I mean, you can sign up for the Experian free level and get your updated FICO8 score any time you want, but both TU and EQ feel the need to make you pay for it in some way or another, either by paying for their premium service or by signing up and paying for either myFICO or Credit.com or some other service. Sure, with some credit cards you can get your scores from certain CA's, but those scores are rarely recent unless you happen to time it just right and lots of those places have no rhyme or reason as to when they pull a new and updated score.
It's YOUR score and it controls a HUGE part of your life. At the very minimum, all the CA's should provide you with your FICO8 scores for free. I mean you don't even get your score when you pull your credit report from them, it's all a huge secret that they seem to think you don't deserve without having to pay for it.
@pizzadude wrote:Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. With few exceptions, in the US consumers do NOT own data collected on them by third parties and have limited control over what happens to it.
Companies are free to aggregate this data, report on it, sell it to other companies ( or back to you ) including other proprietary information like FICO scores.
Then if that's the case, why is Experian the exception rather than the rule? What do they get from giving you your score for free?
@MileHigh96 wrote:
Then if that's the case, why is Experian the exception rather than the rule? What do they get from giving you your score for free?
Perhaps, a service level above the other two bureaus which equates to more members (many free members eventually become paying members) which leads to more money made from their various marketing tactics...? My guess is the business decision for them to offer FICO is paying off.
Well I paid for TU, EQ, and EXP and here is my opinion. TU and EQ both give you "Faco" scores (VS 3.0) and EXP gives you a real FICO 8 score with the choice to get all 3 FICO 8. You can not even purchase FICO from TU or EQ and this is EXP's edge IMHO
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Honestly the whole system is bull. There's 28 versions of FICO. imagine that. You don't even know which one they're gonna pull. 5 years ago I had a car dealer pull Fico 5 on me one time. 80 points lower than my FICO 8. While doing the hard rebuilding work. Never forgot that, and go in prepared now.
It boils down to business, numbers and sense. Experian stands alone with their own app and a platform to solicit other products and services.
Transunion & Equifax partners with third-party companies and provide you with Fakos. These same two credit bureaus will partner with another set of companies that charge you a fee to get your FICO score through the same two credit bureaus. In addition you can directly go to said credit bureaus website and purchase from there. Everybody scratching everyone's back and getting paid.
@sznthescore wrote:It boils down to business, numbers and sense. Experian stands alone with their own app and a platform to solicit other products and services.
Transunion & Equifax partners with third-party companies and provide you with Fakos. These same two credit bureaus will partner with another set of companies that charge you a fee to get your FICO score through the same two credit bureaus. In addition you can directly go to said credit bureaus website and purchase from there. Everybody scratching everyone's back and getting paid.
Fakos? You mean like the free Credit Karma service?
From what I've seen, that service is geared to generate revenue via affiliate commissions. So you can't take some of their recommendations seriously. However, their slightly off, but handy TU and EQ reports are at least handy to get an idea, even if not completely accurate as vantage3 scores.
I leverage a free experian account and free credit karma account just to get a general overall idea on all three (eq, tu, ex).
I find myself chuckling when I see some of their offers they match me with and do my own research.
Some day, I may pay for the experian account upgrade that gives access to tu and eq to see if they have more accurate numbers than credit karma.
^^^^^^
Exactly my point until I signed up for a myfico subscription. Real FICO scores that update in real-time on any changes. CK gets some peoples hopes up just to have then shot back down with a denial and inquiry that will last for two years. Thats why, slow and steady wins the race.