Writer: Lucy Lazarony
Editor: Lillian Guevara-Castro
Reviewer: Adam West
Key Takeaways
- A U.S. lawmaker is investigating Fair Isaac Corporation for recent price increases in its mortgage credit scores.
- The FICO credit score is used by 90% of lenders, and FICO is a dominant force in the credit scoring market.
- FICO and its competitor VantageScore both released studies last year saying their scoring model was superior to the other.
A U.S. lawmaker has started an investigation of Fair Isaac Corporation’s (FICO) pricing practices in the mortgage credit scoring market. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) sent a letter to Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, urging him to investigate FICO and its recent price increases.
Here’s what Hawley wrote to Ferguson on price increases at FICO. In 2026, FICO doubled its per-score price from $4.95 to $10. This increase could raise mortgage credit score costs across the industry by about $500 million, according to Hawley.
Increases in FICO score prices would be especially damaging to first-time homebuyers who pay for multiple credit checks and loan applications in the process of buying a home, Hawley wrote.
Hawley said FICO should be investigated under the FTC’s authority to examine unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Hawley has twice called the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice to investigate FICO.
FICO Dominance in Credit Scoring
The FICO credit score is used by 90% of lenders, which is why price changes by FICO are felt across the credit scoring market, including potential homebuyers.
A standard mortgage credit pull requires three FICO scores, one from each of the three, major credit bureaus. And homebuyers will feel the impact of a FICO score price increase as they shop for a home and have their credit scores checked.
In a letter to the FTC, Hawley pointed out that FICO has significantly raised its wholesale price of its mortgage credit score from 60 cents per score to $10 per score in the past five years.
In a separate letter to FICO’s chief executive officer, William Lansing, Hawley wrote that FICO’s net income had risen substantially, noting FICO’s net income had grown from about $200 million in 2019 to about $652 million in 2025.
FICO Move Causes a Reaction
FICO started a program in October that allowed mortgage lenders to bypass working with the credit bureaus. The move was met by significant pushback from the credit bureaus. Equifax called FICO’s move “monopoly pricing” and Experian said it would lead to “an unprecedented price increase.”
But things actually began heating up in June when PulteGroup Chief Executive Officer Ryan Marshall called FICO a “quasi-monopoly.”
In July, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sanctioned Government-Sponsored Enterprises to start using VantageScore 4.0, FICO’s competitor, after decades of FICO dominance in this area. VantageScore is owned by the three major credit bureaus.
A week later, FICO released a white paper saying its latest scoring model outperforms the VantageScore 4.0. In August, VantageScore reported that its 4.0 model outperformed FICO in a head-to-head mortgage comparison. This clash between the two scoring models is likely to continue.
The Bottom Line
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley has started an investigation into FICO for the pricing it uses in the mortgage credit scoring market. He pointed out that FICO had doubled its price per score from $4.95 to $10 in 2026 alone. According to Hawley, the increase would raise mortgage credit score costs by about $500 million.
Hawley wrote to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission urging him to investigate FICO and its price increases. Hawley has twice called on the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice to investigate FICO. The FICO credit score is used by 90% of lenders, and FICO dominates the credit scoring market.
