True credit score?

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I need help trying to figure out what is my true credit score. I know for instance that the creditkarma scores are not legit but just as an example, my transunion score with credit karma is 553. Cap one allows me to track my transunion score because i have a card with them, and that one reads 496. To make it even more interesting, i signed up at the transunion website with their 7 day free trial and says my score is 620. Which one is accurate?

[Anonymous]

Those are not your true FICO scores. You can click on Compare  Our Products link on the top of this page to order. You can either select one time report or subscribe to a subscription for identity monitor and report. I'm subscribed to 3 Credit Bureals Scores and Monitor for 19.95 a month I think. Scores are updated a few times through out the month in my case. Whenever there's an inquiry or updates the app will alert me. 

[Anonymous]

I just signed up for it, they are way different than my other scores but at least they are accurate. Not sure if i want to keep the service thought at 24.95 a month but almost seems worth it.

[nightglider]

Your true credit score is whichever one lenders happen to use, and most often that is FICO (or some variation...). CK and TU both offer VantageScore. Cap One offers a New Account Model based on your TU report.

Sometimes you have to do some digging to find out which one you're being offered. Afaik, you can only get your FICO from FICO and some lenders (and they'll make sure they mention it's FICO).

[Anonymous]

So the 620 score i am seeing directly on the transunion site is a vantage score not fico? 

[nightglider]

Correct.

http://www.transunion.com/personal-credit/customer-support/faqs/credit-scores.page#thirteen

[Anonymous]

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@nightglider wrote:

Your true credit score is whichever one lenders happen to use, and most often that is FICO (or some variation...). CK and TU both offer VantageScore. Cap One offers a New Account Model based on your TU report.

Sometimes you have to do some digging to find out which one you're being offered. Afaik, you can only get your FICO from FICO and some lenders (and they'll make sure they mention it's FICO).

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Not true.  You can get FICO scores from both Experian (they only offer FICO scores) and Equifax (they offer both FICO and Fako scores).  

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I need help trying to figure out what is my true credit score.

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There's no such thing.  You don't have just one credit score.  Don't rely on such oversimplifications such as "true", "real", "fake", "legit", etc.  Whatever scoring model a creditor uses is what matters.  Most pull a FICO model but there are many FICO models used by creditors.  If you want to know what a creditor will pull for you then you need to know the CRA and specific model used.  You cannot rely on a score generated by one model to determine the score generated by another model even if both models are FICO's.

See also prior discussions on scores as well as the Understanding FICO Scoring subforum and its stickies.

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@Anonymous wrote:

I know for instance that the creditkarma scores are not legit but just as an example, my transunion score with credit karma is 553.

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They're legit but only for creditors that use VantageScore 3.0.  Good luck determining who does as no one seems to be able to confirm.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Cap one allows me to track my transunion score because i have a card with them, and that one reads 496.

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TransUnion New Account model.  No creditor uses that.  Capital One even states this:

http://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/benefits/credit-tracker/

How does TransUnion Credit Tracker differ from FICO®?
Lenders use many scoring models to calculate your credit score. All of these methods take into account key factors, including your history of on-time payments and credit report details, to measure how likely you are to repay a loan. Your Credit Tracker score is based on the TransUnion New Account Model and is intended for consumer informational purposes only.

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@Anonymous wrote:

To make it even more interesting, i signed up at the transunion website with their 7 day free trial and says my score is 620.

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Also not a FICO.  Their FAQ seems to indicate that it's a VantageScore.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Which one is accurate?

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Alll scores are accurate but only for their own scoring model.  Again, you cannot rely on one scoring model to determine a score generated by another model.  If you want to know what a creditor will pull for you then you need to know the CRA and model that the creditor uses.  However, you cannot pull scores for all models.  I highly recommmend focusing on the data in your reports instead.  Good reports will lead to good scores.

[nightglider]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@nightglider wrote:

Your true credit score is whichever one lenders happen to use, and most often that is FICO (or some variation...). CK and TU both offer VantageScore. Cap One offers a New Account Model based on your TU report.

Sometimes you have to do some digging to find out which one you're being offered. Afaik, you can only get your FICO from FICO and some lenders (and they'll make sure they mention it's FICO).

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Not true.  You can get FICO scores from both Experian (they only offer FICO scores) and Equifax (they offer both FICO and Fako scores).  

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Ah, I see the confusion. Experian's CreditCheck Monitoring through USAA only shows PLUS scores. Thanks for the info.

[Anonymous]

Great information, I really appreciate it. I guess the cap one credit tracker is of no use. The only thing i really like about the myfico credit montoring is that they also tell you variations of your score. depending on what you are looking to apply for or buy. Also as far as i know Fico looks like its still the one most widely used.