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So I pay to check my Experian credit score monthly. I have been rebuilding for the last year or so and my scores have went from around a 495 (unfortunately) to now a 640 per their website and app. Also, I know it doens't mean much, but credit karma has my scores as 649 and 662.
So today I apply for a Credit Card with PepBoys as I need to get new tires for my vehicle....Well I am DENIED!
I receive an email stating my Experian credit score is 580!!
So how the hell can it be a 580 when the service I pay for and on the Experian website says my score is 640???
They likely are using a different FICO model. My TU FICO 08 is 644 while my FICO 04 (mortgage model) is 569 for instance. My Auto score is usually 30 points higher than my FICO 08 due to old, paid off vehicle loans. A bunch of Charge offs from 5.5 years ago my derogs. YMMV.
There are many different scoring models for Experian - I count 10 on MyFico reports.
Experian:
FICO® Score 8
FICO® Score 2
FICO® Auto Score 8
FICO® Auto Score 2
FICO® Bankcard Score 8
FICO® Score 3
FICO® Bankcard Score 2
FICO® Score 9
FICO® Auto Score 9
FICO® Bankcard Score 9
Snide answer: so FICO has more inventory to sell lenders.
By the book answer: scores differ for two reasons:
- There are auto, bankcard, and mortgage versions to focus on those particular types of loans/risks
- FICO creates new versions over time, and some lenders have faith in old versions or don't want to pay for new versions, or for whatever reason, continue to use old versions
I suggest logging into Experian, navigating to Credit Scores, and then clicking the Other FICO Scores tab. Find the one most similar to the one they cited and that's most likely the one they used, for whatever reason. Experian does not show all FICO variants, so it may not be there.
FWIW, you may have dodged a bullet, in a way. Store cards are not really that desirable for credit-building, in general. They aren't weighed the same as bank credit cards, and don't tend to grow as much.
Lol, I agree. It can get confusing. When I started building credit, I would try to research which score versions they used or were likely to pull for the card or CLI. It helped me a lot.
@KJinNC wrote:Snide answer: so FICO has more inventory to sell lenders.
So one might say it could be simplified more?
@KJinNC wrote:FWIW, you may have dodged a bullet, in a way. Store cards are not really that desirable for credit-building, in general. They aren't weighed the same as bank credit cards, and don't tend to grow as much.
This. I've never understood the mindset with people who app for thes types of accounts. When a perfectly good Bank Card is right around the corner with better APRs. Granted lowers scores won't always see the best rate, but there are so many CU's ou there that have much lower rates than the one carried by thse store cards. Even regular banks have credit products with lower rates.
@Anonymous wrote:I've never understood the mindset with people who app for these types of accounts.
I agree with you, but a lot of them offer deferred interest for 6-12 months, and people love that.