Which company to pull credit score from?

[ultimatebob]

NO NO NO scores are NOT free. Reports are, once a year per credit reporting agency.

CreditKarma's scores are free, but they aren't real FICO scores. They're damn close to real FICO scores, though.

 

[brianmanahan]

myfico

 

[Triumph]

The only score you can buy that is real is Equifax, and get it from myfico. You can't get Experian at all except as a perk from some credit unions. The Transunion score at myfico is essentially worthless. While it is a true FICO it's not the one most lenders that use Transunion use. The one they sell is the outdated TU98 formula where most use TU04 and some have moved to TU08. Get your Equifax score and call it a day. The others will be in the ballpark if the data on the reports are the same.

This to me points out the ridiculousness of the entire credit history industry. The entire premise is bad enough: a group of individuals elect to create a rating of you based on what they can gather about your financial habits (it doesn't even matter if its correct financial information, the onus is upon you to prove that they have false information, not the other way around), they create a score for you based upon formulas that they will not share with anyone, and this rating of you, that you never gave permission for, will affect many major aspects of your life.

So not only will they rate you without your consent and affect most of the major financial expenditures of your life, they won't tell you how they're rating you. So no one really knows how to work towards a good rating. I have a good job, own a home, a car, don't have any debt, pay my bills, etc. So why isn't my score 800? I don't know! Nobody knows!

And not only do they not tell you how they rate you, they won't even tell you what their rating of you is! As boomhower said, even if you're PAYING for it, you can only really see 1 of the 3 scores! How goddamn ridiculous is that?

Cliffs:
People decide to rate you without your consent, with a huge affect on your life
People won't tell you how they rate you
People make you pay to see the rating that they give you
Even when you pay, said people won't even give you the real rating that they give you!

 

[HendrixFan]

This to me points out the ridiculousness of the entire credit history industry.

I rate any hot girls I see, but that doesn't mean anyone cares to pay me for that information. They are private companies that are given data by financial institutions, data that you consent for them to give out when you enter into a financial agreement with them. Why should a private company be forced to share those things with you? That they are required by law to provide a free copy of the information they gather annually, and also anytime you are denied credit is plenty sufficient.

How they score is pretty well known, and any variation you see is due to the buckets they use for scoring, which actually make their evaluation more accurate. The credit history industry isn't so ridiculous, they do a great job of compiling readily available statistics to determine chance of default. That is why lenders are eager to utilize their scoring.

35% of your score is your history, if you have no lates or defaults then you get 100% of that value.

30% is utilization, or how much of your available credit you use. They don't have access to your income, but generally issuers do not extend credit card limits that in total exceed your annual HHI. Keeping overall utilization between 1-10% yields the highest score, and 0% will ding you as much as 11%.

15% is the length of your credit history, but only those who have had open lines of credit for 40+ years will be able to maximize this area. That is a mixture between your oldest line and the average age of accounts.

10% of your score is from types of credit, revolving or installment. Credit cards versus student loans, car loans and mortgages. The more diversity the better.

The last 10% of score is recent credit, which is measured by inquiries that pile up with each application for credit. After one year they no longer drag down your score, and after two they disappear altogether.

Why are the percentages divided up as they are? Because scoring models have shown that they are similarly influential in determining who will default. Someone who has a history of defaults and/or lates is much more likely to default on future credit than any other factor. Someone who is at or near maximum utilization, minus any previous defaults or lates, is nearly as likely to default. It is probably going to be the first of many defaults once utilization goes over 90%. The other smaller factors are just a more general history which each piece together signaling a default. Someone applying for a bunch of credit is likely to have a default looming. Someone with little or no credit is more likely to default than someone with a longstanding history, even though neither have a history of default.

You have to understand the scoring is done to predict default.

 

[DCal430]

I do the quarterly monitoring at MyFICO.com, it is only $5 a month and every 3 months you get a Transunion Score and Credit Report. I also get my Equifax score once a year from there.

MyFico is the only place you can reliably get your actual FICO score, other scores are FAKO scores.

 

[blackangst1]

The only score you can buy that is real is Equifax, and get it from myfico. You can't get Experian at all except as a perk from some credit unions. The Transunion score at myfico is essentially worthless. While it is a true FICO it's not the one most lenders that use Transunion use. The one they sell is the outdated TU98 formula where most use TU04 and some have moved to TU08. Get your Equifax score and call it a day. The others will be in the ballpark if the data on the reports are the same.

I rate any hot girls I see, but that doesn't mean anyone cares to pay me for that information. They are private companies that are given data by financial institutions, data that you consent for them to give out when you enter into a financial agreement with them. Why should a private company be forced to share those things with you? That they are required by law to provide a free copy of the information they gather annually, and also anytime you are denied credit is plenty sufficient.

How they score is pretty well known, and any variation you see is due to the buckets they use for scoring, which actually make their evaluation more accurate. The credit history industry isn't so ridiculous, they do a great job of compiling readily available statistics to determine chance of default. That is why lenders are eager to utilize their scoring.

35% of your score is your history, if you have no lates or defaults then you get 100% of that value.

30% is utilization, or how much of your available credit you use. They don't have access to your income, but generally issuers do not extend credit card limits that in total exceed your annual HHI. Keeping overall utilization between 1-10% yields the highest score, and 0% will ding you as much as 11%.

15% is the length of your credit history, but only those who have had open lines of credit for 40+ years will be able to maximize this area. That is a mixture between your oldest line and the average age of accounts.

10% of your score is from types of credit, revolving or installment. Credit cards versus student loans, car loans and mortgages. The more diversity the better.

The last 10% of score is recent credit, which is measured by inquiries that pile up with each application for credit. After one year they no longer drag down your score, and after two they disappear altogether.

Why are the percentages divided up as they are? Because scoring models have shown that they are similarly influential in determining who will default. Someone who has a history of defaults and/or lates is much more likely to default on future credit than any other factor. Someone who is at or near maximum utilization, minus any previous defaults or lates, is nearly as likely to default. It is probably going to be the first of many defaults once utilization goes over 90%. The other smaller factors are just a more general history which each piece together signaling a default. Someone applying for a bunch of credit is likely to have a default looming. Someone with little or no credit is more likely to default than someone with a longstanding history, even though neither have a history of default.

You have to understand the scoring is done to predict default.

Both of these are correct. FICO is all that matters. Anything else could be +/- 100 points up or down from your FICO. You cannot "get an idea" of your FICO from a FAKO.

Where to get FICO's?

myfico.com: one of only TWO places to buy Trans Union and Equifax Fico scores. As boomer mentioned, getting the TU from there is worthless. Its an outdated FICO that lenders dont pull.

My Credit Plan (or something like that): only place to BUY Experian Fico. 2nd Place to buy Equifax and Trans Union Ficos (TU04 model).

PSECU Credit Union: Gives your Experian Fico for FREE every month with a checking account. Must live in PA to join or be grandfathered in.

Digital Credit Union: Gives you your Equifax Fico for free every month with Direct Deposit or a high minimum balance.

Walmart Visa or Discover Credit Card: Free Trans Union Fico every month with card.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

So I just pulled my 3 credit reports and bought the Equifax score from them. Everything looks to be good and according to the advice in the thread this seems to be good correct?