Free Credit Scores – Confusion and no relevance.

Everybody has seen the commercials for free credit scores. While these scores can be called credit scores, most creditors do not use them during the approval process.rnThe DOMINANT score, that 90% of all creditors use, is called FICO. Named for the company who developed the scoring model, Fair Isaac and Company.rnYou see, a little rift developed between FICO and the credit bureaus and the credit bureaus are attempting to replace FICO with another credit scoring mechanism of their own. I believe it is an effort of futility; and what the public is getting out of it is nothing but confusion. There is absolutely no benefit to the consumer. rnWhile these alternative scores can somewhat (?) give you a feel for where your credit score lies compared to other consumers out there, I’ve seen way too many discrepancies between these scores and FICO, in both directions. Sometimes your FICO score is higher and sometimes lower. There is no relevance between these alternative scores and FICO. Therefore, in my view, these scores are not relevant in determining your credit score and do nothing but add confusion to the credit system. rnMy hat’s off to credit card companies that are now including your FICO credit score on monthly statements. This should help minimize the confusion. If your credit card company does not include your FICO score, the consumer can go to www.myfico.com and sign up for their monitoring service ($29.95 a month). Once you sign up, you can download a FANTASTIC credit report with multiple, industry specific, FICO credit scores. You can then cancel your subscription or continue with their monitoring service. rnBottom line, Free Credit Scores are nothing more than a marketing tool, by the credit bureaus, to trick the consumer into enrolling into one of their credit monitoring services. While, I do agree that everyone should have some sort of monitoring service, the end, is this scenario, does not justify the means. If you are interested in credit monitoring, I can give you a few good choices to pick from.