Experian - Vantage Scores

Consumers can pay $5.95 to view their Experian VantageScores online, but keep in mind the scores won't have much value unless lenders start using them to make credit decisions.  Lenders current use FICO scores.
 
 Experian, along with TransUnion and Equifax, began offering the Vantage scoring system to lenders in March of 2006. Experian says hundreds of lenders are testing it, but none have are using it exclusively to make credit decisions.
 
 Credit scoring applies a mathematical formula to the information in a consumer's credit-bureau file to predict how likely the consumer is to fall behind on debt payments. The higher the credit score, the lower the presumed likelihood of default on your loan.
 
 Most lenders use credit scores to help decide whether they want to make a loan and, if so, at what interest rate. Some employers use credit scores in their hiring decisions, most frequently for jobs that involve money. Some insurance companies use credit scores to assess a customer's likelihood of filing a claim.
 
 Fair Isaac Corp. pioneered consumer credit scoring, and its Fico scores have become the industry standard.  The credit bureaus say their new VantageScores will provide better, more consistent results than Fico scores. That remains to be seen. What they are sure to cause is more confusion with the scoring differences.
 
 Fico scores range from 300 to 850.  VantageScores range from 501 to 990 with corresponding letter grades. A score of 900 or above equates to an A while a score of 501 to 600 gets you an F.
 
 Each credit bureau sells, in addition to Fico scores and VantageScores, proprietary scores with their own names and numerical scales.
 
 Each credit score depends on two things: the underlying information on which it is based and the formula that is applied to that information.  Because the formula's differ slightly - your score will vary from bureau to bureau.  That's why most lenders pull a tri-merge credit report - from all three - and use the middle score.