Is your credit score accurate? Here’s what you need to know, plus how to check it

It largely boils down to your credit report and the credit score a prospective lender plans to pull.

Your credit score is an all-important three-digit number that lenders use to decide whether or not to extend you credit, and at what cost and terms. Credit scores are calculated based on information from your credit report — financial records like your payment history, inquiries, bankruptcies, closed accounts and balances.

When checking whether or not your credit score is “accurate,” there are two key factors to consider: 1) Is your credit report accurate? 2) Are you looking at the same credit score your prospective lender is looking at? Credit scores vary based on the credit report being used to calculate the score, as well as the model and the scoring version.

1) Is your credit report accurate?

Mistakes on your credit report, like an incorrect late payment or an unrecognized account, can lead to errors in your credit score since information from your credit report is used in calculating your score.

Regularly monitor your credit reports from each of the three main credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, to make sure there are no errors. You can access your credit report for free through annualcreditreport.com.

2) Are you and the prospective lender looking at the same score?

There’s likely been a time you’ve gone to check your credit score in one place, to later be surprised when the lender pulls a different credit score in deciding your approval for new credit. In addition to you and the lender possibly looking at different credit scoring models, you both may also be looking at different credit scoring versions within each model.

The two main credit scoring models lenders use are FICO® Score and VantageScore®, both which typically range from 300 to 850. Both scoring models are calculated using your payment history, your amounts owed (or percent of credit limit used), your length of credit history, your credit application frequency and your credit mix. Both models also have different versions, such as FICO Score 8 versus FICO Score 3 or VantageScore 3.0 versus VantageScore 4.0, for example. There can be different scores for different types of lending, such as mortgage versus auto loans, as well.

“There are literally hundreds of different credit scores,” Rod Griffin, senior director of public education and advocacy for Experian, tells Select. Lenders, however, are not required to let potential borrowers know what credit scores they’ll be evaluating, he adds. Before applying for credit, it’s worth asking a prospective lender to see if they’ll tell you which credit score they’ll check when deciding whether or not to approve you.

Regardless, it’s smart for consumers to check both their FICO and VantageScore before applying for credit to get a good idea of where they stand overall.

FICO Scores are generally the most widely used scoring models — used by 90% of the top lenders in the U.S., its website says. In other words, when you go to apply for a new credit card or take out a loan, you can almost be sure that the card issuer or lender will look at your FICO Score to determine your creditworthiness.

Here’s where to check your FICO Score:

• American Express credit cards
• Bank of America credit cards
• Citi credit cards
• Discover credit cards, through Discover Scorecard
• Experian credit bureau, through *Experian Boost™
• Wells Fargo credit cards

VantageScores are widely used by credit card issuers, and secondly by both installment loan and fintech lenders. According to its website, nine of the 10 largest banks, 29 of the 100 largest credit unions and more than 2,200 financial institutions used VantageScore credit scores in one or more lines of business.

Here’s where to check your VantageScore:

• Chase Credit Journey
• CreditWise® from Capital One
• Equifax
• TransUnion (costs $24.95 a month)
• Check out this list of other free VantageScore providers through personal finance websites like Credit Karma.

Bottom line

It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your credit report for any errors that could be affecting your credit score. And, before applying for credit, make sure you check both your FICO Score and your VantageScore. See if the lender will tell you which score and version they’ll use in evaluating you for approval.

By Trina Paul

Original Post

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