Why Do The 3 Credit Scores Vary by Bureau?

By John L Fischer, Personal Finance Writer   

The secret formula that makes up the FICO® credit score is a lot like one of your grandma's famous old recipes: You never know exactly what's in it.

And that may have you wondering why your credit scores can differ by bureau. It's like this: That secret FICO credit score not only has lots of ingredients, there are also many different credit chefs stirring the pot.

How each of the three major credit bureaus give the formula flavor

Each of the credit bureaus uses its own formula for calculating your credit score:

  • Of the three, Equifax is the only one that uses the original FICO scoring formula. Equifax's scoring range is 350-850.
  • Both Experian and TransUnion developed formulae of their own (again, based on FICO's scoring model). Experian's scoring range is 330-830; TransUnion's is 300-850.

How each credit bureau's formula affects your creditors

Credit bureaus collect data independently of each other; they rarely share it.

What's more, your creditors and lenders might report data only to one or two of the credit bureaus; most never report data to all three.

From there, each credit bureau calculates your credit score with the data in its unique credit file. What's happening in one bureau may not be happening in one — or both — of the others.

Remember that none of the three major credit bureaus are run by the government; they're all independent, private businesses.

So Experian calculates your credit score with the data found only in your Experian credit report. That makes it a near guarantee that your score from TransUnion or Equifax will be different.

Try thinking of it in terms of apples and oranges. (Since we're talking about all three, throw in another fruit of your choice for comparison.)

You can't add or remove ingredients, but you can help stir the pot

Most lenders usually have established relationships with one or more of the credit bureaus.

They may not tell you which bureau(s) they use, but you can ask them to contact a specific bureau when they view your credit score.