Score Watch not updating?

[HiLine]

My latest Score Watch FICO score was 699, and I set up an alert for when my score reaches 700. Last week I received a letter from a bank, whose credit card I applied for, reporting an Equifax FICO score of 742. I was pleasantly surprised, but at the same time doubtful about the value of my Score Watch subscription. Can someone who is more experienced with Score Watch please inform me of a possible cause for this discrepancy? Is there a way to check the accuracy of Score Watch? 

Thanks in advance!

[llecs]

Couple of scenarios:

1) The 742 is a CC-enhanced FICO or even Beacon 9.0,  and the classic Beacon 5.0 as on here didn't hit 700.

2) Your FICO did increase to 742 (congrats BTW), but because your EQ FICO is only monitored every 7-10 days, something like a balance increase or a new TL triggered a score drop bringing you back to 699 or less resulting in no score alert.

3) The 742 happened before your latest 699 alert and your score is really at 699 now.

4) The 742 is still inside the 7-10 days and an alert is forthcoming.

Just throwing out some ideas. Doesn't mean it is so, but these popped in my mind. For best results always set your target score to EXACTLY match your current score. This way if your score drops, you'll get alerted too.

[HiLine]

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@llecs wrote:

Couple of scenarios:

1) The 742 is a CC-enhanced FICO or even Beacon 9.0,  and the classic Beacon 5.0 as on here didn't hit 700.

2) Your FICO did increase to 742 (congrats BTW), but because your EQ FICO is only monitored every 7-10 days, something like a balance increase or a new TL triggered a score drop bringing you back to 699 or less resulting in no score alert.

3) The 742 happened before your latest 699 alert and your score is really at 699 now.

4) The 742 is still inside the 7-10 days and an alert is forthcoming.

Just throwing out some ideas. Doesn't mean it is so, but these popped in my mind. For best results always set your target score to EXACTLY match your current score. This way if your score drops, you'll get alerted too.

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Thanks for the reply! To follow up on the scenarios you listed, the last change in my credit account that I'm aware of happened 2 weeks ago, and the 742 FICO score was pulled by the bank 10 days ago, so I'm pretty sure that's a more recent score than the Score Watch 699. I'll wait for another few days for an alert, having already set the alert threshold to 699. 

I'm surprised you mentioned that Score Watch only monitors scores every 7-10 days, since the 699 was reported just 1 day after a previous 703, the drop being the result of a hard pull. 

If there's indeed a difference in scoring models, how big of a fluctuation should I expect? I'm confused that there should be multiple FICO scores generated from one credit report. Isn't it confusing enough that there are multiple types of credit scores, e.g. Vantage and FAKO? 

[llecs]

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@HiLine wrote:

I'm surprised you mentioned that Score Watch only monitors scores every 7-10 days, since the 699 was reported just 1 day after a previous 703, the drop being the result of a hard pull. 

If there's indeed a difference in scoring models, how big of a fluctuation should I expect? I'm confused that there should be multiple FICO scores generated from one credit report. Isn't it confusing enough that there are multiple types of credit scores, e.g. Vantage and FAKO? 

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SW will grab the latest FICO at the moment of a credit alert. If nothing is happening (e.g. a new TL, an acct change, inquiry, balance increase, or others) in terms of credit alerts, then your EQ FICO is monitored for changes every 7-10 days (aka a score alert). If you have lots happening, it's possible to get a new FICO daily.

There's not enough input from others to make any determination unfortunatey. Lenders rarely post the score version (mortgage lenders aside). Sometimes you can get a clue if they publish a score range. And if you were to call and ask, you'll likely just get a generic answer because most credit CSR-types can't differentiate a FICO from a FAKO. 

It's up to each lender to decide what FICO version they want to use. It'd be simple to have one but every demographic region or loan type differs and that's why you'll see different versions out there. About the only industry with any uniformity is the mortgage industry. Out side of that, any guess as to the FICO version used is just that.

Again, it may not be a different version. Definitely keep tabs on your latest EQ FICO and you'll know more. If it shows another alert around 700, and the lender indeed pulled an Eq FICO only, then you'll know for sure if it is a different FICO.

[HiLine]

I officially received an alert today for an inquiry, and my score is the same: 699. So the difference is likely the result of various scoring models? Is the Score Watch score at least consistent with scores used by mortgage lenders?  I guess my Score Watch score is really useless if it completely fails to predict the score used by my potential lenders.

[llecs]

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@HiLine wrote:

I officially received an alert today for an inquiry, and my score is the same: 699. So the difference is likely the result of various scoring models? Is the Score Watch score at least consistent with scores used by mortgage lenders?  I guess my Score Watch score is really useless if it completely fails to predict the score used by my potential lenders.

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That alert rules out quite a bit. So either your score increased then decreased (not too likely), or a different score version was used by that CC lender. I suspect the latter.

If you applied for a mortgage tomorrow, your EQ from here will match your lender's score. Virtually all mortgage lenders use the Beacon 5.0 EQ FICO, same as on here.

[HiLine]

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@llecs wrote:

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@HiLine wrote:

I officially received an alert today for an inquiry, and my score is the same: 699. So the difference is likely the result of various scoring models? Is the Score Watch score at least consistent with scores used by mortgage lenders?  I guess my Score Watch score is really useless if it completely fails to predict the score used by my potential lenders.

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That alert rules out quite a bit. So either your score increased then decreased (not too likely), or a different score version was used by that CC lender. I suspect the latter.

If you applied for a mortgage tomorrow, your EQ from here will match your lender's score. Virtually all mortgage lenders use the Beacon 5.0 EQ FICO, same as on here.

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Thanks for that information. Is there any chance Score Watch may offer FICO scores from each scoring model? People have different needs for credit, you know. Not everyone is looking for mortgage. 

[llecs]

We all have been asking myFICO to offer other FICO versions. Maybe one day they'll come around. I suspect much of the issue lies with the CRAs not wanting to provide the date for the score if more options are offered.