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myFICO Score Watch Guide
It’s best to think of the Score Watch monitoring alert system as having two types of alerts:
1. Score Alerts
2. Credit Alerts
Score Alerts – these alerts notify the subscriber of Equifax FICO score changes in a couple of ways. (See table below.)
- If a Credit Alert is triggered, the latest score is always shown on that alert.
- When no Credit Alerts are triggered, the scores are monitored every 7-10 days for changes.
Credit Alerts – these alerts notify the subscriber about Equifax credit report changes. (See table below.)
- The subscriber can control the frequency of Balance Increase and Account Dormancy alerts by the thresholds that are set. For example, the lower the threshold setting, the more likely that an alert will be triggered.
Reasons why you may not receive a Score Watch alert
Changes that don’t trigger Score Alerts or Credit Alerts:
Reasons why your Score Alert or Credit Alert may arrive late or not at all:
Score Alerts |
Subscriber Control |
Description |
Target Score |
Subscriber can turn on/off and set target score. |
Triggered whenever the score reaches or crosses the target score set by the subscriber. The target score can be set above or below the current score. If the target score is set equal to the current score, an alert is triggered by any score change either up or down. |
Interest Rate Band |
Always on. Subscriber can choose the loan product. |
Triggered whenever the score goes from one interest band to another interest band for the loan product they have selected. The subscriber can choose between three loan products: 30 year mortgage, 15 year home equity loan, or 48 month auto loan. |
Credit Alerts |
Subscriber Control |
Description |
Balance Increase |
Always on. Subscriber can choose the percentage or dollar amount. |
Triggered when the balance on any trade line listed on the report increases more than the threshold that the subscriber has specified. The subscriber can specify the increase threshold as a percentage and/or as a fixed dollar amount. If the user specifies both thresholds, alerts will get triggered if either one of the thresholds is met. By default, these alert thresholds are set to 5% and $1, which are their lowest possible values. |
Account Dormancy (inactivity) |
Always on. Subscriber can choose the number of months dormant. |
Triggered when an account has been dormant (inactive) -- no new information reported by the lender to Equifax -- and then becomes active when updated at Equifax. The subscriber can specify how many months (3-24) of dormancy must occur before new activity will generate an alert. By default this is set at 3 months. |
Name Change |
Always on |
Triggered when the name on the Equifax credit file is changed. |
New Address |
Always on |
Triggered when a new mailing address becomes associated with the subscriber’s Equifax credit file. |
Change of Address |
Always on |
Triggered when there has been a change in the “primary address” on the Equifax credit file. |
New Account |
Always on |
Triggered when a new trade line is added to the subscriber’s Equifax credit file. |
Change in Account |
Always on |
Triggered when there is a change to one of the following items on an existing trade line on the Equifax credit file: - Account status - Date of first delinquency - Date of last activity - Balance increase (according to setting by subscriber) |
New Bankruptcy |
Always on |
Triggered when a new bankruptcy public record item is added to the subscriber’s Equifax credit file. |
Change in Bankruptcy |
Always on |
Triggered when there is a change to the status of an existing bankruptcy record on the Equifax credit file. |
New Collection |
Always on |
Triggered when a new collection account is added to the subscriber’s Equifax credit file. |
Change in Collection |
Always on |
Triggered when there is a change to the status of an existing collection account on the Equifax credit file. |
New Judgment |
Always on |
Triggered when a new judgment is added to the subscriber’s Equifax credit file. |
Change in Judgment |
Always on |
Triggered when there is a change to the status of an existing judgment on the Equifax credit file. |
New Tax Lien |
Always on |
Triggered when a new tax lien is added to the subscriber’s Equifax credit file. |
Change in Tax Lien |
Always on |
Triggered when the status of an existing tax lien changes on the Equifax file. |
New Inquiry |
Always on |
Triggered when a new “hard” inquiry appears on the subscriber’s Equifax credit file. |