TransUnion credit factors and Credit Karma

_Dave_

Hi,

For about the last year I've had a TransUnion credit score of 691 out of 710 but this is based on what Credit Karma are telling me.
Credit Karma is showing that there's nothing more I can do to increase my score. It's been like that for months. There's nothing negative on my report as far as I can see.

I've emailed Credit Karma to try and find out why if there's nothing more I can do, I don't have a score of 710. They told me that they don't have access to all of TransUnion's credit factors and that I needed to contact TransUnion. While I wait for them to no doubt fob me off, I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has a full list of all credit factors that TransUnion take into account?

It seems pretty suspicious to me that there are secret/hidden factors that aren't disclosed.

Thanks. 

[Deleted User]

It doesn't matter what credit factors they take into account, or what score they give you. They will never make a lending decision.

You should be checking the data on your three files to see if it correct and then see if there is anything that might cause a lender concern - eg utilisation, missed payments, financial associates, erroneous accounts, etc.

Ebe_Scrooge

The score is an entirely fictitious number made up by the CRAs, and is not used - nor even seen - by any lender.  Lenders will focus purely on the data contained within your files, and do their own internal scoring based purely on that.

Additionally, not all lenders report to all 3 credit agencies, so there may be differences in the data available to them.

Shanwick

Ignore the TransUnion score - it is not used by lenders. Check if the factual contents of the report itself is correct - that is what matters.

Lenders score applications using information from both the application and the factual information from the borrower's credit file.  

_Dave_

Thanks everyone. I'm not focusing on the exact score as such, just using that as a guideline. I figured that if my score isn't maxed out, then surely that must mean that something is having a negative effect. I'd just like to know what that thing is. So if I get a report direct from TransUnion, is that likely to show something that isn't shown via Credit Karma?

[Deleted User]

_Dave_ said:

I figured that if my score isn't maxed out, then surely that must mean that something is having a negative effect.

No, it surely doesn't. Your score may be stuck permanently, as they don't respond well to gradual improvements. And what CRAs think are negatives, lenders will often seen as positives, so it really doesn't matter.

Credit Karma should show the same as TransUnion. Check your other files instead if you think you have problems with your credit history.

_Dave_

Ok, thanks. I don't think I have any problems as such. I was just interested to understand what could effect my score that's not listed on Credit Karma. I got a copy of my TransUnion report anyway and as far as I can see, there's nothing extra in there. So that's as you said.

I guess I'll try getting reports from the other two companies to see if they show anything different.

Thanks for your help.

MalMonroe

_Dave_ said:

Ok, thanks. I don't think I have any problems as such. I was just interested to understand what could effect my score that's not listed on Credit Karma. I got a copy of my TransUnion report anyway and as far as I can see, there's nothing extra in there. So that's as you said.

I guess I'll try getting reports from the other two companies to see if they show anything different.

Thanks for your help.

Hi, I think it's a very good idea to get reports from the other companies. For me, Credit Karma is always the lowest score of all and they always say my report 'needs action'. But with Equifax (Clearscore) and Experian my score is now at the maximum and I'm 'excellent' for them. As others have said, the actual score means nothing and you are the only person who sees it. Now my DRO is well out of the way, my Transunion/Credit Karma low score has never prevented me from acquiring credit. Some lenders indicate which CRA they use to get information too and if I did need credit, I'd steer clear of any of the Transunion/Credit Karma fans.

If you sign up to Clearscore (Equifax) or access Experian through this very site, you can have a look at summarised reports - although brief, they do give very helpful info. 

_Dave_

MalMonroe said:

Hi, I think it's a very good idea to get reports from the other companies. For me, Credit Karma is always the lowest score of all and they always say my report 'needs action'. But with Equifax (Clearscore) and Experian my score is now at the maximum and I'm 'excellent' for them. As others have said, the actual score means nothing and you are the only person who sees it. Now my DRO is well out of the way, my Transunion/Credit Karma low score has never prevented me from acquiring credit. Some lenders indicate which CRA they use to get information too and if I did need credit, I'd steer clear of any of the Transunion/Credit Karma fans.

If you sign up to Clearscore (Equifax) or access Experian through this very site, you can have a look at summarised reports - although brief, they do give very helpful info. 

Hi, thank you for the advice. I'll definitely check out Clearscore next. I've found Credit Karma (and whatever they were called before that) useful for learning what factors play a part. That's allowed me to do a few things to improve my score and generally handle my finances better. So I'll be interested to see if the other companies have anything more to add. 

[Deleted User]

How many posts do you need to read to understand the score is irrelevant?

No lender ever sees your score, it is 100% a gimmick designed to make you pay for services to "improve" your score

Trying to improve the score is a complete waste of time as it means LITERALLY NOTHING

When you apply for credit, lenders use their own internal scoring system (that you will never see) which makes a decision based only on the data on your record such as a history of paying off a credit card in full every month, paying a contract mobile every month, being on the electoral register and living at one place for a long time etc plus other factors that the credit agencies can't see such as your salary. At no point in any of that decision making process will a lender see the score that you see

Focus on handling finances better for sure, but do so in the knowledge that what happens to your score is irrelevant