Scores on CreditKarma, etc. vastly different from scores lender pulled. Help!

[sisyphuswins]

Hi everyone,

My fiance and I are currently applying for a mortgage.  He has scores hovering around 800.  Mine all appear to be hovering around 700, according to CreditKarma and CreditSesame, as well as the scores my credit cards provide.   However, when the mortgage lender pulled my credit, everything showed as below 620.  Is this normal?   It seems like an 80+ point difference is a bit large and I'm confused by why this would be.  Any thoughts? 

[blindambition]

Depending on bureau, your FICO 5, 4, or 2 were pulled for mortgage. Most lenders use a version of FICO.

CK and those other sites use a Vantage score. The have no value for scores. Only to track other changes on reports.

FICO and Vantage scores are calculated differently, so scores can be and usually are very different.

[blindambition]

You can get your 3 bureau credit reports for $1 at Credit Check Total. It's an Experian product. It's a trial offer, so cancel before charged monthly.

Theres subscription options offered here on myFICO, that provide your 3 bureau FICO scores

At Annual Credit Report dotcom, you can get all 3 bureau reports. No scores, but you can see what's negatively affecting scores and address issues on reports.

[rostrow416]

Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and many other "free" sites don't give actual FICO scores that lenders use.  They are VantageScores and can sometimes vary wildly from FICO scores.  Order a 3 bureau report from myfico or credit.

[AllZero]

---

@blindambition wrote:

You can get your 3 bureau credit reports for $1 at Credit Check Total. It's an Experian product. It's a trial offer, so cancel before charged monthly.

Theres subscription options offered here on myFICO, that provide your 3 bureau FICO scores

At Annual Credit Report dotcom, you can get all 3 bureau reports. No scores, but you can see what's negatively affecting scores and address issues on reports.

---

+1

EX2 + 3 Bureau scores and reports for $1 at Experian or CreditCheckTotal (part of Experian). Cancel in 7 days or less to avoid the reoccurring charge.

TU4 WyHy quarterly score. Not sure on membership requirement. Maybe hard pull TU?

or Free TU Mortgage Score from Better Mortgage.

EQ5 Get a savings account with DCU. Soft pull EQ to be a member. Free monthly score.

You can also obtain your 3 bureau mortgage scores at FICO Advanced . Cancel plan after you obtain your scores and reports to avoid re-occurring monthly charge.

[sisyphuswins]

Thanks for the info guys.   I ordered the premier package from myFICO.  Scores are indeed in the 620s and 630s

As a follow up, my 2 year payment history is solid.  My DTI is extremely low.  I've just paid off all my credit cards and am waiting for that to show up on my reports.  And I paid off a One Main Financial loan in slightly more than 1 year - it was a 5 year term.  That still hasn't shown up as paid on my reports yet, a month later, which makes me furious.  But I assume that will all help immediately?

Also, I have one collection.  It's coded as medical.  Could that be severely impacting my scores negatively?  It's not my responsibiility (long story, but it's not medical, it's only around $2k and it's for employee costs a former employer agreed to pay, then reneged and gave it to a friend who runs a collection agency so that it would screw me going forward because his wife didn't like me).  Should I just pay it?  Would it matter much since it's "medical"?

[NC_Mtg_Loaner]

---

@sisyphuswins wrote:

Thanks for the info guys.   I ordered the premier package from myFICO.  Scores are indeed in the 620s and 630s

As a follow up, my 2 year payment history is solid.  My DTI is extremely low.  I've just paid off all my credit cards and am waiting for that to show up on my reports.  And I paid off a One Main Financial loan in slightly more than 1 year - it was a 5 year term.  That still hasn't shown up as paid on my reports yet, a month later, which makes me furious.  But I assume that will all help immediately?

Also, I have one collection.  It's coded as medical.  Could that be severely impacting my scores negatively?  It's not my responsibiility (long story, but it's not medical, it's only around $2k and it's for employee costs a former employer agreed to pay, then reneged and gave it to a friend who runs a collection agency so that it would screw me going forward because his wife didn't like me).  Should I just pay it?  Would it matter much since it's "medical"?

---

Just forget about OMF in my opinion....loans from these types of lenders often hurt your scores.   If I were you, I'd reach out the "coded medical collection" and follow the protocol outlined in the FCRA to challenge the validity of the report and have it verified as the law doesn't allow for frivolous charges such as this.   Regardless of how "friendly" the CA is to a creditor, they'll not risk the future of their business by violating your rights.   

If you challenge it and they verify and validate it as accurate then there's a good chance you are on the hook for it and you'll know within 45 days if it remains.   IN this case, if you feel obligated as such to satisfy this liability you can negotiate a payment plan or pay it in one fell swoop.   In 4-6 months this account will stop behaving like an anchor and your scores should begin to lift slowly as you continue utilizing your cards favorably.