$20 For A FICO Score?

[Anonymous]

What costs do they have to cover?  At  $14.95, it was overpriced for info that is already maintained.  I know if I buy now at  $19.95... next year it will be $25.  I guess one source will have to do... and this will not be it.  Bye Fico.

[Barry]

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@Anonymous wrote:

What costs do they have to cover?  At  $14.95, it was overpriced for info that is already maintained.  I know if I buy now at  $19.95... next year it will be $25.  I guess one source will have to do... and this will not be it.  Bye Fico.

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I definitely hear you all about the price increase and have shared your comments with myFICO management.  As for where the $19.95 goes, myFICO splits a good portion of it with the credit bureau, as we have to buy the scores from them.  Hopefully, you can still see the value in a FICO score vs. a non-FICO score -- even at the higher price.  If not, I understand. 

-Barry

[RammaCredit]

Well if you buy the score from them, Why do you all call them FAKO's? The charges are  very pricey. I think to get your scores it should be moe like 5.00 ea as opposed to 19.95ea. then the free trial only gives you 1 report and score. Seriously this should be revamped. 

Scores only 4.95 ea (one time as apposed to paying for a year or 3 months at once) would be the BOMB.

[llecs]

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@RammaCredit wrote:

Well if you buy the score from them, Why do you all call them FAKO's? The charges are  very pricey. I think to get your scores it should be moe like 5.00 ea as opposed to 19.95ea. then the free trial only gives you 1 report and score. Seriously this should be revamped. 

Scores only 4.95 ea (one time as apposed to paying for a year or 3 months at once) would be the BOMB.

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"FAKO" is an endearing term we use for non-FICO scores. You can get your EQ FICO from myFICO.com, from Equifax.com (if you can find it...hidden) or from your lender. Other than myFICO.com, you can also get your TU FICO from transunioncs.com (note the -cs) and from your lender. Finally, as of two years ago, Experian no longer allows consumers to pull their own EX FICO score, but you can get it from your lender or on your checking statement if you happen to have a checking account with a CU in PA called PSECU. Any other score from any other source are not FICO scores, but a knock-off we call FAKOs. MyFICO.com is the only place anywhere where you can get both FICO scores together (other than from a lender).

Why call it "FAKO"? They are fake wanna-be's. They are so unreliable and such a poor predictor of risk that lenders won't even touch or use them. They are nothing more than marketing scores for companies that promote free credit reports using witty jingles on a television commercial. I wouldn't say that it's a scam, it's pure marketing genius, but it doesn't do consumers any good.

I'm not a FICO-insider. I just stumbled on this site via a referral from another forum about three years ago. I came here clueless but began to learn and was asked one day to be a volunteer mod (and no, FICO doesn't send me a paycheck and I don't get free reports whenever I want them). I say this because every now and then someone thinks otherwise. But I also agree that $4.95 each would be great, though I think FREE would be better. Why not FREE? Why not $4.95 each? I'm just guessing here, but I'd say that FICO has a large number of expenses tied into providing us reports. On the front-end, they have the IT guys to take care of, as well as the product development, translating the formula to a web-based format so we can get our scores, the security folks to make sure our info isn't hacked, advertising and marketing guys, and various sponsorships, then there's this forum to pay (as a biz owner looking into forums, it isn't cheap), taxes, utilities,  rent for the space(s), payroll (biggest expense...espcially with statiticians, scientists, economists, futurists, and the like to keep tabs on trends), more taxes, R&D, legal (I foresee compliance nightmares with fed and state laws), and much more. Not only that, but everytime you and I pull our EQ or TU FICO scores, FICO has to pay a fee to those CRAs for that report access. FICO doesn't get it for free. A chunck of the fee we pay goes back to the CRA for their information. I surmise that every year, those CRAs up the fees they charge FICO for report access. I have to guess that this is a primary reason why the cost went up. I think this was said publicly anyway, so it isn't new info. But free or $4.95 would be great, but it won't happen. Quite frankly, I think FICO should change their business model. Lenders are loyal. Consumers are loyal (once they know the difference between a FAKO and FICO). The CRAs aren't that loyal. The relationship between the CRAs and FICO needs to change.

[BungalowMo]

I look at it like this....

You get what you pay for. 

Anyone wonder why some sites out there are free?  Because the scores are fake & NO lender uses them.

I pay because the information here is priceless & the people are pretty fun too! 

[taz3261]

I agree the price is steep!!! I agree with other posts try to get a discount code or sign up for score watch for equifax scores and quarter monitoring for transunion scores...all well worth it products!!!

[Tazman81]

Well said llecs!

[RammaCredit]

Thanks for the reply. I too agree that the relationship btw myFico and  the CRA's need to change. But that would be too much like right. I love this site and hope that the community will continue to stay free; thats the most valuable thing on here. It feels good to know that someone has been in shoes similar to yours when it comes to credit. I appreciate all of the moderators and contributors cause without you all I would not be close to where I am with my credit and scores today. Happy New Year!

[BungalowMo]

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@RammaCredit wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I too agree that the relationship btw myFico and  the CRA's need to change. But that would be too much like right. I love this site and hope that the community will continue to stay free; thats the most valuable thing on here. It feels good to know that someone has been in shoes similar to yours when it comes to credit. I appreciate all of the moderators and contributors cause without you all I would not be close to where I am with my credit and scores today. Happy New Year!

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Hey Ramma....your post was also well said.  This community has an unlimited value.  I think many of us here have reaped the rewards.  This kind of community doesn't run on thin air, it takes a few bucks to keep it up & running smoothly.  Even if I didn't have a discount code I'd buy my scores...although *maybe* not quite as often! 

[Barry]

Thanks for the encouraging comments!  I can't tell you how gratifying it is to hear what this community means to people!   Tell your friends.