Disparity between Equifax and Experian need help!!

buzzSJ123

I have been using Credit expert for over a year now to manage my scores and generally keep on top of my credit history and all is well in that respect. Recently I have applied for a mortgage and was directed to Equifax as my mortgage was declined. Completely gob-smacked I tool the net and paid for an Equifax copy of my credit file which actually had nothing different to the Experian one in terms of content, with all areas - which was good. I then requested a score from Equifax which as that i thought would only corroborate the position and match on balance my Experian position which stands in the "excellent" category. Subsquently mortified to find Equifax scores me as "Poor" despite the file being completely clear and all accounts up to date including a credit card which i pay off each month in full and have been using for nearly 6mths (but never max'd out).

I have contacted both agencies and asked or clarity on the disparity, with particular focus on Equifax requesting an explanation as to why my score was poor yet my file is completely clear of any impacting info. So far all have received is the standard PR response and nothing from Equifax to even suggest that they would either look into the variation.

If anyone one has / is facing the same problem or has managed to resolve this sort of issue then let me know how - I really do not know where to go now.

Regards
Buzz

[Deleted User]

The difference between the scores is explained by the fact that one is made up, and so is the other one.

Neither CRA is a lender, so you can safely ignore any score they may give you. All that matters is the information on your file, not the number.

The_Boss

Sorry to hear that Experian have fleeced you for their meaningless, fictitious "score" for over a year. As above, credit scores/ratings do not exist (whether Experian or Equifax) so the numbers/ratings you're referring to are made up numbers that mean nothing in the real world.

Get it cancelled as soon as you can and just order your £2 statutory report once or twice a year from each.

Quimoi

*for the anti-score posse...:D

The 'scores' that the three CRA's give for me vary wildly and are quite similar to yours in fact.

Of the three 'scores' the one from Equifax is by far the most accurate indicator for me of the overall state of my credit file and in my experience ties in closely with lender's decisions (i.e. when Equifax have said my score is 'good' then I've been offered headline rates, now that it is said to be 'poor' I'm only being offered sub-prime rates). Conversely Experian's is constantly over optimistic and Noddle's seems to follow the lunar cycle on Jupiter.

I'm not arguing that you should treat Equifax's 'score' as the be-all-and-end-all but personally, I'm fixing the bits that they reckon are bad on my file (not on the electoral roll and high credit utilisation) as a first step. Will be interesting to see if their 'score' increases as the rates offered by lenders decrease




*(I know that CRA's don't lend money. I know that their 'score' is based on their own unknown criteria. I know that these may be different to the equally unknown criteria a potential lender uses on any particular day of the week. This post is only saying that in my experience Equifax's 'score' seems to currently be a reasonably good indicator and hence their advice of what needs fixing might also be imagined to be quite good.)

MrJester

As has been said, but take into account Quimoi's point.

The score is an independent valuation by those particular companies, who assess/analyse how your credit appears on file. (The fact that one is out of 1000, and the other out of 100 or something should explain that!)

But as Quimoi said, as a GENERAL RULE the score is a representation of the quality of your credit file, so you can take it into account that you have or do not have a satisfactory credit file in terms of payments, addresses, information, etc etc. They'll help you cure some of the fine details like if theres a mistake by a creditor etc and that's useful, but sometimes it might not even matter to a potential creditor (or might matter a lot!).

Definitely use the guide available on MSE, here:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score#boost
^ Its invaluable, use all of those tactics, and really you never need a credit score check.

Something to keep in mind is that creditors typically update information to these credit reference agencies once a month, and then the credit reference agency updates THEIR records once a month, the days can be different between these companies e.g. Equifax updates on the 1st, but Barclaycard didn't let Equifax know that you have cleared your debt till the 2nd. You still have to wait a whole other month for that update to appear.
^ That's an example, but I worked in finance and as I remember when customers asked us about fixing an error on their credit we advised them that Experian would only update on a certain day of the month, somewhere around the middle, so customers could have to wait for a while to see those changes.

roubaix

I have the opposite experience. I appear as poor on equifax but have got all the mortgages/0% purchase or balance transfer cards I have ever applied for. They mark me poor as I haven't been on electoral register long enough but I work as a professional in a job that required me to move around a bit to progress. Equifax cares a lot about that but lenders have never turned me down so clearly don't care!

I think credit agencies are useful to see all the information in one place about your credit accounts and see they are correct but certainly my score has not reflected my ability to get credit so I ignore that bit and just check the raw data before I apply for any new credit account.

MrJester

roubaix wrote: »

I have the opposite experience. I appear as poor on equifax but have got all the mortgages/0% purchase or balance transfer cards I have ever applied for. They mark me poor as I haven't been on electoral register long enough but I work as a professional in a job that required me to move around a bit to progress. Equifax cares a lot about that but lenders have never turned me down so clearly don't care!

I think credit agencies are useful to see all the information in one place about your credit accounts and see they are correct but certainly my score has not reflected my ability to get credit so I ignore that bit and just check the raw data before I apply for any new credit account.

Well exactly the score is irrelevant to what the lender might or might not decide, they don't see a score, just data from which they compile their own decision.

I worked with a lender, and your particular situation isn't abnormal because it does happen, the lender I worked for would simply need something to check the information to. Basically if you provide an address you live or have lived at, there needs to be info for it somewhere on your credit, it's proof and that's what they want to see, that some other creditor has record of that address.

Can't say why exactly yours was OK unless you always changed addresses with all your creditors, then that's it, but lenders check with your work about addressees sometimes too.