Credit reporting is an industry that has been long overdue for an overhaul. First the credit bureaus, Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian, have long been considered consumer-unfriendly and have recently been slapped with hefty fines by the FTC for unfair practices. Now the credit scoring company Fair Isaac Co, (FICO) is strongarming the credit bureaus not to share credit scoring information with companies who intend to pass along the data to their consumers.

That puts the squeeze on E-LOAN, which has just introduced a credit scoring component on its My E-LOAN feature that enables consumers to read their own scores, follow the scoring table, and contact the credit bureaus to ask questions or report errors. E-Loan had been getting the FICO scores from Equifax, but suddenly Equifax stopped sending scores to CreditinfoNet, E-LOAN's third-party provider of the scores. One thousand customers during a 24-hour period were not able to access the feature due to the cut-off, so E-LOAN has turned to an alternative credit bureau to continue the service.

"Credit scores are used by most mortgage lenders to determine whether potential buyers or refinancers qualify for a home loan," says Chris Larson, CEO of E-LOAN. "We passionately believe consumers have a right to own and be educated about their data."

The action temporarily disrupted E-LOAN's most popular new feature and fielded complaints from customers. Customers were hurt because they couldn't get the scores. But FICO may be more interested in how its own business may be affected. The edu-content on E-LOAN provided information on how the scores are tabulated, what they mean, and listed who to call to correct inaccuracies.

And that is apparently what FICO wanted stopped. By publishing the scores and their reason codes, E-LOAN may have made FICO vulnerable to competition where it had not been before.

According to a report in American Banker, Fannie Mae Chairman Franklin D. Raines, says FICO's system uses "ambiguous factors to calculate credit scores." Fannie Mae is now developing its own credit scoring system.

"My E-LOAN customers have shown no evidence that they are "confused" by their scores," states Larson. "In fact, over 10,000 accounts were opened in the first 30 days and now the count is almost up to 20,000. The response to the FICO offering has been overwhelmingly positive."

Published: April 6, 2000

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.