But you do not have just one credit score. Each reporting agency generates a different score using their data and their model. Lenders will typically pull scores from all three agencies, then choose the middle score on which to base their decisions. These scores can vary by as much as 100 points or more, says Ferrari.
So how can you, the consumer, find out your score? “That is a question that is really complex to answer,” Ferrari says.
Hundreds of versions of the three bureau-generated scores are sold to consumers and lenders by hundreds of different credit score vendors, Ferrari says. When you apply for a loan, you have no way of knowing which score is being used.
Here, Ferrari explains the four ways to access your score and how each one may be different:
FICO score: Even though credit scores are referred to as FICO scores, you cannot get a true FICO score. You get a score generated from a modified version of a true FICO score. If you go to myFico.com or order your score from Equifax (which is 100 percent true to the FICO model), you can get the most realistic approximation of the score that most lenders use to make decisions. However, scores on myFico.com cost more than scores sold by many other vendors.
