Is it time to change the system?

[Anonymous]

I never really paid attention to this credit scoring thing until about 3 months ago when I decided to use my VA loan entitlement. After researching everything I needed to do, I signed up for every program and website I could to get my hands on my credit scores and start building. My score wasn't too bad, and according to each credit bureau and right here on myFico, my score was over the 620 required to qualify for the VA Loan.

Take note of the fact that I pay money every month to these credit bureaus and myFico to see my "score." MY money, paid to them, to see MY so-called "score."

Yet, when I sit down with the mortgage company, they explain to me that the score I get isn't actually used for anything. Nothing. Zero. No lender, store, bank, etc. cares about the score that I pay to see. **bleep**?

I pay money to get a number on a screen that has ZERO meaning.

That's like going to McDonald's, ordering a Big Mac, opening the box, and the box has a Filet O' fish in it.

I don't see how this could be legal. How much longer will we stand by and let this happen?

I think it should be a LAW that we see all scores related to our finances. How can it be legal to take someones money for a worthless product?

Who is with me?

[MidnightJester]

How can it be legal to take someones money for a worthless product? The worth is the issue!! and there is some worth even in a different score from a FICO or FAKO

If you read the fine print on any and all scores FICO and FAKO they just claim to bu used by some or majority but never all and never specify. This way our minds can because of how they work misplace trust in a number in the sky. We place the worth on it in our heads by assuming most of our beliefs about each score. The way these scores are there are very very few worth getting if you want a REAL SCORE all the others FICO included if they are using one you can't get are FAKO's. If you get a real FICO and the lender you are talking to uses a different score or modified score your FICO is the same as a FAKO as far as they are concerened or you will be after the bank/lender says you missed by 1 point cause there score is what matters.

The only way this will work to make us happy(borrower) is if the lenders/banks are required to disclose to us each model they use from each of the 3CRA. Then we could attempt to get"buy" the right one. The best thing currently is that the FICO's and FAKO are a guidence for us aproximately. With knowlege of what is in our reports the real important factor.

[Stanic413]

I'm a bit torn on this.  Let's say you're rebuilding or working towards a score to be approved for a mortgage or even taking it a step further, to be in an interest rate range since these are based primarily on score and not what's in your report.  You pull your score from FICO and see that you've reached your goal, you're in that range.  But go to a mortgage lender and find out the score you pulled from MyFICO is 25 points higher than their model, you don't get the loan or the rate you wanted and have to go back and work on it some more.  The worth of that FICO score you paid for has decreased. But, if you purchase the score just to see where you are or how far you've come in a certain period of time, it's worth has significantly increased.  Just depends on what you're using it for and gotta expect the worst and hope for the best. 

[Anonymous]

Would love a federal law or class action lawsuit make them pay back every dime they took from people. $15 a month to see a number that no lender uses. And that's just here on myFico. $17.95 a month on TU, $14.95 for EQ and $14.95 at EX.

It is actually incomprehensible that this is taking place.

[MidnightJester]

If you want a real score The secret is getting the few EQ,EX,TU(04) scores mortages use. They are the only REAL scores as far as I can tell. Only a few ways to get each none of which is on MYFICO anymore.

[cashnocredit]

---

@MidnightJester wrote:

If you want a real score The secret is getting the few EQ,EX,TU(04) scores mortages use. They are the only REAL scores as far as I can tell. Only a few ways to get each none of which is on MYFICO anymore.

---

There are far fewer mortgages obtained than credit cards and other loans. The mortgage GSEs are stuck using FICO score models that are ten years old and are less predictive than newer models but they have a lot of experience with them and fear change. Keep in mid that most larger creditors don't only use FICO scores. They tweek them based on their own customer experiences. The whole notion that there is only One Score is just not true. It's just the nature of credit scores. People change. Credit default patterns change, models change as computers get more powerful and scores will change. 

[MidnightJester]

Assuming you throw out the (04) mortage scores and stick to Credit Card type scores then I would go with TU(08) as a good base which you can get a few places. EX(08) next and EQ(08) last only because so few main Credit Card compaines use EQ these days.

Since  there are so many scores and not even close to "1" score to rule them all : ) They are all FAKO's in there own right. Especially since a bunch of banks have their own internal scoring they addd to the FICO scores they use. Todays scores are really just guidence to know you are going in some direction. The real data in the especially paid reports is the SP's, HP's, and what derogs you have.

[KeithW]

Why is this allowed? We are the "primary" users of our credit scores, not some bank. Why not please the people putting out the big dollars, and give them any version they need. If you want the 04 version, then have it available.

[cashnocredit]

---

@KeithW wrote:

Why is this allowed? We are the "primary" users of our credit scores, not some bank. Why not please the people putting out the big dollars, and give them any version they need. If you want the 04 version, then have it available.

---

Consumers are not the primary users and buyers of credit scores, lenders are. For a long time consumers couldn't even buy a credit score let alone a FICO score. They couldn't even get a copy of their credit reports to see if there was any wrong info in them.  And FICO does sell a wide variety of scores to lenders and collectors but the more modern scores cost more just like one would expect any business to do. A 5 year old car costs more than a 10 year old car of the same model.

[KeithW]

How could they make much from banks, which only pull when someone wants a loan, compared with consumers, which there are a tremendously larger number of, and whom pay to regularly monitor it, rather than a one time pull? I would expect the banks to be a very small customer, dollar wise, for the previous reasons.