On the current confusion around credit scores…

• There are several articles recently published on the issue of the credit score consumers see from various providers versus the credit score that Mortgage Brokers, Banks and Mortgage Lenders see.  Credit scores on consumer credit reports will generally not mirror the Beacon Scores on the credit reports that Lenders and Mortgage Brokers receive, so don’t be alarmed if you pull your credit report and see a score that is somewhat different than we advised your score to be.
• Also, scores will change depending on the exact amount owing on your various credit facilities as reported by your lenders to Equifax as at the date the credit report is pulled.  This is something very difficult to ‘time’.
• The below is the most succinct explanation on the why that I could find, taken from RateSpy.com

Why Don’t the Credit Scores I see match what my Mortgage Broker sees?

There’s a problem with the current crop of free credit score providers.  The scores they give you are sometimes over 50 points different from the scores mortgage lenders see.  That’s a serious problem for some mortgage shoppers because it sets misleading expectations.  Someone may see their “free” score as 650, for example, only to learn their lender-obtained score is in the high 500s, preventing them from qualifying for cost-effective financing with a prime lender.  Free score providers don’t advertise this fault.

What’s more, lenders use too many different scores.  There’s no dominant industry standard. Some use “ERS” scores (Equifax’s proprietary score), some use “CreditVision” scores (TransUnion’s proprietary score), some use FICO 4, some use FICO 8 and so on.  The closest thing to a mortgage standard is arguably the FICO 8.  It includes mortgage accounts and cell provider accounts (some scores don’t), it’s a score commonly used by mortgage brokers and it’s adopted by numerous lenders.

Unfortunately, nobody offers it to consumers, despite it being available for licensing.  It’s time for that to change.  It’s time for companies hawking partly useful free scores (the Mogos, Borrowells and Credit Karmas of the world) to offer a more practical score.  For mortgage purposes, FICO 8 is best of breed.

But For now your best option is to sign up to your bank’s free credit management service.

From there you will be able to see your credit score and report.

And…you can check if you have anything in collections by reviewing your credit report at www.equifax.ca/personal  or phone +1 (800) 465-7166. You can obtain your free credit report by phone or by mail (Equifax Canada Co. National Consumer Relations at Box 190 Montreal QC H1S 2Z2 or fax at (514) 355-8502).

If you prefer to monitor your credit via a third party

For Canadian credit monitoring:

Credit Karma https://www.creditkarma.ca/

1. 1. Free to use.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. Is a good source for your detailed Equifax credit report (Equifax is the dominant credit bureau in Canada).
   4. You can drill down on each item.

Borrowell https://app.borrowell.com/#/public/login

1. 1. Free to use.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. Is a good source for your detailed Equifax credit report.
   4. You can drill down on each item.

For USA credit monitoring:

Good – Credit Karma https://www.creditkarma.com/

1. 1. Free to use.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. Shows both TransUnion and Equifax scores with basic credit reports.
   4. You can download their App for iOS or Android mobile devices.

Meh – Experian https://www.experian.com/

1. 1. The Experian Score and a basic Credit Report is free to see.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. The TransUnion and Equifax reports costs $1 and doing this automatically registers you to a monthly ($24.99) a paid subscription, which you can manually cancel.
   4. Login page delivers the first of may upgrade pitches…I deleted our accounts.

Meh – Credit .com Credit.com

1. 1. Is really another door to Experian. All you get is the Vantage (Experian) score and various pitches for other credit products.
   2. Does not create a ‘hard pull’ on your credit (no impact on credit score).
   3. I deleted my account, and it was not easy to find where to do that…it required me to phone them and go through a long automated process.  Jeez…