Information Blackout

I've already discussed in a previous article the importance of your three FICO scores. This time I will tell you about changes that have made it more difficult for the consumer to know their three scores.

In February of this year Experian stopped selling the FICO score to consumers. They still sell it to commercial lenders but not to you. They use their own credit score model called "PLUS" and they also use Vantagescore that was developed between the three credit bureaus. Are they trying to create scoring systems to give FICO some competition? I think so. Will it work? I don't know. It is estimated that 90% of lenders still use FICO score models and prefer them as the most accurate scoring model compared to Vantagescore or PLUS. As consumers, we are stuck in the middle of their battle.

It was already difficult for consumers to understand how credit works. Now, if you no longer have access to your 3 credit scores you don't know if you really qualify for a loan or not. Before February, you could go to myfico.com and purchase your three scores. (The ones the lenders would be looking at if you were to go apply for a loan.) At the moment you can only get two. That's a real set back. The score you can purchase from Experian will be different from the FICO that they sell to the lender. Can you see how this could be a problem when you're trying to be an informed consumer? When you try to compare a FICO score to a Vantagescore or PLUS score it's like comparing Apples to Oranges!

At the moment you can still purchase two FICO scores. However I've been reading the speculation that the other two bureaus, Equifax and Trans Union might follow Experian's lead and only sell the Vantagescore system to consumers. This is bad timing to be sure since the economy is in the tank and causing so many changes in who can get credit and who can't.

But this credit reporting and scoring business is all about the money. I don't think it was ever intended to be consumer friendly to start with. We'll just have to keep a watchful eye out for more changes to come.