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Credit.com Consumer Education Director Gerri Detweiler on the credit scores lenders look at and how consumers can raise their score.
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Focus tonight -- in your forty behind credit scores.
You know which one your lender is looking -- turns out the one you receive is the consumer.
Might not be the same credit score your potential lender receives causing.
Huge problems you can imagine for your bottom line.
Joining me now with more Jerry -- -- consumer education director for credit dot com.
-- -- you for joining us so.
How spring does it how often does that happen at your credit -- the consumer is different than -- -- -- lenders looking at determining whether or not they're gonna lend you money.
Well.
-- it's almost a 100% of the time because typically consumers do not get the scores that lenders are using.
Unless they've already applied for credit been turned down or charge more for credit Bennett disclosure is required.
But what most of us are doing is we're going online we're getting and educational credit score.
Which can be helpful but -- not necessarily the same -- the lenders using right so why the consumer should I spend money to purchase my credit score it's not what the -- getting anyway.
Well that's a great question of course -- credit dot com we get a free credit score so we don't want to spend that money but.
Really I think what consumers need to look at is what is the information.
Telling me about my credit worthiness.
So what strong what can I improve and what can't improve.
Generally that's gonna be consistent no matter which scoring model you're using which version of -- or whether you're looking at a vantage score for example.
But really what's the purpose of going out of your way to attain -- -- Anderson to -- about to educate yourself that really I just wanna get money I need to borrow money and if I'm turned down.
If I think my credit scores better than -- the lender sees -- it's it's just gonna leave me.
You know -- applying to more more of financial institutions looking at you know looking for money not being able to get -- not really knowing why so how do you get the real deal -- no credit dot com offers for credit score but how do you really really you could tell office.
Well that's a great question and I think it goes back to this whole issue that the same factors go into all of these scores so let's say you do look at your credit score and it and it gives an interpretation says well your payment history isn't so good.
Can you do something about that -- are paying your bills on time can you dispute -- late payment.
It and what the CF PD found in their study was that.
There's actually a much stronger correlation and would would have guessed between these educational scores and the scores that lenders use so it's not as if there.
So far off that people are making mistakes but I do think they brought up a very good point and that's the point your bringing up which is.
Sometimes people see their score and maybe it's not as strong as they think and so they're afraid to shop around because they're afraid.
They're being they're going to be turned down for credit and that's a problem so -- how far apart are your educational scores and I'm receiving his consumer vs the actual -- the lenders you think.
It can be very different depending on which educates -- educational story using because some of them operate at a very different scale looks like a score for example let's update fifteenth never vantage score that goes up -- 997.
Number could be very different to don't.
The focus on the number focus on what it's telling you about your credit worthiness.
What's strong what's week and what can you improve but again I got and start harping on this little bit but doesn't.
Consumer have the right to know the information the lender is considering when determining whether to.
To let him borrow cash.
You actually don't have the right to see that credit score until again your turn down your charge more you're shopping -- mortgage and you get a disclosure but here's the how do you know what -- Bank of America's gonna decide today is -- good enough credit -- to get the credit card you want you don't even know even if you have that number because that's proprietary information.
Still -- net sense we have to control we can control and then you know -- -- surest credits -- fronts we can't.
Well Gerri Gerri thank you -- Texas this is so it's so educational so information -- on Jerry to Atlanta with credit dot com thanks.
