Consumer Corner: What’s The Deal With My Credit Score?

Provided by the Bucks County Department of Consumer Protection:

Q. I recently applied for a small loan through my bank in order to pay off some credit card debt. As is their usual practice, the bank pulled my credit report and, according to them, my score was 500. However, when I pulled my credit report via TransUnion, it showed my score to be over 200 points higher. Why would there be such a difference? How do I know which report is most accurate? – C.C., Langhorne

A. As you may be aware, there are three national credit bureaus; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Through any one of these bureaus you can find your credit score. The scores from each of these credit reporting organizations is solely based on the data that they have on file for you at their agency. That is the reason that your credit score may be different at each one of the main credit reporting agencies.

We can assume by what you have told us that most likely your bank did not pull your score from TransUnion as you did. If you are concerned with the difference in your score, you can ask your lender which agency that they pulled your score from.

To complicate things further, there are dozens of different credit scores out there depending on who may be looking and why. For example, an insurance company will be most interested in a consumer’s likelihood to file an insurance claim while a credit card company will want to see how you may handle a higher credit limit.

So while you are comparing scores, keep in mind the following; access the scores within the same time frame, do not assume that each credit reporting agency has identical information relating to your credit history and remember that you may have applied for credit under different names (for example Michael Smith versus Mike Smith).

For more information about your credit report visit www.consumer.ftc.gov.

For additional information and brochures on various consumer related matters visit the Bucks County Consumer Protection/Weights and Measures Department at http://www.buckscounty.org/government/CommunityServices/ConsumerProtection/ConsumerTips