Is ScoreWatch really this useless?

[languedoctor]

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@llecs wrote:

 Many of us subscribe to a CMS outside of SW. As changes occur, then I come back to SW to pull a FICO report at the 30% discount vs. waiting the day or so for the alert.

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And that's assuming that the SW alert that comes a couple days later will even be up-to-date.

I think that part of my point is that "ScoreWatch" is not a very good name for the service that's being offered. Assuming that other alerts are more timely, then a more truth-in-advertising name might be "myFICO IdentityWatch" or "PrivacyGuard" or similar. Because the one thing that SW does *not* do very well is score watch.

[languedoctor]

What do you know -- the score power reports use outdated information as well.

I received an equifax alert yesterday that several accounts had updated. So I purchased a score report this am. No change from my previous report. No new information.

Called within 2 minutes to request a refund so that I could re-purchase the score report later this week . . .

myFICO refused.

If they want a lost customer over $13 and change, I'll give them one. I'm finished here. Equifax it is, from now on.

[sunshine7157]

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@llecs wrote:

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@AZHeather wrote:

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@llecs wrote:

What updated or changed?

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For me it was a cli, a deletion of a  derog tl, and a change of 60 and 90 day to "OK." 

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Unfortunately SW doesn't alert for any of these, though you will get an alert on the latter if there was a status change from "currently 90 days late" to "paid as agreed", if that were the case.

Now SW does give out score alerts from time to time. SW monitors your score every 7 days or so for changes and will alert you if your FICO moved past that target score found within the settings. So, if the CLI, baddie removal, and lates dropping resulted in a FICO change and that change hit or surpassed the target score, then you would get an alert.

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So what you're saying then is that even though an instant alert may not be triggered for things like inq and/or new accounts reaching 1 yr, balance decreases, etc., that these things would be 'caught' by the 7-10 day score watch monitor (IF these things caused a score change & my settings were adjusted properly)?

[drkaje]

SW is more useful after a rebuild and less movement is expected on ones credit report.

[llecs]

There are credit alerts (fairly instant....sometimes inside a day, IME) for items like added inquiries, added accounts, change in stati, increased balances, and recent activity (these are the most common alerts). These changes will prompt a check of your FICO score and if your score moved, then you'll get the credit alert with the score change.

There are other goings on within your report that don't trigger a credit alert like changes in CL, decreased balances, removed accounts, removal or addition of lates assuming the status didn't change, account anniversies, and so on that don't ever trigger a credit alert. Sometimes, though, these items can result in a score change, and your EQ FICO is monitored every week or so for these changes. If the score moved, you won't get a credit alert, but you could end up with a score alert assuming your new score hit or surpassed your target score (found within your settings). The score alert isn't always instant because your FICO isn't monitored daily, but expect one if your FICO changed and your score is monitored within that week period.

For best results ALWAYS set your target score to match your current score. That way, if your score goes up or down, you'll get alerted. And after every alert and every FICO report pull, ALWAYS check, and reset, if needed, your target score. Lather, rinse and repeat. When I first subscribed to this product, my FICOs were in the 500s. I set my target score to 750. I would have waited 3 years before I would have received a score alert because that's how long it took to hit that score.

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@sunshine7157 wrote:

So what you're saying then is that even though an instant alert may not be triggered for things like inq and/or new accounts reaching 1 yr, balance decreases, etc., that these things would be 'caught' by the 7-10 day score watch monitor (IF these things caused a score change & my settings were adjusted properly)?

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Close...you do get instant alerts for inquiries and you'd get an instant score alert if your score moved (don't always assume that the reason behind the alert triggered the score change shown...I once got an alert for 20+ points due to a new inquiry. The inquiry didn't do that but a baddie fell off that caused the alert).

You won't get credit alerts for TLs hitting a year or any year. You could get a score alert if your FICO changed since last monitored provided the target score was set. However, your don't always get points for a new TL hitting a year old. YMMV on your credit. Same applies with balance decreases. Decreasing a balance won't always result in a FICO increase.