GREENSBORO, NC - You go to buy a car and check your credit score beforehand. It's a 750! Yay! But, then you get to the auto dealer and the lender tells you your score is a 675.
What in the Wayne's World?
That's a big difference! Well, turns out, you actually have several credit scores and they can differ between 75 to 100 at any given time.
There's two main credit scoring models. FICO and VantageScore. And then, there's three credit reporting agencies. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. All three of these agencies create a FICO score and a VantageScore.
Senior Loan Officer with Bay Equity Home Loans, Evan Einhorn explained, "Although a few models are often used, there are almost 50 different credit scoring models between the three credit {agencies}."
FIFTY?!?! Here's the (okay, another) plot twist. The score your lender uses- is up to them.
For instance, your mortgage lender could use for Equifax FICO score, which could be a 625. But, your auto lender could user your TransUnion Fico score, which could be a 700.
Why are they so different? It's because each credit reporting agency weighs information differently. So, if you have medical debt, one agency could weigh it more than others, giving you a different score.
In addition, you could go to a credit card lender, a mortgage lender and an auto lender in the same day and all three would give you a different score.
"Clients are often either pleasantly surprised or disappointed when we run credit as it may be higher or lower than other scores they recently pulled," said Einhorn.
Unfortunately, none of your scores are 100 percent accurate all the time. Generally your FICO score is the closest and what lenders might use.
Again, your lender chooses what score they will use but you could print other credit scores and give them to your lender to consider. But, it's not a guarantee.
You can get a free credit score estimate on Credit Karma, but for your official FICO score, you'll have to pay on myfico.com.
For tips on improving your credit score, click here!
