The Big 3
What is the greatest variance you have seen between Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax when it came to your credit score.
I pulled my credit from one company and I just want to know the average number, if there is one, between what one reports as opposed to what the other one reported...or two.
one lender just told me 2 weeks ago, that in rare circumstances, it could be as much as 100 points.
I dont know if that is true or not. Most of the time probably within 20 points or so of each other
Nebulous:
I had my credit pulled in Feb (with Fico scores.) My Trans Union was 62 pts higher than Experian! Equifax was right in the middle with 20 pts on either side.
Oh... and get this, speaking of credit scores. On another house I was buying I got a loan approval based on my Fico in Oct '03 (when I signed the purchase contract), then had to get the credit score re-pulled this month since the house was due to close and it was over 120 days since the last credit rept for the loan approval. So, when they re-pulled my credit last week, it had dropped on Experian for 20+ points! And all I had done was add $1000 in credit card debt to buy some blinds and a refrigerator for said house (no job change, huge decrease in assets, or adding other debt). Yipes! Guess I learned something about how the credit bureaus view debt management; I usually keep a balance of below $900 on this particular card and I had charged $1000 in 2 weeks' time.
I've noticed variations of about 40 points BELOW my middle score with one, and 30 points ABOVE my middle score with the other. So for me, I've seen a total variation of about 70 between two of the reports. Z
My current credit spread is 657-748. I haven't the foggiest idea why, but I think it is due to length of credit history.
Chris
[addsig]
Go to www.crediboards.com and look at some of the posters' signature lines. If someone has been doing credit repair and had good success with one CRA while hitting roadblocks with another, the difference can be hundreds of points.
c-brainard
So what is your median score?
698
[addsig]
Being a mortgage broker, I've seen hundereds of credit reports. Biggest spread I've seen has been about 150pt.s between Exp. and Trans. Usually Exp. has the lowest and Trans. has the highest, with Equ. being about in the middle. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that most lenders take the middle of the three scores or the lowest of two. Usually the discrepancy has been certain creditors not reporting their account at all to one bureau, while reporting it to another. Obviously, if the unreported account has delinquencies, you can see how this would cause a big spread.
Just make sure that one bureau isnt reporting the same account multiple times or incorrect info. I've seen this happen before, and this will also cause a big spread.
Hope this helps!
Actually the reason for the difference in scores depend on where you live.
Ex:
Utility companies will make a deal with one bureau
Local department stores will make a deal with one bureau
Local Banks again one bureau.
So it depends what your local area is using that is the one that is usually the lowest.
All fannie mae, freddie mac mtgs. report to all three
Portfolio banks one.
Sub prime banks, some don't report at all.
As you can see this is what affects the different ratings
I remember in 1999 I pulled someone's credit, (lived in Pgh) It was 750. To make a long story short and not be considered advertising. When everything was all packaged up and ready to sign, the other credit bureaus were pulled. One was in the 500's and the other in the 400's. I just flipped the deal to an a- minus. The reason for the score difference was he lived out of state and had back child support in two different states. In the 90's you didn't pull all three bureas until the deal was done. Now they get pulled as soon as customer takes the deal.
Hope this makes sence
Lori
[addsig]
This does have some truth as well. When I sold cars, I remember we could only use Equifax for Ohio customers, and Transunion for Kentucky customers.