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Accuracy of MyFico Scores?

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thom02099
Valued Contributor

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?


@jones2929 wrote:

This has been a great resource to use.  I was wondering if anyone knew how accurate the scores on this site are.  I have a 698 for TransUnion and Equifax.  If I apply for a refinancing, they have told me that I need to get to 700.  I think I can do that in a month or so by paying down another credit card fairly significantly.  However, I don't want the bank to pull my scores until I am pretty sure that they are at 700.  How confident can I be a 700 on this site will equal a 700 on something pulled by a lender?  I have 710, 716. 724, and 742 on other sites, but I know those are FAKOs and I really don't have any faith in them (although they are fun to look at and review).

 

Thanks in advance.


To answer your original question, I think that your EQ score here is going to be a good approximation of what your lender will see.  As previously pointed out, it's a Beacon 5.0 which most, but not all, lenders use.  If by chance your lender uses Beacon 9.0, there's a 50/50 chance of it being higher/lower than the 5.0 version.  My 9.0 score is  higher than my 5.0 score, but with everything credit-wise YMMV!  One thing you could try is to go to your bank and see if they will just do a soft pull on your report to see where you are.  Keep in mind that a score is simply a snapshot of your credit AT THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT IN TIME, and can change from day to day...or not.  If you pay down fairly significantly that credit card you mentioned, I think you'll see a score movement upward to get you where you want to be for that refi.  Depending on your statement date for that card, it could show up right away, or it could be a month before it shows on your credit report. 

Any of the CMS are good for monitoring TRENDS.  They are NOT good for monitoring scores...for the reasons already articulated by others.  Given that there are over 40 differerent FICO scores (credit card enhanced, auto enhanced, mortgage enhanced, etc ad nauseum), putting a lot of faith in the accuracy of any ONE of them is fallacy.  They are simply a snapshot of time at that given moment and are so fluid that anything internal or external can affect them.  Unless one is applying for a loan, worrying about where scores are all the time is an act of futility. 

Message 11 of 44
foofighter74
Established Contributor

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?


@dyneemo wrote:

 I had disputed a lot of items in my credit report and when myFICO came back saying it raised my score by over 47 points I was thrilled. But then I went to Equifax and say they still have me as a 580 though you show me as a 636...

 



The myfico Equifax credit score you can purchase here is the exact same score you will get from mortgage lenders.  I've pulled scores four times each for my wife and myself...so 8 total Equifax scores...and two different lenders pulled credit reports for us twice each.  They always match. It's the same formula.

 

The equifax score you are purchasing is probably a FAKO. 

 

As for the TU98 vs TU04 mentioned earlier in the thread...in my experience, buying those scores also 8 times for my wife and I, our lender pulled score TU04 was at least 15 points higher for us on every occasion.  Most people do see a higher score in 04 than in 98 though obviously that's not always going to be the case for everyone.

Message 12 of 44
foofighter74
Established Contributor

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?


@dyneemo wrote:

But THIS website (myFICO.com) should give an accurate snapshot of my actual credit FICO score...but it doesn't...

 

 


If your Equifax score pulled by the lender doesn't match the equifax score here, then your lender is using a version of Equifax that almost no other lender is using.  in addition, if you say you disputed some things, then we really have no idea how those items are currently being reflected in your credit reports right now.

 

It's also worth mentioning that WHEN you pull your scores is very important in comparison.  And just sa ying "Well, the lender pulled the scores 3 hours after i got them from myfico" isn't much help. 

 

I got a scorewatch alert that my wife's equifax score had jumped 6 points at the end of February.  But literally 2 minutes later, i bought an equifax credit report and score...and the score was now 652.  So i bought a transunion credit report from here...and her score had not gone up.  It seems i pulled the equifax credit report just after it was updated with a new credit card balance...but the transunion report had not been updated yet.

 

2 days later, i bought another transunion report...and the information had been updated and my wife's credit score jumped up 30 points.  2 weeks later, our mortgage lender pulled our credit scores, and our Equifax scores matched exactly.

 

Message 13 of 44
jones2929
Established Member

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?

Thanks thom02099, that was a very helpful response.  I may go check with my bank to see if they will do a soft pull.

Message 14 of 44
thom02099
Valued Contributor

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?


@jones2929 wrote:

Thanks thom02099, that was a very helpful response.  I may go check with my bank to see if they will do a soft pull.


You're Welcome !  And Good Luck ! !

Message 15 of 44
thom02099
Valued Contributor

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?


@dyneemo wrote:

But THIS website (myFICO.com) should give an accurate snapshot of my actual credit FICO score...but it doesn't...

 

 


Sorry to disagree, but YES it does.  It gives an accurate snapshot of your credit at the time of the report.  This is constantly changing as others have pointed out.  A credit score is very fluid, it can change...or not.  There's more than enough documentation from users here and at other forums that the EQ score one gets here is frequently a match of the EQ score that a lender pulls.  To guarantee that a score is exactly the same between what a consumer pulls and what a lender pulls, they would have to be at exactly the same time/date, and from the same source.  And even then, there IS NO guarantee that they are going to match exactly. 

 

Message 16 of 44
dyneemo
Member

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?

You have all been very helpful and I thank you. Still a really confusing situation and makes me wonder why we even use a credit score except that I know it keeps us all from plunging off the cliff and, I guess, helps us 'try' to stay in the center lane

 

From this point forward, though, I will be afraid to even look at my credit score...I'll keep checking through myFICO just to make sure I'm going in the right direction but other than none of it makes much sense or seems useable in anyway

 

Thank you all

Message 17 of 44
InvincibleSummer3
Established Contributor

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?


@dyneemo wrote:

You have all been very helpful and I thank you. Still a really confusing situation and makes me wonder why we even use a credit score except that I know it keeps us all from plunging off the cliff and, I guess, helps us 'try' to stay in the center lane

 

From this point forward, though, I will be afraid to even look at my credit score...I'll keep checking through myFICO just to make sure I'm going in the right direction but other than none of it makes much sense or seems useable in anyway

 

Thank you all


Unless you're about to have a "credit event", like apping for a new card/loan/mortgage, what have you, getting too tied up in scores can drive a person up the wall. Much easier to just focus on your reports and what information you have there. Over time, if there are less negatives and more positives, you'll be on the right track.

Good luck, and I wish you the best.

Message 18 of 44
jones2929
Established Member

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?

I totally agree with InvincibleSummer3's last comment.  It's just nerve wracking when I'm in a situation where I need to act fairly quickly and don't want to pull my scores too quickly, because that action might decrease my present scores.

Message 19 of 44
thom02099
Valued Contributor

Re: Accuracy of MyFico Scores?


@jones2929 wrote:

I totally agree with InvincibleSummer3's last comment.  It's just nerve wracking when I'm in a situation where I need to act fairly quickly and don't want to pull my scores too quickly, because that action might decrease my present scores.


Hey Jones, I think you're well more than halfway there in understanding how to play the game!  And, to some extent, that's what it is...a huge numbers game! Smiley Surprised InvincibleSummer3 is 100% correct!  Unless you've got a major credit event coming up, no need to sweat the small stuff of fluctuating score.  Seeing the big picture of the CONTENT of the report is what's important. 
Message 20 of 44
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