topic Re: FreeCreditReport.com Scores vs. Actual Scores in Understanding FICO® Scoring

FreeCreditReport.com Scores vs. Actual Scores

FICOnater2007 — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 02:11:03 GMT

Today we had our credit report pulled by a mortgage broker (quite a nice chap!) in the process of getting pre-approval on a home loan. The report they pulled had different numbers than those my wife and I have been getting from www.FreeCreditReport.com .

Okay, so here are the results of my scores:

Free Credit Report Scores (as of 7/22/07):

EX - 696

EQ - 631

TU - 685

Actual Credit Report Scores (as of 7/27/07):

EX - 684 (listed as FAIR ISSAC SCORE 2) ----> 12 points lower!

EQ - 629 (listed as BEACON 5.0 SCORE) ----> 2 points lower!

TU - 669 (listed as CLASSIC SCORE) ----> 16 points lower!

And my wife's scores:

Free Credit Report Scores (as of 7/27/07):

EX - 656

EQ - 639

TU - 656

Actual Credit Report Scores (as of 7/27/07):

EX - 630 (listed as FAIR ISSAC SCORE 2) ----> 26 points lower!

EQ - 622 (listed as BEACON 5.0 SCORE) ----> 17 points lower!

TU - 657 (listed as CLASSIC SCORE) ----> 1 point higher?!

Why? Why? Why are they different?!! Granted, the tri-merge I ran on myself was 5-days ago, but my wife's numbers I ran THIS MORNING. Plus, I've spent a great deal more time on my credit score lately than working on my wife's and mine aren't nearly as "off" as hers.

FICOnater2007

"Just shoot me..."

Re: FreeCreditReport.com Scores vs. Actual Scores

Anonymous — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 16:17:17 GMT

@FICOnater2007 wrote:
Today we had our credit report pulled by a mortgage broker (quite a nice chap!) in the process of getting pre-approval on a home loan. The report they pulled had different numbers than those my wife and I have been getting from www.FreeCreditReport.com .
Okay, so here are the results of my scores:
Free Credit Report Scores (as of 7/22/07):
EX - 696
EQ - 631
TU - 685
Actual Credit Report Scores (as of 7/27/07):
EX - 684 (listed as FAIR ISSAC SCORE 2) ----> 12 points lower!
EQ - 629 (listed as BEACON 5.0 SCORE) ----> 2 points lower!
TU - 669 (listed as CLASSIC SCORE) ----> 16 points lower!
And my wife's scores:
Free Credit Report Scores (as of 7/27/07):
EX - 656
EQ - 639
TU - 656
Actual Credit Report Scores (as of 7/27/07):
EX - 630 (listed as FAIR ISSAC SCORE 2) ----> 26 points lower!
EQ - 622 (listed as BEACON 5.0 SCORE) ----> 17 points lower!
TU - 657 (listed as CLASSIC SCORE) ----> 1 point higher?!
Why? Why? Why are they different?!! Granted, the tri-merge I ran on myself was 5-days ago, but my wife's numbers I ran THIS MORNING. Plus, I've spent a great deal more time on my credit score lately than working on my wife's and mine aren't nearly as "off" as hers.
FICOnater2007
"Just shoot me..."

The scores from FreeCreditReport are FAKOs - I believe they use the Plus scoring formula (developed by Experian). It's actually surprising that those FAKO scores were fairly close to your FICO scores.

"Fair Isaac Score 2", "Beacon 5.0", and "Classic" are all FICO scoring formulas.

As you may know, you can purchase all three FICO scores from MyFico. You can also purchase your EQ FICO score from the main Equifax website.

Message Edited by Revike on 08-05-2007 09:17 AM

Re: FreeCreditReport.com Scores vs. Actual Scores

Tuscani — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 10:22:59 GMT

Welcome.. Please read the Scoring 101 thread:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=ficoscoring&thread.id=2654

Bring us your non-FICO score experiences! (was Re: FreeCreditReport.com Scores vs. Actual Scores)

FICOnater2007 — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 01:28:16 GMT

An update,

I called the people at FreeCreditReport.com and complained about the differences between the ACTUAL FICO scores and the garbage scores they gave me. Supposaidly a "trouble ticket" was issued by a rep named "Cindy" and someone was supposed to call me back in 24 hours -- that was Monday 7/30/07.

After three days and no calls, I called them back on Thursday 8/2/07 and proceeded to "kick some tail". I griped and complained about not getting a call back and about the inaccuracy of their scores; but I was polite and did not curse (not that I wasn't tempted...!) .

My main argument was not the TU and EQ scores -- but the EXPERIAN score since FreeCreditReport.com represents themselves as EX. You can read my earlier post showing the EX score from them was off on both mine and my wife's CR's.

Well, the chuckle-head I got on the phone, possessing only a partial command of the English language, wanted me to log onto their website and file a dispute on my CR. I told her I didn't need to dispute anything except the pitiful service and score they provided from their own parent company. This discussion went nowhere so I gave her as much grief as possible and then asked for a manager. Once the manager answered, I decided to go ahead and just CANCEL my wife's and my own "Triple Advantage" service which was $12.95/mo times the two of us because I found their customer service to be "disgraceful, deplorable, unnacceptable and unprofessional". I had been on Triple Advantage since April, and my wife since June.

The manager had no excuse for why the FCR.com version of the EX report was different from that of their parent company. She just said, "well each CRA using a different scoring model..." My reply: "Hmm.., but you guys ARE EXPERIAN, so how can you blame it on differences in scoring?"

She couldn't really answer this question so I insisted they give us a refund. I ended up getting a total of $51.80 back, which amounts to basically 4 months of service.

While I am normally an easy going person, I must say that I really enjoyed giving them a piece of my mind -- and have since started purchasing my report from MyFICO.com .

I would not recommend FCR.com to anyone. Their customer service is lacking and their versions of the scores from the big three CRA's are totally bogus.

FICOnater2007