I would only add to this thread that, in my opinion, ignoring the obvious difference between credit scores, is that all credit reports are not, from the consumer's perspective, really "accurate." in what they imply to you.
I use the term "accurate" loosely. The bare bones of what they include in their credit reports may technically be "accurate," but what is oftern omitted, and how they are formatted, often conveys what borders on inaccurate information. They are often misleading in their omissions.
They often post information reported by OCs, such as account delinquencies, under the heading of a CA account, when the debt collector, in fact, did not or could not report montly delinquencies. That conveys a misconception to the consumer, and results in a lot of turmoil over disputing accuracy or update of information, supposedly incorrectly implied to have been reported by a debt collector.
Most commerical, consumer credit reprots dont, for example, supply the DOFD on the OC account, even though it is stored in the consumer's credit file, but rather, if they tell you anything, only tell you a "projected deletion date." Why? Maybe because the creditors dont want to make it that easy to determine CR deletion dates for COs and CAs on their own? That date is there, and easily included in any consumer credit report. CR deletion dates are NOT repoted to or stored in any consumer credit file. They are simply calcualtions made by the CRA, apart from your credit file.
Every separate delinquency and derog in a consumer credit file has its own individual deletion date from CR inclusion, so giving even one projecte delettion date implies to many consumers that this applies to all delinquencies or derogs, or in the worst case, implies that it refers to account deletetion. That is clearly inaccurate.
Accounts are never deleted by any provision of the FCRA.
I do NOT think that all commerical, consumer credit reports are the same
The only credit report available to consumers that I am aware of that at least makes the clear attempt to categorize your credit file by who reported the information posted to your file is the government-sanctioned site at annualcreditreport.com.
