TU FICO vs Equifax FICO

How did you get your TU Fico?

 

There are 3 major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Each is, in and of itself, a completely different company.

Creditors choose to report to one, two or all three of them -- or none at all.

Because some choose to use only one or two of them, your credit history -- the living, breathing, ever changing state of your current debt obligations and inquiries for credit -- is rarely ever identical at any of the credit bureaus. And since your history is different, you're going to get a different score. Compound that with the fact that the algorithms (as well as the range for the score itself) for your "score" at each of the bureaus is different as well.

A moderate difference in score is to be expected -- a 700 Emperica (TU) is not the same as a 700 Beacon (Equifax) nor a 700 FICO (Experian).

But if it is a LARGER difference, you need to look at the content of the histories (the reports) to see what's different. Do you have 6 more inquiries on TU than on Equifax? Do you have accounts showing up on Experian with misssing credit LIMITS on them? Is there an old collection account on your Equifax that's not showing on your TU or Experian? Are there accounts in GOOD standing that are missing from one report?

There are MANY reasons why the scores can be drastically different -- you have to look and see what's DIFFERENT between the CONTENT of the reports.

 

Yes, the 70 points make a huge difference. It's the difference between subprime and prime. That 686 score opens up a lot of prime cards for you. Not to mention most retail cards.

 

Two inquiries and only ONE additional late pay (you didn't say how late, though) shouldn't drop it THAT far, but it all depends on the REST of your history. If you've got 26 other accounts, no. If you've only got 4, maybe so.

Yes, it's all a bunch of crap. But it's also the ONLY vehicle that makes it possible for a person to walk into a store with nothing more than a driver's license and walk out with $5,000 home entertainment system (instant credit approval based on risk scores).

Chase is pretty reasonable -- but there's no guarantee just because you have a particular score.

Consolidation will have an initial effect, and then a long term effect:

Immediately -- most people will see their score DROP. This is because part of your score is based on the average age of the accounts showing up in your history. The more recent the account, the lower your score will be. It can be somewhat offset (in the other direction) if your balance to credit limit ratio was really high BEFORE but, with the new account, the ratio is lower. You'll also take a hit on your risk score(s) for the inquiry or inquiries that were done in order to GET the new loan/line of credit/whatever.

Long term -- Over time, the account ages, which means the average age of accounts increases, your score goes up. And that ratio (mentioned above) pays off as well. The inquiries that were done to GET the account get older, then fall off after 2 years, which increases your scores.

Many people think that opening a new account and consolidating several lines of credit or loans will result in ONLY *increasing* their risk score(s). This is not true until AFTER some settling in time.

 

I got a great, unbelievable offer from Chase based on a good TU report. But the limit was low. And then they repriced me a year later and cited my Experian report, which had been trashed by Gulf State Credit. I later purchased my Experian score, and it was 646.

Regardless of that, you have a fine TU score and could probably improve the Experian score, and there's no guarantee that Chase will use the same reports that they used on me. Someone else posted that Chase used Experian to evaluate their application, and then Trans Union to review the account.

Congratulations on your progress and best wishes for the furure.