Huge difference in credit score...

[CreditCrisis]

okay, so on IdentityGuard.com which is a site i really like, it says that our scores are about 60 points more then what it reports on Transunions Truecredit. which should i go by?! and thats pretty discouraging!! one is a high number (well higher by 60 points) and the other is just crappy.!

[chane]

Originally Posted by CreditCrisis

which should i go by?

Neither. The banks use FICOs. The scores that Identity Guard and True Credit provide are referred to as "FAKOs" in the credit industry, because they are FAKE. These companies try to create their own algorithms to be as close to Fair Isaac's (FICO) scoring system as possible. Sometimes they are close, most times they are not.

To see what the banks see, you need to buy your scores from FICO or get them from a lender that has pulled your credit report.

Visit MyFICO to purchase your real scores without taking a hit (hard inquiry). If you get them from a lender, it will count as a hard inquiry and possibly hurt your scores.

[CreditCrisis]

YIKES!!! thats really pricey...do you think the scores i am getting now are even close?!

[chane]

Originally Posted by CreditCrisis

YIKES!!! thats really pricey...do you think the scores i am getting now are even close?!

They could be 50-100 or more points off.

That kind of difference is huge. For instance, if you have a middle score of 600 and you apply for a mortgage - you won't qualify.

If you have 650, you should qualify. If you have 700, you definitely qualify and will probably get a decent rate. Of course, right now with the mortgage fiasco taking place, who knows? 650 might not even be high enough. I'm not sure exactly what's going on with that right now.

50 to 100 points or more could literally be the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars. I would never apply for a loan anywhere for anything without knowing my exact credit scores. Here's why:

If I think I have 700's and I apply for a credit card, and I only have 600's...my app gets declined and now I have a hard inquiry that lowers my score even more. I've wasted an inquiry.

You only have a certain amount of inquiries you can use per year...after that they really start hurting you.

You want to be 100% sure you are going to get approved before applying for anything. It's wise to know your scores.

[CreditCrisis]

wow...well im not really looking to apply for anything for at least another 6 months. i am however just trying to keep track of what my efforts thus far have done to improve my scores. i think i will just complete as much of "operation revise credit" as possible before i pay the almost $50 for my FICO's.


thanks!!!!!

[CreditCrisis]

oh yeah!!

also, do you think it would be a good investment to buy my credit report and score? or is that still not the correct score? and actually, since I filed those disputes with the big three, will they send me an updated report?

sorry to be a bother...thanks!

[chane]

Originally Posted by CreditCrisis

oh yeah!!

also, do you think it would be a good investment to buy my credit report and score? or is that still not the correct score? and actually, since I filed those disputes with the big three, will they send me an updated report?

sorry to be a bother...thanks!

You're not a bother.

Since you filed those reports, you will get an updated credit report for free. I have never bought scores from the CRAs. I think some of them to sell FICO scores. Just be careful and make sure you are buying FICOs through them and not their FAKO version.

[CreditCrisis]

Great! thank you so much!