, knowing both is a good thing. If one of the scores, for whatever reason, is tracking low then you probably wanna know about it. Murphy's Law being what it is.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Noah. This stuff is so confusing.  Hopefully I'll learn some good helpful advise on here.

[Tuscani]

Your bank should be using FICO. I am not aware of any banks that are using Vantage scores.

[Anonymous]

I use Truecredit (TU) for the sole purpose of monitoring changes. Sadly, the scores given there are vastly different from FICO. For instance....and this is no exaggeration...as of this morning my EX score is a full 103 points HIGHER here (MyFico) than TU. The other 2 actually report about 20 points higher than MyFico. I was very happy when I pulled my FICO, expecting it to be similar, when in fact it was much better. So, as others have said throughout these threads, trust only FICO for points, use others just to monitor changes in your file. The bottom line for me is that I want to see what a creditor sees when they pull my score which is why I signed up with these folks.