How Many Credit Scores Do You Have?

Tommy Lawing • October 14, 2020

Equifax, Experian, TransUnion ...and... FICO and VantageScore

We purchase the same 5-page Tenant Screening Report and we use the same credit scoring model on every rental applicant but there is still skepticism.

An applicant recently complained that her credit score was 100 points higher than what we said and, surprise!, both of us were correct! That’s right! The same credit bureau had reported different scores for the same person and only 10 days apart. Here is what we learned ….

Everyone knows there are 3 national credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TranUnion – but did you know there are 11 FICO methods plus 2 VantageScore methods which they use to produce your score? It all depends on the risks being assessed? In short, there are large differences in the risk-assessment for a credit card application, a car, a mortgage or a lease and, thus, there are different credit scores for each.

Each bureau strives to be the best but that, too, causes different scores. For instance, Experian uses FICO Auto Score 2, Equifax uses FICO Auto Score 5 and TransUnion uses Auto Score 4 for auto lending and equally varied methods for mortgage lending and apartment leasing. Each version treats late payments, high balances near the limit and recently opened credit accounts slightly different.

Also, FICO weighs utilization of credit as 30% of its score while VantageScore places a heavier 45% on how much credit is being used. FICO gives a total of 25% to the age and type of credit history while VantageScore only gives these factors 13% of its score.

In short, my credit score and your credit score can vary greatly simply depending on which credit bureau and what type of risk being assessed.

.

< Older Post Newer Post >

Share

Mail