What is a FICO® Score?
A FICO® Score is a number based on the positive and negative information in your credit report(s). Paying your bills on time and using your credit responsibly can build a positive history, while paying bills late and being irresponsible with your credit can build a negative history.
Which credit bureau report is my FICO® Score based on?
Your Experian Credit Report is used to calculate your FICO® Score powered by Experian.
Why is my FICO® Score different from previous credit scores obtained elsewhere?
It's virtually impossible for credit score sources to provide identical score information for a few reasons--lenders use their own customized calculations; the three national credit bureaus offer different calculations; and there are multiple FICO® Score calculations. In fact, it's estimated that there are over 1,000 different credit scores currently in use.
Why is my FICO® Score different from each of the three bureaus?
The three national credit bureaus do not share information with one another. This means if a creditor only sends information to one or two of the credit bureaus, or only pulls an inquiry from one bureau, the activity won't appear on all three bureaus. The three bureaus also have different formats for the way they collect and store data, so information for the same account may appear differently from one credit report to another. This is why FICO® Scores are sometimes different from one bureau to the next.
I didn't receive a credit score. Why?
The FICO Scores offered by Experian are comparable to what lenders may see when determining if you qualify for loan financing. However, as a result of our new scoring model, some users may not meet the scoring criteria necessary to generate a FICO® Score.
In order for a new FICO® Score to be calculated:
- Your credit report must contain at least one account that has been open for 6 months.
- Your credit report must contain at least one account that has been reported to the credit bureau within the past 6 months.
- A creditor/lender must not currently have you reported as being deceased.
Unfortunately, if your credit report doesn't meet these minimum requirements, we won't be able to generate a FICO® Score for you.
For additional information about your credit score, please contact Customer Care at 1-866-617-1894.
I purchased an Experian report and FICO® score or a 3-Bureau report & scores, but I don't see my score(s).
We're sorry you didn't receive your scores. If your scores weren't generated, we may not have had enough credit information to generate FICO® Scores.
In order for a new FICO® Score to be calculated:
- Your credit report must contain at least one account that has been open for 6 months.
- Your credit report must contain at least one account that has been reported to the credit bureau within the past 6 months.
- A creditor/lender must not currently have you reported as being deceased.
Unfortunately, if your credit report(s) don't meet these minimum requirements, we won't be able to generate a FICO® Score(s) for you.
For additional information about your credit score, please contact Customer Care at 1-866-617-1894.
