Exhibit 17.1

                               Robert D. Sanderson
                               11 Deer Park Avenue
                              San Rafael, CA 94901

April 23, 2001



Dr. Robert M. Oliver, Chairman
Fair, Isaac & Co., Inc.
200 Smith Ranch Road
San Rafael, CA  94903

Dear Dr. Oliver:

I hereby resign as a Director of Fair, Isaac effective immediately.

I am resigning  because I disagree with the rest of the Board's  willingness  to
grant  100,000  stock  options to Tom  Grudnowski  in fiscal  2001.  This was an
incorrect decision for two principal reasons.

First, the Company's 1992 Long-Term  Incentive Plan limits the number of options
which may be granted to any one employee to 50,000 a year. While it may be legal
to grant Mr.  Grudnowski  100,000 options,  doing so would violate the spirit of
the agreement among the Company, the Board and the shareholders  embodied in the
plan.

Second,  Mr.  Grudnowski  doesn't  deserve  the  grant.  He was hired to get the
Company  growing again and to develop  Internet-based  new business.  During his
tenure as CEO revenue growth has been below the Company's  long-term record, and
revenues from new business have been miniscule.  He has not earned the reward of
an extraordinary option grant.

It is my hope that the Board will conclude, as I have, that the Company will not
achieve long-term success with Mr. Grudnowski in charge and that the best way to
increase shareholder value is to sell the Company.

Sincerely,



Robert D. Sanderson