I would love to hear what John Meussner and others have to say about this. After listening to your link, I'm wondering if this is to cover the 33% of Americans who are debt-free and are watching their FICO scores ticking down by the month?! When you're used to having an 850 score and it keeps sinking because you have paid off all of your debt, it can be a hard pill to swallow! We need another method to measure credit worthiness for the 33%. 

John Meussner could opine along with Jason E. Gordon 

If "Millions" receive new credit scores, will that make their credit better or make their true credit worthiness confusing?

So now "we" are manipulating credit scores more than they already are. 

So let me guess, much like the insurance gig, people with high credit scores will be lowered and given to those with lower scores - you know, to make it fair.  [read sarcasm]

Good inquiry thank you Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate 

Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate I am waiting to hear answers from some lenders:)

I am not a lender and never worked on that side of the finance world, but having worked at the same boutique training firm with the guy that wrote the leading book on Quantitative Finance - every model has flaws. It could be the very best model that we could ever create- but I promise you the model will have flaws. 

I did hear about these changes- but I don't expect radical changes for those that already have established credit. I didn't pay a lot of attention to this announcement- but I was under the impression that the new FICO and VantageScore will attempt to accurately portray risk for those that aren't users of credit. I believe a lot of these scores - no matter which model you use are a reasonable portrayal of risk most of the time, but they are going to be wrong on occasion, even for those that captured accurately most of the time. During the next crash (and there will always be another one- the only question will be when), it will highlight the flaws in the models as someone goes from a 800+ credit score down into the 600's overnight. Sometimes the example doesn't has to be as extreme as a crash- but personal situations can impact a credit score dramatically- especially if someone experiences a tragedy in their life.

As to the credit score fluctuations - i.e. nothing changed in the persons life- but the credit score drops 15-20 points- and no one can explain it. The reasons can of course be explained- but they aren't going to reveal the changes in the proprietary model- but big picture that is what happened. It has nothing to do with the individual- but the model changed- suggesting the person with the 850 score that dropped to 835 with no explanation should have been an 835 score all along. For those not using credit and their score drops- yes, that one is far easier to explain- start using credit again- and their score will increase.  

Although our home has been paid off for 20 years I use credit cards to keep my  score up Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate . That being said I have not checked it for some time.

I do not know and will be watching for good answers.

When active relied on my wife, a loan officer for updates. Both of us have been retired for years so parked and reading. This site will be the source of excellent information.   

Okay, so I'm very late to the party...sorry about that (I took a well-needed mental break away from the computer over the holiday weekend). Candice A. Donofrio, thank you for the tag.

I think John Meussner nailed the answer (especially the cartel comment). Remember that none of us have our FICO score tattooed on our foreheads...all of our scores are constantly changing regardless of the algorithm used. 

As long as Consumer pay their debts on time, maintain a modest usage of their revolving credit limits, reduce their "newly acquired credit" and limit their credit inquiries, they will always rate high in this measure of underwriting scrutiny.

Millions will receive new credit scores -- but the "old" scores will stick around.  Mortgage companies are continuing to use the same scoring/report models for a variety of reasons ---- changes take time because of the algorithms used in automated underwriting (over 80% of loans being done in the US are done via automated underwriting algorithms).

That said, current scores are already updated for some people using Experian Boost, and medical debt/collection info has been modified to play less of a role across scoring models.

No real impact on mortgage for now...but as the cartels (whoops, I mean, credit bureaus) continue to gouge us on credit report costs (expected to exceed $200 on average in the new year), the industry will look to less expensive options and competition (Vantage VS FICO) as a means to keep costs low while still effectively underwriting loans.  

In short --- things are changing, but that change typically happens at a snail's pace, so business as usual for now.

I dont pay much attention to credit scores and the many manipulations of these.

I don't see it making much of a difference.  People who pay their bills on time will have a good score, people who don't will not with either system so it doesn't matter if the bills were mortgages or power bills and rent.