Score Fluctuations

[Anonymous]

I just signed up for the CCT and all my scores are significantly higher there than on CK, capital one tracker, Mint , credit.com, credit seasame and any other free credit monitoring site. I thought cap one would be more legit so idk where to go on CCT all my scores from the high 590s- and lowest is 586 but on other tools one of my scores is a 536 and its the same on two sites so i feel like I should go by that one. I recently had my credit pulled to rent an apartment and they told me my EQ was 531 which is close to what CK and cap one say but no where near whats on CCT. So who has the better numbers, i rather keep my 15 dollars if its not going to be accurate. 

[ddemari]

Credit Check Total does give you your EQ, EX and TU Fico 08 credit scores monthly. 

I can have a 760 credit score on credit.com, creditkarma and CreditSesame, but my EX Fico is 692, EQ 688, and TU 722. 

Some people say that those industry created scores are used more than we think in lending and I think that may be true in some instances. But if I were rebuilding and trying to get my credit in the good zone, I would focus on my Fico credit scores as they are the most used. 

I was recently helping a friend with her rebuild. We got her credit.com Vantage Score, 605. CreditKarma scores, EQ/TU 588 and 609. 

Then I pulled all three of her fico reports from myfico. She was at 460 to 475 across all three. While none of these scores are good, you should use those educational sites to monitror your credit and for advice but dont rely on their scores. 

[Anonymous]

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@ddemari wrote:

Credit Check Total does give you your EQ, EX and TU Fico 08 credit scores monthly. 

I can have a 760 credit score on credit.com, creditkarma and CreditSesame, but my EX Fico is 692, EQ 688, and TU 722. 

Some people say that those industry created scores are used more than we think in lending and I think that may be true in some instances. But if I were rebuilding and trying to get my credit in the good zone, I would focus on my Fico credit scores as they are the most used. 

I was recently helping a friend with her rebuild. We got her credit.com Vantage Score, 605. CreditKarma scores, EQ/TU 588 and 609. 

Then I pulled all three of her fico reports from myfico. She was at 460 to 475 across all three. While none of these scores are good, you should use those educational sites to monitror your credit and for advice but dont rely on their scores. 

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oh wow thats a broad jump. Mine are within range of what Myfico used to say, i previously had myfico for about 6 months but now when I log in I cant even see my old credit reports. I thought I paid 40 bucks for those and that they'd always be there just not the monitoring service

[Anonymous]

CK, Credit.com, CapOne credit Tracker, Credit Sesame - those are all FAKOs.

CCT is actual Fico8 scores - therefore the most accurate.

That being said - mine are all within about 20-25 points of each other.   I use the FAKO sites to monitor the reports not the scores.   I use CCT to monitor my scores.

[Anonymous]

You are looking at it wrong. All of the scores are correct.
There are many scoring models. Hundreds. I believe someone totaled 51 or so versions of FICO scores alone. Each is correct for it's model.
A score is a snapshot calculation of your credit file using an algorithm known as a scoring model.
A TU Auto enhanced FICO 4 will almost never duplicate the score of a EQ Vantage 2.0 and you cannot calculate one from another.
FICO 8 provided on MyFICO and CCT are probably the most used by lenders, which is why you want to know what they are. However, myFICO provides something like 18 FICO scores alone.
A mortgage lender will be looking at mortgage enhanced scoring models, an auto dealer, auto enhanced.
A credit score is just a number that calculates a risk score for each type of lender to see how you rate. Also, differing models have different scoring ranges.
You can look at the sticky posted at the top of the FICO scoring subforum called ' The many versions of FICO..." and 'The difference of scores' or something like that for more information.

[Anonymous]

Awesome reply, Semyaz!  Only one tiny tweak to your thinking for the future.  You write:

"A mortgage lender will be looking at mortgage enhanced scoring models, an auto dealer, auto enhanced."

And by extension, it would follow that a bankcard issuer would be using bankcard enhanced.

But that's not always true.  Some auto dealers use the FICO classic flavor, rather than the "enhanced" flavor FICO targets their industry with.  Same for bankcard issuers.

Aside from that tiny caveat, however, you made a great reply!!!  You are joining Takeshi in his lonely campaign to correct the fundamental mistake that underlies the extremely common question of Which Score Is The RIGHT One?

[Anonymous]

Thanks CreditGuyInDixie.

