Online Credit Scores Don't Add Up

The small print identifies the PLUS score as "educational," and says the score "is derived from information based on a consumer's credit report, using a formula similar to those used by lenders." Elsewhere, the site says, "The Experian-developed PLUS Score is easier to use and understand than most credit scores on the market."

What the site does not say is the PLUS score won't match scores used to actually decide if you'll get a loan.

The vast majority of lenders — about 90 percent — use scores calculated using software from FICO, formerly called Fair Isaac. A FICO score ranges between 350 and 850, with scores above 750 considered excellent.

FICO operates a Web site for consumers, myFICO.com, which sells credit report and score monitoring services, but even the number from that site may not be the score a lender will see.

Each agency has its own version of the FICO score, explained Barry Paperno, consumer operations manager with myFICO.com. The differences sometimes stem from when the software they're using was developed. FICO regularly updates its software, he said, but changes are adopted slowly. "It can take years, easily, before a score becomes the score that most lenders use."

What's more, there are different scores for different purposes, based on the type of loan a consumer seeks. That means if the same person applied for a mortgage, a car loan and a credit card, the three agencies could generate nine different scores. When an individual applies for a mortgage backed by the government-sponsored Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, banks pull mortgage scores from all three agencies and use the middle one.

"I think the thing that's confusing for people is that there's a perception that there's one score out there that's 'the' score," said Steve Katz, a spokesman for TransUnion.

Yet even though the scores consumers can get online may be different from the ones the banks use, some say they are still useful.

Ken Lin, chief executive of CreditKarma.com, a free site that offers scores from TransUnion, said he thinks the important thing is to monitor changes in the score they see over time. "There's really no way for you to actually get your score," he said. What the Web sites can tell you if your score is generally poor, fair or excellent.

Beverly Palmer said she found it very strange her credit score wasn't as good as she expected. "We were just misled, I guess," she said. But she is still determined to improve her score and buy her first house.

"We still believe God is going to bless us with one before this year is out," she said. "We would like to get in on that $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers."

Looking for your credit score? Check out the credit center at BankingMyWay.com.