Complaint Review: florida central credit union - port charlotte fl Florida

You didn't do your due diligence or research prior to applying for a mortgage.  The scores your paid for are demonstrably different than mortgage FICO/credit scores used during the mortgage approval process.  Secondly, you stated that the branch manager asked you for your SS number and - as you note in your description - you were told that you have a 604 FICO score.  Well, I'm 100% positive you were not told that score without going through the pre-qualification / application process; which asked you for your income, residency, rent payments, payments on other collateral and/or unsecured debts, and so on.  

What I am getting to here is this:  If you're going to go on this nag & whine session, be courteous and provide all interested parties with a thorough explanation/report on what transpired and stick to the facts.  Having read your report several times, I could not find any mention from you that the credit union was denying you a mortgage.  In fact, when you were told that your score was 604, you stated that (1) you were surprised because you had previously pulled your scores and, to your knowledge, they were higher than the 604 score and (2) all your payments are current, on-time, and "I would get down to the bottom of it".  

At this point, you took ownership of this alleged discrepancy between what you believe your credit score was and what score your credit union pulled/generated from your credit report.  Not withstanding the fact that mortgage credit scores can vary greatly from other types of scores (Bankcard, auto-enhanced, etc), it doesn't appear as though you did much or anything to "get to the bottom" of your score discrepancy.  

Did you bother to call Experian.com and ask them to explain why the score they provided was different than the one you received from your credit union?  

Did you bother to go on-line (which you seem to be capable of doing) and search - say on Google, Bing, Yahoo - for explanations/information on differences in credit scores?  

Did you bother to ask for a copy of the report the credit union pulled (You can ask for a copy if its a mortgage application) and compare it to the credit report/scores you were provided by Experian.com?  

Did you bother to read the fine print from Experian.com where I am very confident there was an important disclosure stating something to the effect that the scores you purchase merely provide a general representation of your credit worthiness and that the score a lender will use may/may not be different dependent on a variety of factors including the purpose of your loan/credit (Auto, Mortgage, Credit Card)?

Here is the bottom-line:  Initially, I wasn't going to respond to the mess of a complaint you got going here because I couldn't imagine anyone at HUD or your financial institution or an attorney taking you seriously.  However, I need to make an effort to set your method of thinking straight, so you can quit wasting other people's time.  

If you're going to complain about discrimination (Title VII, Title IX, Title VIII), then at least try to connect how the credit union's actions were discriminatory.  When you filed your HUD complaint, I'm sure you read the following directly from their site:  

In Mortgage Lending: No one may take any of the following actions based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap (disability).

You only mention disability twice and when you mention it, its more like "Oh, I'm disabled" and not "I have such and such disability denied me because of it".  As if that wasn't enough, you just had to throw in the minority/race card for good measure without any statement of fact or elaboration to support your conclusion.  If you don't like how you're being treated, there are hundreds of financial institutions (banks, open-membership credit unions) who would love to have your business, I'm sure.

So, let me keep it real by saying this:  If you're going to complain, at least complain intelligently.  

Do some independent research on FICO scoring before you complain.  There are many, many score variations depending upon the product that the lender purchases to use for their own customers. Mortgage scores are totally different from credit card scores or even auto lending scores. Research these products for yourself. 

In the mortgage world the most commonly used scoring models used across the US are: Equifax Beacon 5.0; Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model V2SM; and, TransUnion FICO Risk Score, Classic 04. 

These scores are also referred to as:  Equifax/FICO Classic V5 FACTA; Experian/Fair Issac (Ver.2) and TransUnion/ FICO Classic 04.

It is important to note that these are not the same as FICO 8 scores which are provided by credit card companies or by some of the CRA's themselves.  If you look at the scores that the CRA's provide there will be a notation as to the FICO score version and if it is not a FICO score at all, it will be referred to as an "educational score" which is not used in lending.  

I think it is a shame that you are jumping to a discrimination reason when it isn't warranted.  I have nothing to do with this lender or any other lender, but I couldn't let your false assumption remain.  

 Whether there was discrimination or not is another matter. What I suggest you do is seek out a wholesale lender. Even if you really had a 604, they have access to lenders who would do business with you. They would take only one credit bureau report and shop that among many lenders in their network. Those lenders have different guidelines than any bank. Remember, do some research and look for mortgage brokers in your area. Specifically find out if they are a wholesale lender.