New and really confused

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks so much for the advice.  I think that is the right thing to do.  I don't know the exact name of the tool I used to pull my credit scores.  In Equifax, it's just called "credit scores." 

I did see some errors on my reports.  There was a medical collection on one account for $213.  It was paid, but still showing up, and won't come off until 2020.  I also had several accounts with late payments (about 5 different accounts).  Most of these were one or two months in the last 5 years that were 30 days late.  We did also have a mix up with one or our Navient student loans where we were 120 days late at one point in 2012.  The letters I wrote to the credit bureaus essentially disputed all of these as errors and asked that they investigate and remove the items.  My understanding is that I should send a second letter for any items that come back verified asking the credit bureaus to provide proof of their investigations into these items.  My husband is going through the same process. 

Thanks again for your excellent advice!

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If I were you I would immediately cancel these disputes as it doesn't sound like the reporting is inaccurate.

Disputing them will only hurt your chances of getting them removed through good will.

[lloyd1981]

"I also had several accounts with late payments (about 5 different accounts).  Most of these were one or two months in the last 5 years that were 30 days late. "

Your score will probably remain below 700 until very close to the 7 year limit on late and missed payments. The "sub-scores" that make up the world of FICO do not look favorably on loan company accounts, even though paid with no late items, so you might wish to stay clear of them. One of the best things you can do is buy a car and take a long time to pay it off and never be late in payments. My FICO score-8 was bouncing around the low 800s until I decided to pay off a car loan early. Dropped 27 points the first report month after. Another 5 points the next month because I didn't have any "recent installment payments."

Have patience!

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi guys!  I am new to the forums and have a perplexing question (at least it's perplexing to me).  My husband and I are trying to qualify for a mortgage.  I pulled my credit scores from all 3 bureaus.  They were 784 (Equifax), 771 (Transunion) and 761 (Experian).  When I tried to pre-qualify for a mortgage from Quicken Loans, I was told my "median score" was 649.  I went on Equifax's website and purchased their FICO score and it was 644!!  I understand from these forums that a person's FICO score is often lower than their other scores, but this is over 100 points!!

Does anyone know what would make such a big difference in the different scores?  I just pulled my credit reports and sent error letters to the credit bureaus, but any other advice would be greatly appreciated.  We would really like to move and this is the only thing that's holding us back. 

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You're not looking at the correct scores.

If you want to know what your real mortgage scores are, you need to pull a 3B report on MyFICO and check out

EQ FICO 5, TU FICO 4, and EX FICO 2.

Mortgage lenders pull all 3, and take the middle score.