You are, again, correct. I was trying to abreviate a lengthy subject and did leave out a good portion of it.

The important idea is that neither apples nor oranges are equal to a cup of sugar or a pound of sand. The scoring model used by the lender when they run your credit is what your result with that lender will be.

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You are looking at it wrong. All of the scores are correct.

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Correct only within the confines of the specific credit review that is being done. Since ~90% of the credit objectives here on myFICO are related to standard credit cards, the FICO 08 models (std myFICO, and CCT) are the only scores relevant to those discussions.

Yes, other models exist, and in their little garden, each score has validity. The scope of those gardens are very small, and so those who try to rely on CK, CS, and many others for free can be disappointed. When a poster asks a question about "what are my chances" for a particular credit card, knowing CK, CS, Creditdotcom is immediately dismissed, for a reason; The members of myFICO can't relate to those scores because they aren't reliable reference points to common experience.

[Anonymous]

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@NRB525 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

You are looking at it wrong. All of the scores are correct.

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Correct only within the confines of the specific credit review that is being done. Since ~90% of the credit objectives here on myFICO are related to standard credit cards, the FICO 08 models (std myFICO, and CCT) are the only scores relevant to those discussions.

Yes, other models exist, and in their little garden, each score has validity. The scope of those gardens are very small, and so those who try to rely on CK, CS, and many others for free can be disappointed. When a poster asks a question about "what are my chances" for a particular credit card, knowing CK, CS, Creditdotcom is immediately dismissed, for a reason; The members of myFICO can't relate to those scores because they aren't reliable reference points to common experience.

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Thanks so much for all of the clarification. I feel a little better knowing that the "important" scores are the higher ones

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I thought cap one would be more legit

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Always consider the scoring model (and CRA) and relevance to a given creditor.  Let's take a look at CO's site:

https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/benefits/credit-tracker/

Note this:

Where does this score come from?
Your Credit Tracker score is calculated based on the TransUnion New Account Model. The model utilizes information in your TransUnion credit report, which may include your bill pay history, amount of available credit, number and age of open accounts, recent credit activity, etc. Credit Tracker provides an educational score courtesy of TransUnion, one of three nationwide credit bureaus, and uses only credit report information from the TransUnion database.

CO says it's an "educational score" which is a euphemism for "creditors don't use this score in their decisions".  The TransUnion New Account score they provide is not used by any creditors so it really doesn't have any relevance to any creditor's decision making -- i.e not "legit".

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@Anonymous wrote:

but on other tools one of my scores is a 536 and its the same on two sites so i feel like I should go by that one.

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Yeah, don't do that.  I can find VantageScore 3.0 on multiple sites but that doesn't mean that it's the scoring model I should use just because I ran into it a couple of times.  As far as I know none of my creditors use VantageScore 3.0.  That said, there are creditors that use that scoring model.

If you want to know what score a creditor will pull for you then you need to know the model and CRA used by the creditor and then see if you can get that score.  If a creditor uses a EQ FICO 8 in their decision then get an EQ FICO 8.  Do not get an EQ FICO 8 Bankcard.  Do not get a TU FICO 8.  Keep in mind that the next creditor may use a different model and a different CRA.

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@NRB525 wrote:

Correct only within the confines of the specific credit review that is being done. Since ~90% of the credit objectives here on myFICO are related to standard credit cards, the FICO 08 models (std myFICO, and CCT) are the only scores relevant to those discussions. 

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It all depends on whatever specific scoring model a given creditor/product uses.  The "correctness" of a score is not defined by whether or not is mimics FICO 8.  While there are FAKO's that are intended to be handed out as FICO substitutes there are also FICO and FAKO models that are not designed to replicate FICO 8.  FICO 8 is the most common but it is not the only model used for credit card decisions and certainly not the only for other credit products.  FICO 8 is probably the best single model to rely on if one is looking for a simple solution but there will be instances where it is not relevant.

Additionally, credit cards are not the only concern on myFICO.  Take a look at the subfora.  I only tend to hit General and Credit Cards (if I'm in here it's a really slow day) but myFICO users are concerned with mortgages, auto loans, etc as well.

People tend to oversimplify and look for one "accurate" (or best, real etc) score but accuracy all depends on the intended target and different scoring models aren't aimed at the same target because of the differences in their algorithms and scales.  Any scoring model is accurate but only for its own model.  One cannot use a score generated by one model to determine a score generated by a different model.