Understanding the Credit Score Range Between Credit Bureaus
Understanding the Credit Score Range Between Credit Bureaus
If you have been looking into your credit reports and perhaps even purchased you score you will know how confusing it can be to understand them. Every credit bureau seems to record different data which results in varying credit scores results. So how do you know which one?
Credit scores have been used since the 1970s for lenders to assess the level of risk that a customer poses to their business. For this reason when a creditor is approached by a customer the company needs to know they are dealing with a trustworthy person and their money is safe. This is the primary reason for a credit report and scores. However, with different credit bureaus reporting on your reports it results in a varying credit score range.
If you have ever purchased a 3 in 1 credit report you will be aware that more often than not you have 3 sometimes very different credit results. Your Equifax report may score at 850 while Transunion may score at 790. You can immediately see the credit score range here. The reason is fairly straight forward.
When you do business with a creditor and take out a financial product or service that business may report primarily to Equifax as its preferred credit bureau for background reports. They may not deal with Transunion at all. So any data that is recorded on your credit file for this account will only show on the Equifax credit report and not other bureaus. If you have a late payment showing on the account ( otherwise referred to as derogatory report ) this will lower your score. Other credit bureaus may not be aware of this and thus will have your credit rate at a higher number.
So how do know which credit score is the one the company will use? Simply put, you don't. You can always ask a company which bureau they will use for their credit checks but they may not give out this information. It doesn't hurt to ask though.