Differences in Credit Reporting Companies

[Dagansinferno]

How can there be such a large discrepancy in reporting scores, and which is the best to "rely on" in terms of monitoring credit. I plan on buying a house soon, and this is pretty substantial. For instance, according to myFico, my Experian score is 713. But, Citi Identity Monitor lists it at 635!

Why would myFico and Citibank have two drastically different scores? Which is more "accurate" or reliable in terms if I was going to apply for credit soon? With all due respect, there's a massive difference if someone thought their Experian was 713 (myFico) when maybe it was really being pulled at 635 (Citi). We're talking huge differences in interest rates, loan amounts, etc...

As an FYI, my other two scores were fairly close: Equifax: 7 point difference (myFico site was higher); and TU: 7 point difference (Citi was higher). In the scheme of things a few point difference may not be earth shattering..but, 60-70 points+ is phenomenally huge.

Any help is appreciated. Regards.

[JM-AM]

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@Dagansinferno wrote:

How can there be such a large discrepancy in reporting scores, and which is the best to "rely on" in terms of monitoring credit. I plan on buying a house soon, and this is pretty substantial. For instance, according to myFico, my Experian score is 713. But, Citi Identity Monitor lists it at 635!

Why would myFico and Citibank have two drastically different scores? Which is more "accurate" or reliable in terms if I was going to apply for credit soon? With all due respect, there's a massive difference if someone thought their Experian was 713 (myFico) when maybe it was really being pulled at 635 (Citi). We're talking huge differences in interest rates, loan amounts, etc...

As an FYI, my other two scores were fairly close: Equifax: 7 point difference (myFico site was higher); and TU: 7 point difference (Citi was higher). In the scheme of things a few point difference may not be earth shattering..but, 60-70 points+ is phenomenally huge.

Any help is appreciated. Regards.

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First I believe you are mistaken as to your Experian score as MYFICO no longer offers Experian scores. If you have obtained your FICO Experian score through another process (mortgage broker, lender, etc etc) that is possible. But to clarify the difference in scores is the difference in a FAKO and FICO score.

While FAKO scores are useless for the most part some banks, lenders do have their own scoring systems. 

I would not pay much attention to any FAKO score.

[llecs]

Welcome!

Did you mean to say your Equifax score from myFICO was 713, as opposed to Experian? I ask because Experian blocked consumer access to your own FICO score a few years back. You can't buy it from anywhere, though your lender can still get it for your and there are some CUs out there that offer your Experian FICO as part of a benefit or service for being a member.

Citi's credit monitoring service (CMS) offers scores, but they are not FICO scores. We call these non-FICO scores "FAKOs". Specifically the FAKO offered by Citi's service is called a CreditXpert score. That score has a different score range than FICO and factors in stuff that FICO does not, and vice-versa. While there was a push by CreditXpert to have lenders use their scores, I don't know of any lenders anywhere that use them. It's more for entertainment value than anything.

Don't correlate a FAKO with a FICO. Sometimes you can have a FICO score go up and your FAKO down, and vice-versa, for the same event. There were times my FICO would jump 40-50 points and my FAKO drop, and there have been times where my FAKO increased 100+ and FICO remained the same. In fact, I have one FAKO right now, a CC-enhanced TransRisk score, that is about 150 points lower than my TU FICO when compared the exact same day. At one point, that score was 225 points lower, despite having virtuallya similar score range.

ETA....I'm a slow typer.

[Dagansinferno]

Thank you for the tips. I also saw the posting about various CMS; very interesting!

Just to reiterate, yes it was my Experian (from myFICO) that is listed at 713, whereas Citi Identity Monitor lists it at 635. So, for all intents-and-purposes which is closer to accurate? Since the information is coming from Citibank does it make it any more "closer to accurate?" That is to say, if I went an applied today for credit, is closer to the 713 mark or 640 mark?

It's funny...on one hand I get what's going on, but on the other I'm still kind of confused. In essence, do I cancel citi and stay with myFico, keep both. There's a point, imo, when the consumer can't reasonably afford to spend $100's a year (or $$$/month) to try and figure out which score is actually accurate. Through what I've read, I guess I'm just amazed more isn't done about this. People talk about "transparency" in reporting, but seems like we're getting less of it now...?

