CRA's worthless scoring system should be made a sticky..

Anthorn

I don't really agree that the credit scores reported by CRAs are worthless. Misleading and overly expensive maybe: They are a guide to a likely score that a lender will produce if that lender is gaining a report from that CRA and uses the same scoring algorithm that the CRA uses.

It's not only Experian and Equifax we should be concerned about. For example on Noddle (Call Credit) I have four current green entries, two red defaults dating to 2008 which show a continual and regular balance reduction (however they could be seen as being current in that they are updated every month) and no CCJs. In short, an exemplary credit management over the last 4 years. Yet my Noddle rating is only 1/5.

I think probably the problem comes down to credit scoring by a computer program and not by a real person with the knowledge and experience to evaluate. But if people find it useful then it can never be worthless.

I voted yes with the above reservations.

izools

This is a very good point actually.

The data protection act entitles anyone who is refused credit to request a "Manual Review" whereby the decision is made by a person and not a computer.

E.g. I was declined for a second bank account by Nationwide's automated credit scoring earlier in the year, asked for the application to be manually reviewed, and a couple of days later the account appeared in my online banking

BugsyBrowne

Bump......

rb10

Any such post should be true and unbiased.

There is a lot of misunderstanding by many forum members on here about these credit scores, with many people appearing to incorrectly believe that there is no fact behind them.

All that should people should be aware of is:

1. The scores provided online use a different scorecard to those used by lenders. Thus a good score by a CRA doesn't guarantee acceptance by a lender, and vice versa.

2. Despite this, the level of information that CRAs provide to banks (over and above the factual data about your accounts) means that they are best placed to give an objective view of your credit position.

3. No automated system can ever be fully accurate in predicting anyone's future behaviour. So expect there to be anomolies in credit scores. These unexplained variations will occur both in the credit scores that CRAs will provide to customers, the scores that CRAs calculate for lenders, and lenders' own scores.

A post like this would be of far more use than some of the nonsense that is frequently posted on here about credit scores being 'worthless' and 'not a true reflection of a lender's score'.

BugsyBrowne

rb10 wrote: »

Any such post should be true and unbiased.

There is a lot of misunderstanding by many forum members on here about these credit scores, with many people appearing to incorrectly believe that there is no fact behind them.

All that should people should be aware of is:

1. The scores provided online use a different scorecard to those used by lenders. Thus a good score by a CRA doesn't guarantee acceptance by a lender, and vice versa.

2. Despite this, the level of information that CRAs provide to banks (over and above the factual data about your accounts) means that they are best placed to give an objective view of your credit position.

3. No automated system can ever be fully accurate in predicting anyone's future behaviour. So expect there to be anomolies in credit scores. These unexplained variations will occur both in the credit scores that CRAs will provide to customers, the scores that CRAs calculate for lenders, and lenders' own scores.

A post like this would be of far more use than some of the nonsense that is frequently posted on here about credit scores being 'worthless' and 'not a true reflection of a lender's score'.

Are you nuts or what how can Experian sell a credit score for £15 then match you to credit card providers without taking in your income and you say it's nonsense saying they are worthless what a joke.

I even spoke to An Experian customer service representive once who told me on the phone that their scoring system is flawed and they get hundreds of phone calls each week asking them explain why they have been matched with lenders and getting turned down with an excellent score.

I might not of worded the title of the thread correctly but people are getting ripped off if you like it or not.

rb10

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

Are you nuts or what how can Experian sell a credit score for £15 then match you to credit card providers without taking in your income and you say it's nonsense saying they are worthless what a joke.

No, I'm not nuts thanks.

Experian don't take any notice of your income. Banks don't take much notice [for unsecured products] either, since too many people lie on their application. So that's hardly a reason to say tha the scores are worthless.

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

I even spoke to An Experian customer service representive once who told me on the phone that their scoring system is flawed and they get hundreds of phone calls each week asking them explain why they have been matched with lenders and getting turned down with an excellent score.

In the same way as every other scoring system (such as those used by lenders) is flawed.

Without a crystal ball, it's impossible to predict the future. This is one reason why people can be accepted at one bank and rejected elsewhere.

jakesuk

Perhaps the CRA's score isn't worthless, but I wouldn't pay any attention to it. It's probably about as much use as asking my 5 year old cousin whether he thinks I should be entitled to credit and asking him to score me.

I'd be more inclined to pay my 5 year old cousin to score me rather than a CRA any day!

BugsyBrowne

I can't believe 9 members are against this considering theirs a member on here who has a bankruptcy order with 6 settled defaults yet experian scores her 980 with NO negatives on her file.

Now don't get me wrong but if this system isint flawed then something is seriously wrong!!!

CRA's are great for a statuary report apart from that their scoring system is useless unreliable,flawed,worthless & they are getting richer while taking less fortunate members of the public for one big ride.

DevilPigeon

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

I can't believe 9 members are against this considering theirs a member on here who has a bankruptcy order with 6 settled defaults yet experian scores her 980 with NO negatives on her file.

Now don't get me wrong but if this system isint flawed then something is seriously wrong!!!

CRA's are great for a statuary report apart from that their scoring system is useless unreliable,flawed,worthless & they are getting richer while taking less fortunate members of the public for one big ride.

I wonder how many from the 9 have reported scores very close to or at the maximum.....?

Just a thought.

callum9999

Slightly off topic but we need a sticky for travel as well. The number of threads asking "which card is best" when the answer is exactly the same for all of them (and has it's own article on this very site...) is ridiculous!