topic Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA? in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 21:28:20 GMT

In reading these boards religiously, it regularly occurs to me to post the following: Which of the [Big 3] Credit Reporting Agencies seems most/least generous when providing your scores? Has it always been the way for you (between the 3?) What, do you think, attributes to the way you are scored by each?

I expect the replies to this thread to be a decent mix of fact, speculation and YMMV.

I'll start things off - in my 20+ years of being credit worthy, my credit file has been through several iterations (up & down.) With each fluctuation in scores, I have always noticed that TU has been the highest scoring. And, to that point, regardless of how much effort I put into improving the other two, my scores for both EQ and EX seem to lag 25-30 points behind TU. I think, in some respects this may be attributed to geography (I have lived in the Midwest 12 of the last 20 years, with equal portions of the other 8 years split between Las Vegas and NYC.)

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

pinkandgrey — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 21:45:45 GMT

Me no likey EX lol. It always seems lower. Probably due to the fact that EVERYONE pulls EX here in Colorado..... lol

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 21:52:32 GMT

Lived in AR for 3 years, 4 months in MO and more than 3 years in CA.

More pulls EX in AR. More pulls in TU in CA.

I agree, EX score is always lower

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

HeavenOhio — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 22:29:36 GMT

It's all a wash for me. Of my three FICO 8s and three mortgage scores, the lowest is my Experian FICO 8 (804), and the highest is my Experian mortgage score (820).

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

FireMedic1 — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 23:20:26 GMT

TU. Jan 2018 to Jan 2019. Got 2 cards. Two inqs fall off. Now 0 scorable inq's. Always 1% reporting aggregate. Evreything got a year older. As they say a picture speaks a 1000 words. 5 points gained. EX/EQ up 15-20.

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Pikaboo-icu — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 23:31:40 GMT

Best to me is TU by far..

My worst is EX.. I just detest Experian ! UGH!

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Remedios — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 23:37:28 GMT

EX for me,too. They dont like my new accounts or inquires

Sadly, where I live, you cannot get a glass of water without someone tugging on EX.

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 00:39:06 GMT

@pinkandgrey wrote:
Me no likey EX lol. It always seems lower. Probably due to the fact that EVERYONE pulls EX here in Colorado..... lol

Really? Only BBVA and Amex have pulled Experian for me in CO, EQ and TU got hammered...

TU was my worst til I got my EE, now EX is my worst.

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 02:05:35 GMT

I think there's a fundamental point that needs to be made up front and that's that it's not (usually) the CRA's providing you with scores, as they don't "score" you. They provide the data that goes through a scoring algorithm that then generates a score. The basic takeaway here should be that you can't be unhappy (or happy) with the CRA since they don't give you the score.

That aside, by definition when these threads come about your going to see overall that the split when the dust settles is going to be by definition around 1/3 for each of the Big 3... whether it's 1/3 saying X is the "best" CRA or 1/3 saying that Y is the "worst" CRA, etc. all based on personal experience.

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

calyx — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 18:04:09 GMT

For me, EQ is the "worst" - they're stubborn with disputes, they seem to take the longest to update payments/status, and everyone pulls them for me (it's either EQ or EQ/EX double hit).

EX is the best for me, they update with reporting information super fast and they're easy with my disputes and other information.

TU just sits there - no one ever pulls (the only inquiry I have is from a Cap1 triple pull) it, and it usually sits in the middle of the other two scores. My only issue is that their website always stalls out on me, so if I need anything I have to call or send a letter.

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 19:10:07 GMT

@calyx wrote:
For me, EQ is the "worst" - they're stubborn with disputes, they seem to take the longest to update payments/status, and everyone pulls them for me (it's either EQ or EQ/EX double hit).

EX is the best for me, they update with reporting information super fast and they're easy with my disputes and other information.

TU just sits there - no one ever pulls (the only inquiry I have is from a Cap1 triple pull) it, and it usually sits in the middle of the other two scores. My only issue is that their website always stalls out on me, so if I need anything I have to call or send a letter.

Yeah TU’s website is AWFUL! Yesterday I went to remove my security freeze and the login site was down so I had to call!

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 20:00:38 GMT

EX seems to be the best for my profile. It's certainly my highest score. Having young, thin files means little things cause big waves for me though. The only difference on my reports is that EQ has two inquiries and yet all three scores vary wildly. 🤔

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Jan 2019 18:31:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I think there's a fundamental point that needs to be made up front and that's that it's not (usually) the CRA's providing you with scores, as they don't "score" you. They provide the data that goes through a scoring algorithm that then generates a score. The basic takeaway here should be that you can't be unhappy (or happy) with the CRA since they don't give you the score.

That aside, by definition when these threads come about your going to see overall that the split when the dust settles is going to be by definition around 1/3 for each of the Big 3... whether it's 1/3 saying X is the "best" CRA or 1/3 saying that Y is the "worst" CRA, etc. all based on personal experience.

Although FICO calculates the scores based on data provided by the CRAs, the CRAs have several FICO model components where they can choose how or if those factors will affect the score. So even if all your data is the same across all 3, the scores may still differ.

Re: Least/Most Stubborn CRA?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Jan 2019 19:07:27 GMT

This is incredibly interesting to me. I am a huge statistics nerd - I literally devour information. If you tell me that there is no exact science to something, I am even more driven to understand that thing’s dynamics.