OK so you understand this and make no mistake. as i know people in general have a hard time understanding fico.
you were correct.
so with the 3 bureaus.
Equifax. they have fico.
Experian. they have fico
transunion. they have fico.
So thats 3 fico scores there. no one says a lender has to pull a specific one. could be either.
and they all with be different as some lenders report to all 3 bureaus. others just report to 1 or 2.
therefore slightly different information on you on each bureau. hence. slightly different scores.
so far 3 scores. right?
Wrong.
there are different versions of fico too
Bank Card versions auto enhanced.
Mortgage version.
different year types.
Fico 98
98 like windows 98
fico 04 like windows xp
fico 08 like windows 08
fico 9 not currently being used. but the next great thing
so all in all . there are between 49 and 53 fico scores on each person.
no one knows which the lender will use.
but the one constant is the data in your report.
what is good and what is bad.
This is all you as indiviual can control . regardless what the lender pulls . if more good than bad. good score. if more bad. bad score. if little bad. medium score. simple
Not rocket science. so before you apply for something. try and find which version your lender is using and also which bureau they are pulling from.
This will give you a guide to know about what your fico score is. sorry for long answer. but only way to explain this to you. Good luck. 