Out of the 3, which has the toughest scoring system?

[Anonymous]

Your credit score may be different at each of the main credit reporting agencies.
The FICO score from each credit reporting agency considers only the data in your credit report at that agency. If your current scores from the credit reporting agencies are different, it's probably because the information those agencies have on you differs.

the above is taken directly from this website and supports my position that the data determines the score not the bureau...just because the scores have different names for each of the 3 bureaus doesn't mean that the algorithms are different...that's probably more a result of the business relationship that exists between Fair Isaac and the bureaus...it wouldn't make sense for a consulting firm to develop a scoring system to be used by lenders (not credit bureaus, they are only middle men) that is purposely designed to produce different results for each of the 3 bureaus.

I have done research and I don't find anything that supports your position on this other than some minor tweaking regarding how the inquiry window is handled for the different versions, that's why I want real documentation that suggests that the bureaus themselves are somehow dictating how the score is being calculated.

[MidnightVoice]

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Northeasterner wrote:

Your credit score may be different at each of the main credit reporting agencies.
The FICO score from each credit reporting agency considers only the data in your credit report at that agency. If your current scores from the credit reporting agencies are different, it's probably because the information those agencies have on you differs.

the above is taken directly from this website and supports my position that the data determines the score not the bureau...just because the scores have different names for each of the 3 bureaus doesn't mean that the algorithms are different...that's probably more a result of the business relationship that exists between Fair Isaac and the bureaus...it wouldn't make sense for a consulting firm to develop a scoring system to be used by lenders (not credit bureaus, they are only middle men) that is purposely designed to produce different results for each of the 3 bureaus.

I have done research and I don't find anything that supports your position on this other than some minor tweaking regarding how the inquiry window is handled for the different versions, that's why I want real documentation that suggests that the bureaus themselves are somehow dictating how the score is being calculated.

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But we know (from the powers that be at Fair Isaac) they they do use different formulae

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

the above is taken directly from this website and supports my position that the data determines the score not the bureau...just because the scores have different names for each of the 3 bureaus doesn't mean that the algorithms are different...that's probably more a result of the business relationship that exists between Fair Isaac and the bureaus...it wouldn't make sense for a consulting firm to develop a scoring system to be used by lenders (not credit bureaus, they are only middle men) that is purposely designed to produce different results for each of the 3 bureaus.

I have done research and I don't find anything that supports your position on this other than some minor tweaking regarding how the inquiry window is handled for the different versions, that's why I want real documentation that suggests that the bureaus themselves are somehow dictating how the score is being calculated.

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The data themselves drive your scores. And the weight that is attached to the data comes from the scoring formula which was commissioned by each CRA.

No one said that someone in a task chair at the credit bureau looks at your report and picks a score.

[Anonymous]

"No one said that someone in a task chair at the credit bureau looks at your report and picks a score"

I'm not sure how you're getting that from what I'm saying...what you're suggesting is that Fair Isaac collaborates with the credit bureaus individually and the credit bureau says we want X,Y, Z to be factored more heavily in our score calculation...I just don't see it happening that way...what I do see happening is Fair Isaac adjusting the algorithms slightly between the bureaus to account for the differences in how the data fields are supplied by each bureau in an attempt to make the scores as consistent as possible between the 3 bureaus. 

[Anonymous]

Actually, my significant other's credit reports are exactly the same with each of the CRA.  He has a mortgage and 3 credit cards.  All the accounts have the same history and dates, etc.  He has 3 different scores between each CRA.  Yes, they are within 20 points of one another, but each score is different.  So, I concur, it is not probable that you will have the same score with each CRA even if you have the same exact report with each one.  I am talking about FICO's also.  We found this when we were applying for another mortgage. 

Edited for typo.

Message Edited by KsCreditGal on 09-24-2008 10:43 AM

[haulingthescoreup]

Yes, all these scoring systems, FICO and FAKO, work off of the identical underlying reports maintained by the CRA's. A lot of times people find things missing or erroneous or just plain weird on their secondary reports (myFICO, TrueCredit, etc.), but that seems to result from problems in data mapping.

This is why when people find strange things on their FICO score reports that we advise that they go pull the real thing from the CRA's themselves.

[Anonymous]

"Actually, my significant other's credit reports are exactly the same with each of the CRA.  He has a mortgage and 3 credit cards"

I don't know if we (consumers) could ever make that statement simply because we don't see all the data fields that are being supplied by the bureaus to FICO nor do we know how/which fields are being included in the FICO model.

I would say that all the necessary data elements required by the FICO model being exactly the same for each of the bureaus at the moment the FICO scores are generated on this website is pretty unlikely which is why the scores are usually a little different even if we think the reports are the same...I know my own CRA reports are usually reporting slightly different balances for some of my credit cards...a lot of it depends on when the data is provided by the creditor to the bureau and what IT protocols the bureau has in place for updating their systems and how often they're implemented.

[Anonymous]

Northeasterner - a large part of the different scores come from the factors you describe below. Some do not. You may not believe hauling because she didn't spend 2 hours to track down documentation for you, but she is absolutely correct. The formulas are different for the different bureaus. You can find documentation on that on the Fair Isaac website or even by doing "research" on google.

Hauling is one, if not the, most knowledgeable poster on here that doesn't work for Fair Isaac (the FICO brand owner). I know you are new and likely don't just trust what other people say, but Hauling knows her stuff. Other posters who know credit in and out defer to her - and we don't question her documentation.

Welcome to the wonderful world of proprietary data and credit scoring. I hope you enjoy the board.

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Northeasterner wrote:

"Actually, my significant other's credit reports are exactly the same with each of the CRA.  He has a mortgage and 3 credit cards"

I don't know if we (consumers) could ever make that statement simply because we don't see all the data fields that are being supplied by the bureaus to FICO nor do we know how/which fields are being included in the FICO model.

I would say that all the necessary data elements required by the FICO model being exactly the same for each of the bureaus at the moment the FICO scores are generated on this website is pretty unlikely which is why the scores are usually a little different even if we think the reports are the same...I know my own CRA reports are usually reporting slightly different balances for some of my credit cards...a lot of it depends on when the data is provided by the creditor to the bureau and what IT protocols the bureau has in place for updating their systems and how often they're implemented.

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[marty56]

EQ for me.  They are brutal on lates.

[Anonymous]

EQ for me