Number of on-time entries hurting my EX score?

[CJ7]

Scores in sig.  EX with nearly the same data trailing 20-30pts.  Upon closer inspection of payment

histories on all 3, I have like 5 closed accounts where EX has 25 on-time entries and stopped reporting

when the account was closed, whereas TU and EQ kept reporting for *years* with more like 50 on-times shown.

If I were to add them all up, TU and EQ likely have 100+ more green monthly entries than EX.

Given that I have no lates, would this in and of itself account for the score discrepancy?

[Anonymous]

Where do you get your three FICO 8 scores from?

I am stingy, so I get mine from my credit cards.  In particular, I get my EQ score from my Citibank cards.  But the fine print there does explain that they use FICO 8 Bankcard Enhanced, which has a ceiling of 900.  Therefore it would not be strange for my EQ to be higher than my EX or TU, since my latter two scores are FICO 8 classic.

Also, is what you're describing based on one pull of your scores?  Or have you pulled the FICO 8 scores many times and the EQ is always much higher?

Finally, do all three credit bureaus have the same "date closed" for the account?  Just curious.

Regardless I personally have great doubts that FICO uses the data you mention, as long as the account has the same date closed on all three and the same status (e.g. Paid As Agreed or whatever language that CRA uses, i.e. no lates).

 I could be wrong of course.  So I'd be curious what the veterans of the site might say.  Congrats on having zero derogs and such great scores!

[CJ7]

I generally get my scores monthly from CCT for $1.  EX has been trailing now for probably 6 months.

Old positive accounts keep falling off TU early like flies, the last one seemingly cost me 9 points

for dipping just below 5 years AAOA.  This makes 4 accounts now that aren't on TU but are on the other

two that should still be there (under 10 years since closure) and affects my AAOA to the tune of about

1 year compared to the other 2. 

*Something* is keeping my EX score down and the only other visible culprit is number of inquiries

less than 12M old sitting at 4, while the other two are at 3 and 1.

[Anonymous]

Inquiries might count for part of it. 

Bear in mind, in case you haven't heard this before, that the actual FICO 8 classic algorithm itself is slightly different at each of the three credit bureaus.  I don't mean the more obvious and incontestable fact that EQ pulls EQ data and TU pulls TU data.  I mean that the actual model itself, the very algorithm itself and the factors in it and the various weights assigned to them, is slightly different.  That's common knowledge here on the forums but is not widely known elsewhere.

What that means is that a person could have EXACTLY the same accounts and age and balances and so forth on all three CRA reports, and yet his FICO 8 score could be significantly different.  Not different by one point or two, but by a dozen or more points at least.

I really like the way you are trying to carefully analyze the differences in your three reports, however.  That can ONLY be a good habit.

PS.  Do all three credit bureaus have the same "date closed" for the account?  Just curious.

[CJ7]

Yes, same "date closed" on all.  I realize each model is slightly different, but I wouldn't think it would

differ to the tune of almost 30 points.  I never paid attention before to others' scores to see how

their EX compares to their other two - but I'll never know how their data compares on each bureau

to determine if it's a fair comparison or not.

Anyone out there with equivalent data on all 3 bureaus, yet their EX is significantly lower or higher?

I'm half thinking that the evil 4th inquiry in the last 12 months is the culprit.

[Revelate]

Not much to add to CGID's correct assertion: the algorithm between the bureaus is simply different and will produce different scores on identical data.  VS 3.0 and reportedly FICO 9 are supposed to address that.

That said the design goal for FICO (stated by FICO internal employees) has been +/- 30 points between bureaus, and you're within that.  Historically my EX report has often been 30-40 points above my EQ regardless of model for literally no reason I could see: more inquiries, more tax liens at the time, etc ad naseum; EQ has always been my cleanest report historicallly, but always my lowest score with the exception of FICO 9.  

I tongue-in-cheek claim EQ hates me, but it's pretty much impossible to say why.  EQ is lower than TU even and I have a 30 day late from 10/15 on that report, it really makes very little sense except to acknowledge they're different.