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Help me understand this mess

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mk
Established Member

Help me understand this mess

I need some help understand my credit scores, I really don't understand why one is alot higher than the other.  These are the scores.  Equifax fico - 595 Experian Fico - 638 TU - 699.  Why is the TU so much higher ?? On 3/29/2008 I pulled the Experiian it says Experian Vantage Score - 678.  So what is the difference between Fico and Vantage ?? I am guessing that there is some sorta difference. 
I know these scores are bad, I am working on paying off the credit cards.  That is what is killing us.   How long does a missed or deg. payment stay on your credit ?? 7 yrs ?? If so how long till lenders kinda over look it ?? 
 
ThanksSmiley Very Happy
Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
mk
Established Member

Re: Help me understand this mess

My TU fico on 6/7/2007 was 669.  So that has gone up a bit and I am assuming that is good.  Someone help.
Message 2 of 6
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Help me understand this mess


@mk wrote:

I need some help understand my credit scores, I really don't understand why one is alot higher than the other. These are the scores. Equifax fico - 595 Experian Fico - 638 TU - 699. Why is the TU so much higher ?? On 3/29/2008 I pulled the Experiian it says Experian Vantage Score - 678. So what is the difference between Fico and Vantage ?? I am guessing that there is some sorta difference.

I know these scores are bad, I am working on paying off the credit cards. That is what is killing us. How long does a missed or deg. payment stay on your credit ?? 7 yrs ?? If so how long till lenders kinda over look it ??

ThanksSmiley Very Happy



The group of three scores that you posted (595 / 638 / 699) --are these all pulled from this site; from myFICO? And the second EX score is a Vantage score?

There are a variety of credit scores out there. FICO scores are most used by lenders. Vantage is a newish score, based on the info from all three credit reports. So it's actually just a Vantage score, not an EX (or EQ or TU) Vantage score. It, plus the other non-FICO (FAKO) scores are created by completely different score formulas, so save your money. They don't compare with FICO's.

And if the scores you posted didn't come from myFICO, there's no telling what your actual scores really are. My TrueCredit FAKO scores are 60 points apart on EX and EQ, and neither of them remotely match the real FICO versions.

So that aside, assuming that the first set of scores is FICO, you need to print out all three score reports. Hit "printable report" option for each. Then spread them out on a table and go through with a yellow highlighter, looking at dates opened, dates of lates, severity of lates, other negatives, balances, credit limits, and so forth.

While EQ tends to punish more for lates, it shouldn't be much more than 20-30 points lower than the others just for that, so there's probably something else going on. An old account is missing, or a derog has a more recent date, or is only present on EQ, or something similar.

Ideally this would be done with the full reports directly from each bureau (not myFICO, TrueCredit, and so forth), but this is a start.

As for lates, a 30 day doesn't count much after 2 years. As for a 60, it is no longer a major derog after 2 years, so it counts like a 30. 90's, 120's, charge-offs and so on keep on hurting a lot, although there is a bit of a fade. The lates and other derogs display for 7 years after they last hit, and then they stop showing. The account itself keeps displaying for 10 years after it's closed.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 3 of 6
mk
Established Member

Re: Help me understand this mess

Ok, I now have all 3 scores from my Fico.  Here they are TU 643, Eq 595, Ex 638.
 
Why is there such a big difference ?  Which if not all 3 do most banks pull for a car loan ? 
 
Thanks
Message 4 of 6
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Help me understand this mess



@mk wrote:
Ok, I now have all 3 scores from my Fico. Here they are TU 643, Eq 595, Ex 638.
Why is there such a big difference ? Which if not all 3 do most banks pull for a car loan ?
Thanks



OK, that's a little less crazy!

40 points lower on EQ; not that odd if you have recent lates. But there still might be differences among the reports, so you do still need to print them out and go over them with a magnifying glass.

Car dealers pull from their own favorite sources. If you go through a credit union, there's a good chance that they'll go through EQ. And you don't want to hear this, but there are specially tweaked FICO scores --still FICO scores --customized for the auto loan industry. If you've had good clean auto loan history, your auto-enhanced FICO's might be better than the standard ones you pull here. If you've had problems with car loans, they might be worse.

If there is any way that you can arrange financing before you go shopping, it will help with your interest rate.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 5 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Help me understand this mess

EQ hates me too.
 
Message 6 of 6
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