Why you should no longer buy Transunion FICO scores from Myfico

[hegemony]

 

 

 

 

[disnugaswagg]

WOW! Huge difference. I am subscribed to TC because its helping with B*, but after I reach my goal ..... its a done, DONE subscription.

[GoUpScore]

I've come to the conclusion that no scores - including EQ FICO - are particularly useful as so many lenders are using their own scoring models anyhow. I vote that the scoring system be either standardized or abolished.

[Culpeper Mike]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does SM match your actual Walmart fico?

[hegemony]

 

 

Does SM match your actual Walmart fico?

 

 

you make me giggle.

[Culpeper Mike]

Does SM match your actual Walmart fico?

 

 

you make me giggle.

 

 

 

Why do I make you giggle? I'm confused.

[hegemony]

Does SM match your actual Walmart fico?

 

 

you make me giggle.

 

 

 

Why do I make you giggle? I'm confused.

 

I don't have a walfart card. I'd rather not know my FICO score than deal with such a product.

[brainchasm]

Is it possible Sallie Mae was using an enhanced version of some kind, like Mortgage-Enhanced?

 

Or is it likely the difference between 98 and 04?

[hegemony]

Is it possible Sallie Mae was using an enhanced version of some kind, like Mortgage-Enhanced?

 

Or is it likely the difference between 98 and 04?

it might be bankcard-enhanced but 64 points is still a huge difference.

[visorboy1974]

I have FICO scores ranging anywhere from 679-740. Obviously I like whatever version that gave me the 740 the most.

[T77125]

I checked my score & apped for 2 cards with days of checking My fico TU & the score MF gave me was within a couple of points of one when I got there letter in the mail & the same for another.

 

That score has to be an enhanced score for a mortgage.

 

Some one mentioned how companies are using internal scoring instead of fico scoring. I agree it should be a standard score that all creditors use. Banks use this internal scoring model as a loop hole in the credit card reform act.

[DAR77]

does anyone know what AMEX uses vrs PSECU ?

 

When i got my last card my EX Fico was 718 ! Estatic !!!! My PSECU i think 2 weeks earlier was 689 and the olny thing that changes was ONE TLs UTIL went from 10% to 5%.

 

29pts ! for such a small change.

[brainchasm]

AMEX gave me my EX FICO (757) when they denied me in September.

[bigmammal]

Why do you think Sallie Mae gave you a FICO score? I don't see them mentioning it anywhere.

[santacruz]

so you are not going to tell us

[hegemony]

Why do you think Sallie Mae gave you a FICO score? I don't see them mentioning it anywhere.

the form it used is the model form resulting from Dodd-Frank. The disclosure is required for risk-based pricing. some creditors have chosen to send the notification to everyone, some only to declines. I have not seen other SM approval folks mentioning it.

[bigmammal]

Why do you think Sallie Mae gave you a FICO score? I don't see them mentioning it anywhere.

the form it used is the model form resulting from Dodd-Frank. The disclosure is required for risk-based pricing. some creditors have chosen to send the notification to everyone, some only to declines. I have not seen other SM approval folks mentioning it.

 

What I don't understand is why you think it's FICO, not some other model?

[hegemony]

so you are not going to tell us

 

two pictures are worth 2,000 words.

 

myfico TU score is not used by lenders. It is the FICO98 score. The 98 stands for 1998. 1998 is a long time ago. In fact in 1998 I took a trip to France. I ate a lot of cheese and drank a lot of wine. I did not see Beldar Conehead while I was there but I kept an eye out for him.

[PrincessMelody]

Just wondering, what's wrong with the Walmart card? I have the WM Discover...And I enjoy shopping at Walmart. For certain items, their prices can't be beat!

[Tylerman]

The Sallie Mae score isnt a FICO!

Edited December 3, 2011 by Tylerman

[triger716]

Why do you think Sallie Mae gave you a FICO score? I don't see them mentioning it anywhere.

the form it used is the model form resulting from Dodd-Frank. The disclosure is required for risk-based pricing. some creditors have chosen to send the notification to everyone, some only to declines. I have not seen other SM approval folks mentioning it.

