Something seems fishy...

[PrimeRisk]

I have been a customer of the MyFICO Quarterly Monitoring product since May of 2004 and have happily watched my score bounce up and down through the last 5+ years.  As a bit of a sanity check, I have also recieved my TransUnion FICO score from WaMu/Chase on about a monthly basis.  What I have seen since receiving my February 2009 score is a divergence of these two scores.  Even more disturbing is the fact that my last 3 scores from MyFICO have been identical (all 733s) even though I have had some significant changes in my credit profile (5 credit accounts closed for inactivity), significant reductions in total debt (got the big project bonus), significant shift in percentage of mortgage debt versus revolving debt (I paid down the revolving debt with the bonus), and I even dropped off my last lingering credit inquiry. 

Through all of this over the last 6 months I haven't moved a single solitary point up or down in my score?!?!?  The TransUnion FICO delivered from WaMu/Chase is tracking to these changes with slow but steady improvements in my score.  The difference is now 60 points.  I understand that there are probably different scoring models between MyFICO and the bank, but I still think there should be at least some change in the score.  In the 22 scores I have gotten from MyFICO I have never had a score repeated until the last 3 in a row.

Is something fishy here or should I go buy a lotto ticket?

[Anonymous]

I agree, this does seem 'fishy' - seems like your score should've fluctuated at least some, given the changes on your report. The fact that you are an experienced 'scorewatcher' and have another FICO model to compare it to adds even more credibility.

My professional, expert, technical assessment is - it's broke!

[haulingthescoreup]

You're still getting your TU score from WaMu/ Chase??? My understanding was that Chase dropped that. I could well be wrong, though, as the Providian --> WaMu --> Chase roller coaster ride has been pretty wild lately.

Back in the day, when they were WaMu cards (Providian before that), WaMu supplied the TU FICO credit-card enhanced score. It was often higher than the classic TU FICO, because it had a higher range. It was a FICO, but one that was tweaked for the CC industry. We never were able to figure out exactly how it would correlate to the classic FICO, because it weighed factors differently. We called it a PFICO, P for Providian, to distinguish it from classic TU FICO.

So that score and the score on your quarterly monitoring product would never match, except by coincidence. As for the QM score looking "stuck", I'd try calling customer service and asking if they can take a look at it and figure what's going on.

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[PrimeRisk]

Thanks for the advice.  The last WaMu/Chase score was delivered on 7/14/09.  I am still on a "WaMu" account and haven't been converted over to the Chase account yet.  They keep saying it's coming soon, but I still get WaMu statements and log into the WaMu account site.  I recognize that the bank provided score tended to be a bit higher than the closest MyFICO score, but they seemed to track fairly well.  If the one went up or down, so did the other.  I'll give customer service a call today and post the results.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Is this a CC or a bank account that you have at WaMu?

[jackg]

Prime Risk

Events in the financial markets have been chaotic to say the least. There iis no such thing as a WAMU CC despite what your CC says. When was the last time you received a statement from them. The scores you refer to were called "PFICO" scores, the "P" referred to providian.

[Anonymous]

He hasn't said it's a CC account...

[PrimeRisk]

This isn't a CC account.  It is a banking account with Checking, Savings, Primary Mortgage, and HELOC.  (Yes, a lot of eggs in one basket)  On the "Your Accounts" page states "Your FICO® score is 793 as of 07/14/2009 Source: TransUnion".

I have talked to a very nice CSR at MyFICO by the name Tersa that looked at my account and spent a significant amout of time looking at it and then had her supervisor review the differences between the the reports and the lack of differences in score.  The key points they looked at were:

February to August Reports:

Revolving Balance Change - Down 20%

Revolving Utilization           - Up 3%  

Mortgage Balance Chagne - Down 10%

Number of accounts          - Down 1, now 0

Accounts opened <1yr      - Down 1, now 0

Credit History                   - Up 1, Now 20 years

Avg Age of Accts              - Up 1, Now 9 years

Still no Score Change   

The supervisor agreed that it something doesn't appear right and that there should be at least some change.  They have sent my account to the next level of support and given me a ticket number.  ETA 48 hours.

I will update this thread when I hear back.

Message Edited by PrimeRisk on 08-18-2009 12:43 PM

[PrimeRisk]

Well...  I got a quick response.  I was promised a call back within 48 hours, but I got the following canned response via e-mail below:

Thank you for contacting us about your FICO score. After further review of your account, the reason your score may not be changing, is that although you are making changes both that could be looked at positively and negatively, they are just not enough to affect the score. If you are trying to improve you score, its best to look at the Negative Score Factors as a focus point. Keep in mind that the ordering of the score factors is important. The first code indicates the area where you lost the most points, the second code is where you lost the second most points, and so on. In other words, concentrate on the first one or two score factors. The third and fourth factors (if present) are not as significant.

Regards,
myFICO Customer Care
www.myFICO.com    Question Reference #xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Product Level 1:  FICO Quarterly Monitoring Category Level 1:  FICO Scoring Questions Date Created:  08/18/2009 12:37 PM Last Updated:  08/18/2009 02:53 PM Status:  Solved Unique Customer Id:  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Amount Refunded:    QM_Y/N: 

Stunning...there was obviously no review of my account or the scores in question (or they'd know if there were 3rd or 4th items in my negatives list).  I will call back tomorrow to open another ticket.  Since I got 0 days to respond if I was unsatisfied with the solution and the status of the ticket is Solved I'm betting I will have to start the entire issue from the beginning.  This is not cool MyFICO, not cool at all.

[PrimeRisk]

I have called MyFICO customer care again and sure enough, the previous ticket is closed and no it can't be re-opened.  Today I talked to Pam, again a very nice and helpful CSR, and she also took the time to review the reports herself and conferred with her supervisor.  They agreed that the issue should be escalated and that the previous response did not seem to fit the situation.  Pam assured me that I would be contacted via telephone this time.  (Crossing my fingers)

Just as a straw poll, has anyone else out there seen three consecutive quarterly reports with identical scoring?