Difference in three scores

[Anonymous]

I have been working diligently on credit repair. I am please to say the perseverance has paid off! I have ZERO derogatories and my scores are as follows equifax 754, TransUnion 784, and experian 741. I have 1 secured credit card, 1 secured personal loan (to be paid in half the loan time 9 month instead of 18 this month). My credit utilization is about 6%. All of this sounds great right?! I'm super excited but I don't know why there is a 30+ point difference between TransUnion and the other two. I understand that each bureau uses different scoring algorithm but 30+ points? Any help out there? I want equifax and experian to be up there with TransUnion! 😁😁😁

[ls2016]

Are the scores you quoted all FICO 8 scores? Are all 3 of your reports reporting the same accounts, credit exposure/limits, average age of accounts, utilization, inquiries, etc? Just checking to see if you've compared and contrasted all 3 reports for any inconsistent info

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply! Yes, the only difference in the reports is 1 inquiry on equifax. And I use myfico to get my scores.

[Anonymous]

As you say, the three CRAs do indeed implement FICO 8 slightly differently.  For some people, the ways that these three algorithms differ produces at most a difference of 2-3 points.  For others it can as high as 30.

The other commenter is right, which is that even people who are very experienced can sometimes fail to see a tiny but crucial difference in the three reports.  It's very common to hear "I promise you there is no difference in the reports" when there actually is but the person missed it.  The same account could be reporting with a different balance, it could have a different date opened, etc. etc.

But let's just go with the idea that your reports are exactly the same.  Trying to guess why the other algorithms are not as generous to you won't change the fact that they are in fact not being generous.  It might satisfy your curiosity, but it won't achieve the practicial thing you want, which is to see your scores rise.  Happily we can help you with that.

Your scores will improve when you get a couple more credit cards.  Even if they take a short term dive, they will improve in the medium to long term, since you will then be able to achieve something that FICO likes to see a lot, which is for most of your credit cards to report $0 but one card to show a positive balance.  FICO also likes it when you keep your total utilization low, which we can see you are doing.

Your installment loan profile is not ideal.  The ideal situation is to have at least one open installment loan AND for almost all of your open installment debt to be paid off.  (You want to owe 1-9% of the original loan amount for your open loans.)  I was unsure how much of your secured loan was paid off, but it sounded like it was about half.  Much better is for almost all of it to be paid off and then to keep the loan open for as long as possible, e.g. five years. 

Here is a thread that explains how FICO 8 scores installment debt and the best way to use secured personal loans to achieve maximum points.  All you need to do is read the first 2-3 posts.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Adding-an-installment-loan-the-Share-Secu...

Congrats on all you have achieved thus far!  And best wishes for the future.

[Anonymous]

I agree! Thank you so much for your input. I "see" all reports as the same. But dates etc could be reporting differently. 😬 As for the secured loan I took out. I, too agree that I should have left it open longer. But this secured loan was at a time when I was first starting this credit journey and with a 591 credit score you can imagine the interest I was paying!! So, in my defense I was trying to save a few dollars in interest. My next loan hopefully will be at a lower interest rate to lengthen my history.

[Anonymous]

Hey, totally not criticizing!  Just trying to help you out in terms of how to improve your score for the future.

Read the first two posts in that link I gave you.  Then look at your current payment schedule for the loan you have now.  Two months before it pays off, use the full technique as described in the third post.  Honestly if you just use Alliant and follow the setps it will be very easy.  It will also cost you $1-2 in interest per year -- much less than your current loan did or does.

And as far as credit cards, now that you are free of derogs, you should be planning to add two more cards.  Take your time, look around carefully and find two you really like.  Add them one at a time if that feels less like diving into the deep end.

A final medium range goal should be to have a total of six or more accounts (closed and open together).  Your original post mentioned two, though you may have more than that now.