always wrong score

[Anonymous]

When I was approved for capital one quick silver, it shows my Equifax 8 score is 695, but key bank shows my Equifax 8 score is 715.

When I was approved for bank of america cash reward, it shows my score is Transunion 8 score is 717, but discover shows my Transunion 8 score is 731.

When I was approved for chase freedom, it shows my Experian 8 score is 737, but Experian website shows my Experian 8 score is 758.

When I was denied of credit limit increase, bank of america shows my Transunion 8 score is 759, but bank of america online score shows my Transunion 8 score is 777.

I have other examples, but I did not wrote them down.  You get the basic idea.  The score they provided me for their credit decisions is always about 20 points off of my real score.  Interestingly, it is always lower than my real score, never higher then my real score.  Is that just a coincidence, or accidentally on purpose?  Anyone has similar experience. please share.  But what is the reason why?  Any possible explanation?

Thank you in advance. 

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

When I was approved for capital one quick silver, it shows my Equifax 8 score is 695, but key bank shows my Equifax 8 score is 715.

When I was approved for bank of america cash reward, it shows my score is Transunion 8 score is 717, but discover shows my Transunion 8 score is 731.

When I was approved for chase freedom, it shows my Experian 8 score is 737, but Experian website shows my Experian 8 score is 758.

When I was denied of credit limit increase, bank of america shows my Transunion 8 score is 759, but bank of america online score shows my Transunion 8 score is 777.

I have other examples, but I did not wrote them down.  You get the basic idea.  The score they provided me for their credit decisions is always about 20 points off of my real score.  Interestingly, it is always lower than my real score, never higher then my real score.  Is that just a coincidence, or accidentally on purpose?  Anyone has similar experience. please share.  But what is the reason why?  Any possible explanation?

Thank you in advance. 

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They are not wrong scores. There isn't one fico model, with only one flavor.

Capital one uses EQ5. It's an older scoring model, these days it's primarily used for mortgage underwriting, but some lenders still use it. CUs seem to like it a lot. 

Chase uses CARS, it's internal scoring algorithm which uses same data found on your CR but with some changes on how each scoring category is "weighted" compared to Fico 8.

I'm not sure if BoA uses Fico 8, or BC 8, but scores vary from day to day if there are changes to your CR, scores may change, they aren't static.  

Discover and BoA would have to pull on the same day for comparison purposes. 

[Slabenstein]

In the case of Capital One, the score they disclosed to you when you were approved for their card was EQ5, not EQ8, so you're comparing two different score versions there.  For the others, it's likely due to score changes that occured between the pull date of your free score source and the pull date for your card or CLI app.  E.g., in the case of Transunion, Disco only pulls your score once per month for their free TU8 service, so unless BoA pulled your score for your app on exactly that date the score could easily be different, depending on what has occurred between the two dates.

[Anonymous]

@Slabenstein 

I agree that the score update date and hard pull date could be different, but some of those examples are very close to the score update dates because after I see an increase in my score, I know my credit is improved so I applied.  Another thing is my score normally do not fluctuate between 25 or 35 points.  In general, I see small increase, small decrease, half of the time remain the same.  But overall, I see what you are saying, the score in different days will be different, I just do not believe it will be that big of a difference.  Thank you for your comments.

[Anonymous]

@Remedios 

I see what you are saying, but I must has some same score models example in the past, I just cannot remember now.  It is could be because of different dates result in different score, I just do not believe it will be that much of a difference.

[Slabenstein]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@Slabenstein 

I agree that the score update date and hard pull date could be different, but some of those examples are very close to the score update dates because after I see an increase in my score, I know my credit is improved so I applied.  Another thing is my score normally do not fluctuate between 25 or 35 points.  In general, I see small increase, small decrease, half of the time remain the same.  But overall, I see what you are saying, the score in different days will be different, I just do not believe it will be that big of a difference.  Thank you for your comments.

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It could be that big of a difference, depending on what has happened on your reports between the pull dates, but see also @Remedios's reply above.  I forgot about CARS, and I don't know whether BoA uses classic 8, BC8, or an internal score for cc stuff, so you aren't comparing comensurable scores in the case of Chase and it might be that you're not with BoA, either.

[FinStar]

Echoing what Remedios and Slabenstein mentioned above, the scores provided by way of KeyBank, Discover or BoA when checking their respective websites, are at a point in time when the CRAs feed the data (typically once a month) vs. when you actually apply.  

For instance, if I check my FICO8 score from BoA right now, it's displaying the data from 12/19/20 from TU.  So, if I apply for a CLI today, or even 2 weeks ago, the scores are going to vary.

So, the scores are not wrong, it's the timing of your credit actions vs. the available data or information from the sources and the variations of score models used by the lenders, such as Capital One and Chase, for example.

[Anonymous]

@Slabenstein 

I am reading it incorrectly, those are all correct scores. 

I wish I can post pictures, so I can show proof.  Maybe I can ask again when I am able to post pictures because the wordings are loud and clear.

I will keep the next letter I received, and share again.

[Anonymous]

@FinStar 

I understand, basically same with other replies.

The only thing I will argue is I do not feel my score fluctuate 30 points between different days, because my score has been stable.  If it is 5 points or no more than 10 points, I could understand.  But, not 30 points or something.  That much of a difference, normally new account, closed account, late payments, or other major events.

It is possible it is different model, I though I remembered correctly.

[Slabenstein]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@Slabenstein 

I am reading it incorrectly, those are all correct scores. 

I wish I can post pictures, so I can show proof.  Maybe I can ask again when I am able to post pictures because the wordings are loud and clear.

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No one is doubting that the scores you gave at the start of the thread are correct.  We're just pointing out that 1) not all lenders use FICO8 for cc decisions (at least two of the ones you're looking at don't) and 2) scores from the same version and bureau can change between pull dates if there are profile changes between pull dates.