Credit reports at odds with one another - hugely so!

Tammy2

I've had a look at three different credit reports today - Experian, Noddle and Equifax. Each give a totally different picture, but seem to hold the same information

Experian say I'm a good bet, score 999 (I find this hard to believe). Noddle, 580 and Equifax a dismal 262! What the heck is going on?

(I'm very grateful I took advantage of the Topcashback offer. I was shocked to see a debt I thought I'd settled in full years ago still there! I've been getting defaults for well over a year for a £6 debt :mad: I haven't received any letters asking for it either. Will get on the phone tomorrow to sort it. Shows it is a good idea to periodically check in case of any errors / misunderstandings).

Malmo

Tammy2 wrote: »

Experian say I'm a good bet, score 999 (I find this hard to believe). Noddle, 580 and Equifax a dismal 262! What the heck is going on?

Hi Tammy2,

The scores provided by the agencies are meaningless, and the inconsistency of those scores in your example illustrates this quite well! In the UK, individuals are not assigned a universal or central credit score (they do in the USA though, I believe). Lenders use information held by the agencies, supplemented with information from other sources (such as wage slips, if applying for a mortgage) to evaluate customers based on their own criteria/rules that determine their ideal customer. So pay no attention to these scores and if you have subscribed to their free trial services, ensure that you cancel them in a timely manner.

Tammy2

Thanks Malmo. Nice to know I'm not just a number

But isn't it still a little odd that they are so different, despite seemingly holding the same information?

Edit: Yep, will cancel before the free trial is up. But not before my TopCashBack qualification

Thrugelmir

Tammy2 wrote: »

But isn't it still a little odd that they are so different, despite seemingly holding the same information?

Is the information the same for the whole of the 6 year period?

Malmo

Tammy2 wrote: »

But isn't it still a little odd that they are so different, despite seemingly holding the same information?

I don't know how their internal scorecards work, but there could be any number of factors they each adopt that lead to the differences. It is immaterial to you as the consumer, as only you and the agency providing the score knows this number. At the end of the day, it's a marketing feature that drives sales for the agencies.

It's more important that the factual information held by the agencies about you and your accounts is accurate and up-to-date and in the event that there are discrepancies, follow up on these, no matter how major or trivial.

Tammy2

Thanks.

I will deal with the outstanding balance issue tomorrow.

Tammy2

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Is the information the same for the whole of the 6 year period?

Yes, it seems to be the same.