I just applied for a loan and was told my FICO score is 856. How is that possible?

Posted by Joe on April 6th, 2009

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Q: In looking at information about FICO scores, the range seems to be from 300-850. However, I just applied for a loan and was told my FICO score is 856. How is that possible?

A: Your research regarding the FICO score range is correct. The FICO range is 300 on the low end all the way up to 850 at the very high end. As such, your 856 FICO score falls outside of the possible range of the FICO scoring methodology. FICO is the most well known and most widely used credit scoring methodology, but it is not the only one. There are many different types of credit scores and each of those scores has different scales for rating consumer credit files.

For example, the Experian VantageScore scores your credit on a scale ranging from 501 on the low end all the way up to 990 on the high end. So, it is very likely that you received a credit score from your lender that wasn't based on the FICO methodology.

The best way to get access to your FICO score is to sign up for a credit report monitoring service that provides you with a free credit report and credit score. For example, Equifax with Score Power offers a free three bureau credit report and free Equifax FICO score when you sign up for a free trial of its credit report monitoring service.

If you don't want to sign up for a service or want to purchase all three of your FICO scores, you can buy FICO Credit Complete for $47.85. This includes not just all three FICO scores, but also all three credit reports, an explanation of each credit score, and the FICO Simulator, which estimates what your FICO score would be if you took different actions such as paying down credit card debt.

If you only want to buy one credit score, you can get FICO Standard instead for $15.95. You can pick the bureau you want the score and report from and get all the other features of FICO Credit Complete, but just for the one bureau. Remember, though, you would get all this for free with the free trial of Equifax's credit monitoring service.

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