Americans may want to mark Feb. 14 on their calendars for a reason besides Valentine’s Day; it’s the last day consumers will be able to access their FICO credit scores on myFICO.com with Experian credit data included, The New York Times reports (“One Fewer Credit Score Accessible to Consumer,” Feb. 5, 2009).

Experian, one of the three major credit-rating bureaus, announced in January that it would be cutting ties this month with Fair Isaac, the creator of the three-digit credit score used by most lenders to determine a borrower’s credit worthiness.

While the credit bureau has not indicated why it chose to make the drastic move, some experts have speculated that the break between Experian and Fair Isaac can be attributed to a “non-mutually beneficial relationship” that has existed between the two companies for some years. The souring relationship was exasperated by a 2006 lawsuit brought by Fair Isaac against Experian and the two other major credit bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax, Bloomberg reports (“Experian Will No Longer Offer FICO Score Access for Consumers,” Feb. 5, 2009).

Fair Isaac sued the three credit bureaus, along with VantageScore Solutions, a company created by the three bureaus to develop their own credit-scoring formula, for allegedly engaging in competitive practices that hurt the FICO brand. Fair Isaac later dropped Equifax from the suit, but litigation is still pending against the other three companies.

“The move isn’t unexpected, given the contentious nature of the lawsuit and the millions of dollars of credit score revenue that Fair Isaac recognizes each quarter from [its] partnership with Experian,” said John Ulzheimer, president for consumer education for Credit.com. “Experian has made a significant monetary investment in the market for consumer credit reports and scores. Fair Isaac is a competitor of theirs, so this eliminates one component of the competition.”

Experian will make available its proprietary three-digit credit scores to consumers on its website and consumers will still be able to get free Experian credit reports once a year at annualcreditreport.com. Lenders and banks will still be able to access FICO credit scores based on Experian’s data and make credit decisions based on these scores.

But, ultimately, consumers stand to lose the most, says Craig Watts, public relations director for Fair Isaac, since myFICO.com is the only source for consumers to view their FICO credit scores with Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. “When one of those scores goes dark” Watts said, “consumers have lost a significant part of their ability to understand and manage their credit ratings.”

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