Experian Boost

[Iusedtolurk]

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@DisputeQueen wrote:

I input all of my normal utilities and it did boost my score a little bit, which was great.  But to be honest it's stupid.  It says my score is 624, but when I just went to go buy a car it says my score is 594 there.  I feel like it give you a false sense of having a better score than you really do because the companies that I wanted to have a better score didn't see the boost.

I am actually going to remove my acounts now.

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Welcome to the forums. I noticed you are a new member and are now placed into the position where a whole new world of understanding the nuances of credit awaits you. 

As a new member I was surprised to find out that along with different credit scores being generated by different bureaus there are also different credit score classifications used by creditors.

There are the basic scores we generally see but there are bank scores used by credit card issuers, auto scores used by auto creditors, mortgage scores used by mortgage companies and these scores are generally different from the base scores we usually reference as our score.

There is a possibility you were looking at your base score (624) and the auto place pulled your auto score (594) .

You can find out more about the scores by searching Understanding Fico Scores in the forum.

Experian boost with most things will have its pros and cons which will differ for individuals.

[Anonymous]

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@Iusedtolurk wrote:

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@DisputeQueen wrote:

I input all of my normal utilities and it did boost my score a little bit, which was great.  But to be honest it's stupid.  It says my score is 624, but when I just went to go buy a car it says my score is 594 there.  I feel like it give you a false sense of having a better score than you really do because the companies that I wanted to have a better score didn't see the boost.

I am actually going to remove my acounts now.

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Welcome to the forums. I noticed you are a new member and are now placed into the position where a whole new world of understanding the nuances of credit awaits you. 

As a new member I was surprised to find out that along with different credit scores being generated by different bureaus there are also different credit score classifications used by creditors.

There are the basic scores we generally see but there are bank scores used by credit card issuers, auto scores used by auto creditors, mortgage scores used by mortgage companies and these scores are generally different from the base scores we usually reference as our score.

There is a possibility you were looking at your base score (624) and the auto place pulled your auto score (594) .

You can find out more about the scores by searching Understanding Fico Scores in the forum.

Experian boost with most things will have its pros and cons which will differ for individuals.

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What a great response. 

[Anonymous]

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@DisputeQueen wrote:

I input all of my normal utilities and it did boost my score a little bit, which was great.  But to be honest it's stupid.  It says my score is 624, but when I just went to go buy a car it says my score is 594 there.  I feel like it give you a false sense of having a better score than you really do because the companies that I wanted to have a better score didn't see the boost.

I am actually going to remove my acounts now.

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Boost has been a scam to me since day 1 for the following reasons:

1. It doesnt boost any of the scores that REALLY matter.  your mortgage scores, Auto scores, or bankcard scores.  And even if your Experian Fico2 got a boost, a lender only counts your middle score for a mortgage anyhow, so that inflated experian score doesnt help so much.
2. You are opening yourself to a TON of scrutiny by allowing them access to your bank account info.  that time you got hit with an overdraft fee because the bank did something dumb.  that shows.  that time you had under $100 balance because you had an unexpectec car issue you needed to throw money at?  that shows.  Your ratio of money spent on bills/essentials vs non essentials.  that shows.  It gives them more data as well to re-calculate your DTI, which as of now doesnt include utilities and such.  which is good for the consumer
3. They are likely tracking your spending habits and selling your data to advertizers.  and if they arent now they soon will, since that is an enormous cash cow.  they stand to make potentially billions doing that, and they will.  which is bad for 2 reasons.  1 your privacy and 2 it turns an unbiased entity that scores our credit into something that morphs more into a for profit data mining company that who knows if they start being influenced by a big advertizer money.  i mean this is america.
4. It is not a matter of "if" but "when" experian will be hacked and your linked accounts are potentially exposed.  which is bad.  like catastrophically bad.  unlike credit cards, bank account funds are typically only insured up to like 100,000.  and the banks are going to be banks and placing blame on you and the hack when if your funds are stolen via breach through experian.  We have already seen equifax hacked and many other major players.  