 

What I don't understand is why you think it's FICO, not some other model?

I was going to post the same thing when I read the letter? It has no mention of FICO or Fair Issac anywhere that I can see. Chances are if it was a FICO score it would say so, but perhaps not.

 

That being said the fact stands that there is really no reason to buy the TU MyFico score since it such an outdated model.

 

ETA: Hege, Out of curiosity what does creditkarma say your Transrisk score is? (It too has a range from 300-850)

Edited December 3, 2011 by triger716

[jello77]

I also recently applied for the Sallie Mae card and got a similar letter.

 

 

 

 

Shown below are my scores as of Nov 16, which is the date Sallie Mae made a hard inquiry with TU.

 

 

 

 

812__Credit score reported by Sallie Mae

 

 

 

 

791__TransUnion FICO score purchased from MyFICO (TU98)

 

 

 

 

754__TransRisk score reported by Credit Karma

 

 

 

 

The letter from Sallie Mae says the score range is 300 to 850. Of the various score brands, I believe FICO and TransRisk are the only ones that use a range of 300 to 850. If this is true, then my Sallie Mae score of 812 must be either a FICO or TransRisk score. Since my TransRisk score as reported by Credit Karma on the same day is much lower, this leads me to believe the Sallie Mae score is probably a FICO score.

 

 

 

 

The question then becomes which FICO version Sallie Mae uses. If I understand it correctly, there are three FICO "editions" currently in use by TU (1998, 2004, and 2008). In addition, each edition is available in sub-versions customized for different types of lenders (credit card, mortgage, auto loan). Each edition and sub-version will result in a different FICO score.

 

 

 

 

I have read that the 2004 FICO edition (TU04) is the most widely used right now by credit issuers. Therefore, my best guess is that the Sallie Mae score is the credit card subversion of the 2004 FICO edition.

 

 

 

 

This would make sense given my own credit history and my scores shown above. I have a long history of credit card use (33 years) with a perfect payment record. The only FICO scoring factor I don't rate highly on is "types of credit used" which accounts for 10% of your score. Having a mix of revolving, mortgage, and auto loans is supposed to give the best score. I have never had any other credit type except credit cards, and this apparently costs me some points in my TU98 score from MyFICO.

 

 

 

 

A FICO version customized for credit card lenders probably puts more emphasis on your credit card history, and may not even care whether you have other types of credit. This might explain why my Sallie Mae score is 21 points higher than my TU98 score purchased on the same day.

 

 

 

 

Does this make any sense? I'm new at trying to figure out the mysteries of credit scoring, but I'm finding it fun to watch the ups and downs of my scores on Credit Karma.

 

 

[CTSoxFan]

The score you get from MyFico is a generic FICO score. Every lender applies tweaks to the models to fit their certain needs. There are various models such as bankcard enhanced or auto enhanced which place more weight on your history with those types of credit. Even within those enhanced models different lenders apply different weightings to the scoring. Basically, it means you can't really directly compare one score to another, they are all just data points you can use to get an estimate of where you would fall the next time your report is pulled.

[blackangst]

 

myfico TU score is not used by lenders. It is the FICO98 score. The 98 stands for 1998. 1998 is a long time ago. ---snipped the France trip details---

 

The score you get from MyFico is a generic FICO score. Every lender applies tweaks to the models to fit their certain needs. There are various models such as bankcard enhanced or auto enhanced which place more weight on your history with those types of credit. Even within those enhanced models different lenders apply different weightings to the scoring. Basically, it means you can't really directly compare one score to another, they are all just data points you can use to get an estimate of where you would fall the next time your report is pulled.

 

These are both correct. The TU98 model isnt really pulled by anyone any more. If TU is pulled its usually TU04.

[CreditDebitJustGetIt]

I agree, none of the scores ever match even when they are called "FICO"...I also applied for Sallie Mae and was turned down. My FICO said my score was 715 and then Sallie Mae said it was 699...although not a huge difference I would not have applied if I knew it was below 700. My EX through PSECU says 680. But trditionally EX is usually 40 points higher than my others because many of my creditors don't report to EX correctly I have a split file or something it is weird but it works to my advantage.