As an experienced credit repair service, we see plenty of misinformation out there. For instance, most people think that if they want to pull their credit scores, they should go directly to the three major reporting agencies; Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax. Unfortunately, the credit reporting agencies DO NOT give you a “true FICO report”. The FICO score was created by Fair Isaac Corporation and is copywritten. Therefore the three reporting agencies have created their own copy-cat versions of the the FICO score model. Each credit reporting agency is a privately run organization and is not a federal institution. They each you different algrahythms (mathematical equasions) to calculate a consumer’s risk factors. These risk factors were carefully modeled after the FICO score but they aren’t exactly the same. Therefore, it is not un-common for a consumer to pull credit from one of the three major agencies listed above and be extremely shocked later to find out that a mortage lender or auto dealer pulled credit and the scores they were told they had were VERY different than the ones that the consumer pulled just hours before.
Consumers are also lured into believing that there are credit reporting sites that are free. The only “FREE” site that you can go to, is www.annualcreditreport.com. This site will allow you to receive ONE FREE report per all three credit bureaus. There are two things wrong with this site though. They, just like all other sites will CHARGE YOU for your score. So essentially you can have a “free report” but if you want to know your score you have to buy it. The same is true for all major consumer driven report sites. The other major issue with pulling credit through www.annualcreditreport.com is that if you read the fine print on that site, it will tell you that should you wish to dispute one of the items on that site, the credit bureaus will allow themselves over 30 days to review and varify the information that you are disputing. The Fair Credit Reporting Act only allows them (the credit bureaus) 30 days to fully review all information. Therefore, this is NOT a site that we would like our clients to visit. But, it IS the site that all three credit agencies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote. Go figure.
So where SHOULD a consumer go if they want a “real-deal” no nonsense credit report and accurate score? A consumer should visit www.myfico.com and buy their scores and their report DIRECTLY from the founder/creator of the FICO score model. Costs vary from site to site. If a consumer can not afford the cost of www.myfico.com then they can visit any other consumer site as long as they realize that the scores will look far better on a consumer site (60-80 point variance) than a true FICO score pulled through a lender.
Keep in mind though, that if a consumer wishes to pull his/her own credit… they WILL NOT lose points on their FICO scores. Consumer inquiries are called “soft inquiries” and they never ever impact a score negatively. Any other type of inquiry is considered a “hard inquiry” and will indeed affect one’s score in a negative way. We have seen a hard inquiry drop a score as much as 5 points.
Another misconception regarding credit scores is that that scores remain stagnent. We have found that credit scores can change within days, weeks, etc of a consumer maxing out a credit card, acquiring additional loans, etc. Therefore, it is essential to check your credit often. We recommend that clients check their reports quarterly. We also recommend that they print their reports and file them away. Most places do not keep your report in an archive form. Therefore it is impossible to look back to see “where you were” a few months back. You are only able to see reports based on TODAY.
We would love the opportunity to review your credit report. Contact our office for a free consultation today!