NWR: Credit scores

zipis1

Alright. I can't make sense of it.

So two of my credit cards give me updates as to how my credit score is doing, which is awesome. And they both report it through Experian, making it more awesome since that means that the scores should be the same, right? Well apparently not.

For awhile one said that my score was in the high 600's, which matched up fairly well with what the other said. Then, it suddenly said that my score was 634, while the other said it's 698 (or something close).

Perplexed, I went to the government site and ordered my score from Experian. And THAT one says I'm at 714. WTF!? Which is it, you buttheads!?

So now I think I might actually have to call these people, which I hate doing because phones are pure evil. />:( I hate credit.

babybchbum

How often do they give you your credit score ( each time it is pulled you lose 1 pt off your score)

Also, the scores could be different dependent on when they were pulled because your Score is a combination of how much open credit you have as well as your payment history.

HTH a little.

zipis1

One does it...every 6 months, I think. The other every month. However, part of their terms said that their inquiries would not affect my score as they would be considered "soft inquiries." I'm thinking that the one that says I'm 634 is the one more wrong, since it seems to be the outlier. But man, I'm really confused now! These were all within just a few days of each other, so my score couldn't have changed THAT much, could it?

desertsun

It doesn't seem like it should have changed that much in a few days. I'd be most likely to trust the one I got from the gov't website for annual free credit reports, esp if that is the most recent one. I think there is some cycle, like every 30 days your score updates depending in the info the agencies receive from people you owe money to. So, if one place pulled it before the update, that might explain the discrepancy? I dunno. Not much help, I guess. Maybe just wait til next month to see what the next report says?

babybchbum

Although they do "soft pulls" it still affects your score. There is no true way to pull a credit a score without it being affected. My suggestion to you is to have them stop this "free" service and you pull your Credit report form the 3 Credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Transunion) once a year.



I would space them out equally so for example: in April I would pull Equifax, August I would pull Experian and then December Transunion. That way you can keep track of your credit report and make sure no one is making fraudulent transactions and you are also aware of your score.

zipis1

This is the page they link to to explain how it works:

http://www.experian.com/ask_max/max111109c.html

Thanks for the idea of checking the reports from each company at different times of the year, though! I would never have thought of that

notquiteblushing

Credit scores can change everyday depending on how much of a balance you currently have on each of your cards.  Are you sure both monitoring services were using Experian because that sounds like a big discrepancy?  Maybe you should look into a monitoring service that looks at all three scores.  You have to pay for it but it can help a lot if you're going to be buying a house or are just looking to improve your credit.

Goldlie11

I'm pretty sure that soft pulls, like when you check your own credit score will not affect your credit score.

If one company only updates every 6 months and one does it monthly, that makes sense.  Most CC companies report your payment status once a month.  If you use a lot of your credit, open up a new account, or pay late, it will impact your score.  

One month I charged about $1,000 less the the limit on a CC.  My score went down about 30 points.  I paid off the CC ( I knew I was going to that month).  Even though I paid if off in full, it took a few months for my credit score to go back up.  The credit companies are very fickle.  

noelle24

A trick I've seen used a lot is that you can order one free credit report from each of the agencies once a year for free.  So some people I know order one report from a different agency every 4 months just to keep track of things.

That doesn't help your current dilemma, but since it sounds like you are keeping track of your credit, this might be a helpful solution where you don't need to rely on the report your CC companies give you.

PandaBurr

The annuaI free credit reports only give you that. They don't give you a score, unless you pay the extra $5 or so. It's nice to get your full credit history though.

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_nwr-credit-scores?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:559e7f7c-96ca-4444-88d1-1644793d04adPost:356ab704-601b-4f60-a181-52cbe00da22d">Re: NWR: Credit scores</a>:
[QUOTE]How often do they give you your credit score ( each time it is pulled you lose 1 pt off your score)
Posted by babybchbum[/QUOTE]

Where did you learn this from? As far as I know, it's a soft inquiry, so it doesn't affect your score at all. And yes, it is possible to do an inquiry on your credit without negatively affecting it. Only HARD inquiries affect your score, otherwise all those credit card offers in the mail would be hurting your credit score.

[QUOTE]<strong>Myth: Checking your own credit will lower your score. </strong>You can check your own score as many times as you want without impacting your score, said Sjoblad, but make sure you do so via the bureaus or a legitimate score seller like <a href="http://myfico.com/">MyFICO.com</a> rather than, say, at a car dealership.
From CNN Money[/QUOTE]