Experian FICO Credit Scores No Longer Available

As of February 14, information on Experian credit scores will be more difficult for consumers to obtain. Experian will no longer sell its information through MYFICO.com or any other external credit reporting agency. Consumer may still receive the free credit report that they are entitled to by law through the Annual Credit Report request service and may purchase a credit report and score directly from Experian. However, these score may vary from the scores used by lenders. According to The New York Times and Tom Quinn, vice president for scoring at Fair Issac (the company that formulated the FICO score), “Experian cannot distribute its FICO scores to consumers itself or though other outlets. Experian does produce another propriety three-digit credit score and make it available to consumers, but it is not the one that lenders base their decisions on.” Lenders will still have access to the complete FICO scores, including FICO scores from Experian. It will be increasingly important for consumers to check for errors on their credit reports.