Equifax vs Transunion credit account number

[logicworkz]

Hey everyone! I've been lurking for years but never found a problem i couldn't solve without a little research until now....

I've been a Score Watch user for about 3 years now. I decided to add the Transunion score to the Score Watch display and much to my dismay, the Transunion score is 37 points lower than my Equifax score! I've compared both reports and the only one thing that stands out is the total number of accounts. I have 8 active credit accounts (including Mtg, Auto, CC) but my total history of credit includes 26 accounts. Most of the accounts have been paid off and closed anywhere from 5 - 10 years ago.

On my Transunion report, they note that i have a total of 26 credit accounts and that it's negatively impacting my score. 18 of those accounts no longer exist!!! Why is Transunion counting non-existent accounts against my score? The Equifax lists all 26 but only counts the 8 that are active...Why doesn't Equifax do the same as Transunion & count them towards my score?

If i dispute the 18 closed accounts and have them removed from the Transunion report, do i lose my credit history? If so, how do i handle this otherwise? I think losing the credit history would be more devastating to my score than having too many accounts, no? 

I'm closing in on 800 and i feel like i'm starting over after looking at the Transunion score

Thanks!

[AndySoCal]

Are the active account on Trans Union and Equifax the same ones? My definition of active account is one that has been reported (date reported) in the last six months.