In the credit repair world a lot of focus and credibility are given to credit scores. We all know of the FICO score. The so-called official score.

On credit repair forums everywhere, you also see mention of a FAKO credit score. This a generic score based on the predictions of the credit reporting agencies of what Fair and Isaac might give you.

So which do you need for credit repair?

Many people totally discount the FAKO scores. They say only the real thing will do and if you don't buy a score from FICO you don't have a clue as to your real credit score.

These same people will also concede that a FICO score you pulled today would not be worth the paper you printed it on as far as what the credit granter will see at the time of your application, even if it is on the same day.

You will hear about the different variations and scoring models for different types of loans and creditors. It's ironic that the same people who praise the FICO credit score as the real thing are then compelled to explain it's inaccuracies.

They tell you that FAKO scores can be off as much as 100 points from a "real" FICO. To this I say it is just as likely that the credit score the creditor sees may well be right in the middle of both. Rather than the FAKO score being 100 points off, it is just as likely that both scores are 50 points away from the the score that really matters (the one the creditor sees).

I am not trying to tell you that FAKO credit scores are any better. But for credit repair purposes they are certainly no worse. They will give you a numeric measure of your credit repair success that will keep you just as motivated as the "real" thing.

I just can't find any justification for recommending you spend $50 a month for three FICO scores when you can get daily pulls of all three credit reports, complete with FAKO credit scores for about $12 a month.

Unless you are going to apply for a loan next week, neither of your credit scores are very important. And if you are repairing your credit, the score you have including those five collection accounts and three chargeoffs doesn't really matter.

The only purpose a credit score can possibly serve someone during credit repair is by providing the motivation to continue. The best advice is to focus on getting off all of the negative entries. The numbers will take care of themselves until then, and you can focus on improving them once your report is clean.

Be it a FAKO or FICO credit score, you get a good indication of what the lender might see. But since neither will give exactly what the creditor might see, one is no more valuable than the other when it comes to credit repair.