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So, according to this score that I get here, I was a 624, but when I applied for a card a few weeks back, it showed that my Equifax score was a 559. Is this "FICO" score supposed to be that off? I thought the score I got from here was supposed to be a pretty accurate idea of what my real score was supposed to be. Please someone clarify.
@InOZmK wrote:So, according to this score that I get here, I was a 624, but when I applied for a card a few weeks back, it showed that my Equifax score was a 559. Is this "FICO" score supposed to be that off? I thought the score I got from here was supposed to be a pretty accurate idea of what my real score was supposed to be. Please someone clarify.
Every lender has discretion as to what kind of FICO score they want to use (assuming they use a FICO to begin with). So, you can apply for a mortgage, a CC, and a car in the same day and if all 3 pulled the same CRA and use a FICO you could see 3 different FICO scores. Some creditors will use an enhanced-FICO and this is common for CC-issuers. It depends on who pulled your credit. Also I'm guessing that a few weeks passed between the two scores. A lot can happen in that time which can change your score.
The 624 was a previous score, and now I am reporting a 653 on this site, so if anything it has improved in between the application date. Just not sure what to believe as far as scores go. Is Discover one of the 10% or so that don't use this FICO score?
It's my understanding that Discover uses a CC-enhanced FICO which weighs your CC experience over the other accts.
It's probably a CC-enhanced FICO version. Ask them which version, they'll probably tell you (you might have to be pushy to find out!)
It's analogous to going to a car dealer and having a different FICO generated - they use an auto-enhanced FICO version.
Heck, the bank told me that there are some 50 "models" that EACH institution creates on their own. They weight different things differently.
Apparently, the only way to KNOW is to apply!! All of this other stuff is bogus.
One other thing she said is that generally, the West Coast uses Experian and Equifax. In the east they use Equifax and TU. This is for car loans. For a mortgage all three will probably be pulled. Once again, how each place averages or adjusts is different.
The FTC REALLY needs to get in on this and clean it up.