I just joined myFICO because they send you the credit score that lenders use the most. They have Equifax and Transunion scores. How do I obtain my EXPERIAN FICO score?

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May 13th, 2010 - Posted by Tasha

The following is an actual user-submitted question:

Q:  I just joined myFICO because they send you the credit score that lenders use the most. They have Equifax and Transunion scores.  How do I obtain my Experian FICO score?

A: Although myFICO is a solid offering, they only provide you with Equifax credit reports and your FICO credit score based solely on this Equifax credit report.  They don't provide Transunion or Experian credit reports or FICO scores based on these 2 other credit reports.  In fact, effective Feburary 14, 2009 consumers can no longer purchase their Experian FICO score, although lenders will still be able to see it.  For more information, please see our previous blog post on this subject.

Because you have 3 different credit reports, you can have 3 different FICO scores.  Your FICO score for Transunion could be substantially different than the Equifax FICO score that myFICO provides.  For more information about how your FICO score is calculated, check out this previous blog entry.

To be really vigilant about monitoring your credit activity, you should consider signing up for a service that monitors your credit reports at all 3 credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and Transunion.  Identity Guard provides this service as well as credit scores from the 3 bureaus.  These scores are based on the CreditXpert scoring system, which isn't as popular as the FICO system that most lenders use, but is a very good approximation of it.   Identity Guard also includes identity theft protection and a nifty credit analyzer that shows you how your credit score can be affected by different actions you take.