Why isn't a fico score the same no matter who pulls the report?

[Anonymous]

I want to buy a house in Texas, using FHA. I need a 580 minimum, but when the lender pulled my credit, his score was 25 points lower than my score here on myfico.com ? How is that? Shouldn't a fico score be the "same" ?

[Anonymous]

You have 3 FICO scores- one from each CRA TU, EX and EQ

Only the TU score could be different as they may be using the TU 2004 version instead of the 98 version.

Did he give you a copy of the tri-merge report Does it have the FICO versions on it?  

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backdoctor1 wrote:

I want to buy a house in Texas, using FHA. I need a 580 minimum, but when the lender pulled my credit, his score was 25 points lower than my score here on myfico.com ? How is that? Shouldn't a fico score be the "same" ?

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[Lel]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I want to buy a house in Texas, using FHA. I need a 580 minimum, but when the lender pulled my credit, his score was 25 points lower than my score here on myfico.com ? How is that? Shouldn't a fico score be the "same" ?

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In addition to variations in score among the different CRAs, there apparently also exists variations on the FICO scoring model - so-called "mortgage-enhanced" and "credit card-enhanced" FICO scores. Recently, I checked my Experian FICO score just before going to the bank to apply for a HELOC. They pulled my Experian score the same day, but came up with a score 47 points higher than the one that I got off this site. I can only assume that the score pulled by the lender was a mortgage-enhanced FICO.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your answer. All three were pulled, however I can't recall which was the lowest, but I think it was Transunion. So, the rest of the scores should be the same? Do all mortgage companies that pull credit have up-to-date reports? Or are some a little behind, and therefore don't reflect updated info?

[haulingthescoreup]

It's very rare for all three FICO scores to be the same, even based on identical reports, because each CRA (credit bureau) commissions its own scoring formula from FairIsaac (FICO.) Each formula varies a bit in how it weights factors on your reports, so if the scores ever do come out the same, it's co-incidence more than anything else.

Think of it as being like having 3 different professors grading your paper. Each one is looking for slightly different things, and so the grades are probably also going to be slightly different.

Typically, EQ nails you for lates and accounts under 1 year in age, EX also dislikes new accounts, and TU doesn't like it when lots of accounts report balances, however small. These are just some of the differences that we've picked up on.

[marty56]

I also think EX is sensistive to %util more then the others are but I cant prove this.

[athensguy]

There are at least four different FICO scores: classic, mortgage, auto, and bankcard.

There are 2 or 3 versions in use. (like TU 98 vs. TU'04)

So, unless the place where you are applying uses the exact version as here, the scores here have no more relation to what they pull than any other random score.

Most places use TU '04 now, so it's only rarely going to match the score purchased here. EX should be the same if they pull classic, unless they use the new '08 scoring.

The most likely score to match what is used in providing you credit is EQ if you go to a CU, because they're likely to pull classic EQ of the same year as here.

[haulingthescoreup]

Classic = mortgage.

[MattH]

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@marty56 wrote:

I also think EX is sensitive to %util more then the others are but I cant prove this.

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Hmm, if EX is more sensitive to percentage utilization while the others are more sensitive to total amount and number of credit cards with balances that would explain why my EX is always around 820 while my other two bounce around more between 780 and 800. My wife and I are convenience users, running most purchases through several credit cards and paying in full every month, so the absolute value of the reported balances on our cards might total anywhere from under a thousand dollars in a month when we didn't happen to buy very much, up to whatever in a month when we spend more. Recently for example we used our credit cards to donate several thousand dollars to various charities in a single month, so of course our total balance was fairly large for a couple weeks. So there are times when our balances briefly look high to the algorithm, but our limits are large enough that we rarely hit even 25% utilization.

[athensguy]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Classic = mortgage.

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Dallas said there is a mortgage enhanced version, too, that is different than classic.