Experian, Credit Karma, and other sites are already targeting you with credit card and loan offerns.  they i am sure are making money off that.  it wont be long before they start doing more of this once they know your spending habits

[Iusedtolurk]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@DisputeQueen wrote:

I input all of my normal utilities and it did boost my score a little bit, which was great.  But to be honest it's stupid.  It says my score is 624, but when I just went to go buy a car it says my score is 594 there.  I feel like it give you a false sense of having a better score than you really do because the companies that I wanted to have a better score didn't see the boost.

I am actually going to remove my acounts now.

---

Boost has been a scam to me since day 1 for the following reasons:

1. It doesnt boost any of the scores that REALLY matter.  your mortgage scores, Auto scores, or bankcard scores.  And even if your Experian Fico2 got a boost, a lender only counts your middle score for a mortgage anyhow, so that inflated experian score doesnt help so much.
2. You are opening yourself to a TON of scrutiny by allowing them access to your bank account info.  that time you got hit with an overdraft fee because the bank did something dumb.  that shows.  that time you had under $100 balance because you had an unexpectec car issue you needed to throw money at?  that shows.  Your ratio of money spent on bills/essentials vs non essentials.  that shows.  It gives them more data as well to re-calculate your DTI, which as of now doesnt include utilities and such.  which is good for the consumer
3. They are likely tracking your spending habits and selling your data to advertizers.  and if they arent now they soon will, since that is an enormous cash cow.  they stand to make potentially billions doing that, and they will.  which is bad for 2 reasons.  1 your privacy and 2 it turns an unbiased entity that scores our credit into something that morphs more into a for profit data mining company that who knows if they start being influenced by a big advertizer money.  i mean this is america.
4. It is not a matter of "if" but "when" experian will be hacked and your linked accounts are potentially exposed.  which is bad.  like catastrophically bad.  unlike credit cards, bank account funds are typically only insured up to like 100,000.  and the banks are going to be banks and placing blame on you and the hack when if your funds are stolen via breach through experian.  We have already seen equifax hacked and many other major players.  

Experian, Credit Karma, and other sites are already targeting you with credit card and loan offerns.  they i am sure are making money off that.  it wont be long before they start doing more of this once they know your spending habits

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+1 Pretty much of the same thoughts that crossed my mind concerning Boost. Risk vs Rewards are a little unbalanced to say the least.

[Anonymous]

I was just able to finally connect my bank (chime) to Experian and use the Experian Boost to boost my credit score and it gave me an additional 14 point which has launched me into the 700 club with Experian now I have to get EQ into gear and I'm super excited since I've been able to start back seriously working on my goal of the 700 club now my new goal is 750. 

[Anonymous]

Congrats on getting into the 700 club!

[Rebuild2019]

Congrats on your progress.

[AllZero]

Congratulations on your success!

[cyrusvalentino]

Congratulations on the boost to 700, truly is a huge accomplishment.

While not trying to pop your bubble by any means just want to share what I have learned. This only effects your Fico 8 or higher score. Most credit card, mortgage, and automobile companies do not use Fico 8 or higher therefore it's true effect is very minimal unless you find a company who uses Fico 8 for whatever you applying for. Also ensure the bills are paid timely, because if there are gaps reported in payments I have several friends who have been questioned about these self reported accounts when applying for mortgages. Ultimately I removed my Experian Boost although it gave me a 32 point jump because it ultimately was fictious and just made me feel better about myself when in reality it did nothing for the things I would actually use my credit for, and in fact may actually raise concerns or questions if they see something in those they do not like.

[Anonymous]

Ridge,

You said it exactly, experian boost they need access to all your utility accounts, bank accounts, etc. To me this is just asking for trouble and no way will i give any organization my banking account. So if you did this whats the most you get 40 points, not worth the risk imo.

J

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@ridgebackpilot wrote:

Anyone with a relatively thick credit file won't get a boost from Experian Boost. I certainly didn't.

And I agree that no one should give a credit bureau access to their banking information. Could do a lot more harm than good.

Experian Boost is for those with thin files who have good records of paying their utility bills on time...it's not going to help anyone else.

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