Experian Lies
How bold...how brazen...
How utterly wrong!
The truth is...very few lenders use Experian's or Trans Union's proprietary credit scores.
And believe me...the FICO score is still the industry s tandard used by...well...nearly everybody.
- Over 4,000 financial services providers
- The two largest mortgage securitization compani
es
- Nearly 75% of the top global banks
- The top 10 U.S. property and casualty insurers<
br />
- More than 100 retailers, including half of the
top 50 retailers in the US
- 8 of the top 10 pharmaceuticals companies
http://www.fico.com/en/Company/Pages/client-list.aspx
As further proof that the FICO score is here to stay an d is still going strong...even the Vantage Score didn't dethrone FICO.
What's a Vantage Score?
Exactly.
The Vantage Score is the three credit reporting agencie s' combined attempt to overthrow FICO in March, 2006.
It flopped.
So, if the three credit reporting agencies can't even c reate and market a credit score to replace the FICO score...it would seem to me that FICO is here to stay...especially with lenders (but the jury is out on the consumer market).
You see...there are two different "scoring worlds."
In the "lender world" the FICO score is king. Most lend ers use a FICO score to make a lending decision. Lenders have access to all three FICO scores. Some lenders even have a custom score made for them (e.g. , auto lenders, credit card companies).
Then, there's the "consumer world."
This is where is gets confusing.
Only Equifax and TransUnion sell the real score to cons umers through myfico.com/12 or myfico.com.
Experian no longer sells their FICO score to consumers.
Instead Experian aggressively markets their own proprie tary score to consumers...so does TransUnion.
There's a "mindshare" battle being waged by Experian an d TransUnion.
They're taking advantage of the fact that few people un derstand the only scores that matter are your FICO scores.
So, they try and convince you that their proprietary sc ores are the ones that matter.
They don't.
Yet, TransUnion's and Experian's proprietary scores can be found in numerous fake scoring-related products and services.
W
hat can we learn from this?
When you talk to people about credit scores you need to remember who you're talking to.
If you have a brain tumor, and your life depended on a cure, would you call a first-year medical student for a diagnosis?
If you wanted to buy a diamond, would you go to a brick -maker for advice?
If you set a goal of earning $100,000 a year, would you take career advice from people earning minimum wage?
I don't think so. It just doesn't make sense.
Neither does taking credit advice from a person earning minimum wage who answers the telephone at Experian.
You cannot trust people who answer the phones at Experi an or TransUnion.
(And, by the way, I have nothing against people earning minimum wage. It's a starting point. I started there myself.)
But, understanding starts with knowing where to get you r information.
If you're ever in this position again, here's what I wo uld suggest...
- Ask for their first & last name, their empl
oyee number, and work telephone number. When people know they will be held a
ccountable for the things that come out of their mouths, sometimes they wise
up. You can tell they're lying if they start back-peddling.
- A better question to ask is, "Can you direct me
to a list of lenders that use the Experian score to make a lending decision
?" I guarantee they won't be able to answer this question.
- Ask them, "Does Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac use your scores to make lending decisions?"
Have fun with this...
Stephen
