PLUS vs FICO

[Anonymous]

I am in the process of trying to get a loan....and I was monitoring my PLUS scores....had made some really good progress.

Then the bank tells me that they watch FICO scores...and they are SO DIFFERENT from my PLUS scores...HOW can this be? 

[Lel]

Yesterday someone had a similar question about PLUS scores.  This was my response:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=generalcredit&message.id=134611#M134611

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for the informaiton!!!!  This can really feel like a very lonely black hole when you're trying to figure it all out!

It was easy to make relatively quick progress on the PLUS side...maybe because they aren't as "serious" of scores. 

Since I'm not kind of starting over on the FICO side...any tips for quick updates?  Do we know if FICO only updats once a month?  or daily? 

And what are the terms in timing for old accounts?  Still 7 years?

[llecs]

FICO scoring differs greatly from EX's PLUS score. Your FICO can increase and your PLUS score can decrease for the exact same event. PLUS scoring isn't all that reliable and lenders generally don't use it. But I'm glad you are making the switch. Once you get a general idea of FICO scoring, it becomes fairly easy to predict.

Your FICO score can change daily based on the changes to your CRs. My DW uses a CMS called creditchecktotal, which offers PLUS scores. I'm noticed via monitoring of those scores that they don't always change when a major event happens to your CR like FICO would.

FICO only sees what is reporting to your CR. The 7 yr CRTP for baddies sill applies to the CRAs and FICO won't see beyond that. So if something falls off, FICO won't score it.

I'd suggest reading the following:

Common Abbreviations

Credit Scoring 101 - (read at least the first post) ....great for knowing what is in your credit score and to see how your score is impacted.

[haulingthescoreup]

Your FICO scores don't exist until someone pulls the associated report. They are then generated from what's on the report at that very moment.

If your reports are rockin' and rollin', your FICO scores can change a lot. If they've settled down, and not much is happening other than getting older every month, your FICO scores can remain stagnant for a long, long time.

Another good resource, along with those mentioned above, is Understanding Your FICO ® Score.