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How do I know which score is being used by which lender? Is it standardized or does it vary between lenders? THanks!
It varies by lender. The only way to be certain is to ask the lender:
What Fico score do you use and what credit reporting agency (CB) do you pull from - Equifax, TransUnion or Experian?.
If the lender uses a Fico score, pulling a 3B report will give you access to a full range of scores from each credit bureau - one of the few scores missing is Fico NextGen (used by PenFed but not many other creditors).
+1
For specifics you cant beat TT advice. For generalizations, google credit pulls database.
Good Luck
The only slight tweak I'd make to TT's advice -- and I am sure he'd agree -- is this. When you ask the lender, you are in fact asking a customer service rep for that lender. I.e. you are speaking with a human. And a lot of reps -- even if they are seemingly high ranking bankers -- don't know enough about FICO scores to give you the correct answer for their bank.
They might say "FICO" as an answer. But of course there's still several version numbers (FICO 8, 9, 04, etc.) and flavors (Classic, Auto-Enhanced, etc.) and bureaus (TU, EX, and EQ). So you as the consumer may have to go on to the conversation armed with a lot of knowledge so you can (with patience and pleasantness) walk the rep through his options -- help him give you the right answer.