[Dagansinferno]

WOW. I'm very, very, sorry! I really got my information mixed up reporting wise. I sincerely apologize. If I could please get a "do-over" : )

So here I go again (on my own--going down the only road...anyways)... it was actually my Equifax not my Experian that increased. This information/report was from Experian.com for my 3 Bureau report.. Now, at the bottom of the report is details:

"About your PLUS Score:

The PLUS Score, with scores ranging from 330 to 830, is a user-friendly credit score model developed by Experian..."

So, then this just a FAKO? myFICO lists it at 654, so 654 is my actual score then not the 713.

My best for an accurate FICO indicator that lenders would use would be to subscribe to say the Equifax 3-in-1 Monitoring
with 4 FICO® Scores; and maybe something else? What does everyone else personally use to monitor their credit?

[Crashem]

Only worthwhile fico to buy is equifax fico from this website. Assume everything else is pretty inaccurate unless you get from lender. Assuming info is same on all three reports, I think you will find your fico for all three bureaus within 20-30 points of your equifax fico score from here. If equifax is good, then might be worth starting mortgage process to get accurate info.

[llecs]

PLUS scores are also FAKO scores and should be ignored, IMO. Experian used to say within their Terms and Conditions that it wasn't a FICO score and that their scores are for "educational purposes only". I was going to post a copy and paste and it looks like they softened their legalese to "It [PLUS score] is not used by lenders, but it is indicative of your overall credit risk."

However, even though the scores and advice offered is bad (in relation to FICO), the report info is good. You can get a general sense of what is and what is not reporting, balances, and so on. Many of us on here subscribe to a CMS so that we know what's happening on our reports without spending $20/report via myFICO. If you are looking to save $$$, and like the format via Experian, then know that USAA resells a similar Experian product. Instead of a one-time pull, for $12 and some change per month you can pull all 3 reports daily. You don't need to have served to join USAA. Anyone can subscribe to this service. Outside of that, there are a couple of others at $10/mo to $15/mo whereby you can pull all 3 reports daily. Like with all services out there, ignore the scores and advice.

In your mind, separate reports and scores. It's impossible to get all 3 FICO reports and scores together without the help of a lender (and an inquiry). And because the list is short for places to get your FICO score, focus on the reports only and then come back to myFICO to purchase a FICO report to know your score impact, if that's the goal.

I subscribe to the EQ 3-in-1 monitoring product. It does an OK job in monitoring of key info (e.g. new accounts, inquiries, etc.) and it does offer 4 EQ FICO scores you can pull at your own choosing. You don't get FICO scores for EX or TU.

[MarineVietVet]

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@llecs wrote:

PLUS scores are also FAKO scores and should be ignored, IMO. Experian used to say within their Terms and Conditions that it wasn't a FICO score and that their scores are for "educational purposes only". I was going to post a copy and paste and it looks like they softened their legalese to "It [PLUS score] is not used by lenders, but it is indicative of your overall credit risk."

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As of about a minute ago this was at the bottom of the first page of the EX website: Calculated on the PLUS Score model, your Experian Credit Score indicates your relative credit risk level for educational purposes and is not the score used by lenders.

So EX can't even get their disclaimers to match. 

[Dagansinferno]

Thanks! Hehe.

On a more serious note, I think I'll just stick to Identity Guard simply for credit monitoring and identity theft, then just pull the CR's when I need them and pay their costs. I don't have any collections, etc on my report. Just some high balances on credit cards I've been paying off and was wondering about the end result. Plan to refinance my car soon and buy a house next year. Just trying to plan ahead as accurately as possible. Interesting enough, though, I've been finding that Citi Monitor was pretty close to the MyFico/Score watch score, whereas the Experian website was way off compared to my actual Equifax FICO. For such a relatively simple concept, they sure do make it extraoridinarily difficult for everyone to be on the "same-level playing field." Was hoping some of the credit reform legislation maybe would have made things more uniform & consistent so-to-speak.

Ironic that for the "educational purposes" it can do more harm good...especially if someone thought it was their score, go apply for a loan, and their real FICO is 20,30, 50 points less than what they thought.