ID Theft

Why are my Equifax scores different from different credit monitoring services?

I signed up for www.myfico.com, Bank of America's privacy assist, and www.privacymatters123.com today within 1/2 an hour of each other. They are all showing different Equifax scores varying by about 25 points. Why is there a difference and which monitoring company should I trust is reporting the correct score? I know they change day to day and I know they only report a snapshot score that will not immediately update, but this information was obtained within 30 minutes. Is one company more accurate than another or are these monitoring companies just a scam?

Public Comments

1. They all monitor your score with the info they get and their various methods of assigning values to particular things. However, not all companies, credit cards, furniture stores, etc. will report to all 3 credit bureaus hence you will have different scores with all 3 generally- Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union are the 3 I'm talking about. As for the monitoring companies and the scores you get from them- they are a best guess at the real thing and can often be way off the mark of actual bureau scores.
2. There are 3 different credit monitoring companies. Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian. Different Banks and Lenders report to these companies on a regional basis. For example, in California, most of the transaction done by one is reported on Experian so odds are your experian score will be higher if you reside there. In Texas, Transunion and Equifax are the main reporting companies that most Lenders and Banks use. Also not all transactional activities are reported to the three companies. When you make a car payment, it might get reported to transunion only. It really depends on what region of the U.S. one resides and which credit bureau does the particular bank report to.
3. Equifax is a credit reporting agency. They will give you a credit score according to their standards. As will FICO, TransUnion and Experian. If you are to check your credit on your own, I would strongly suggest using FICO. They are the most utilized credit reporting agency across the board and therefor will give you the credit score that will more than likely be used by the lender who you are applying with. And as for checking your own credit within 30 minutes of eachother, I would highly advise you NOT to do that. The more you check your credit, with any agency, the lower your credit will drop. I would suggest to you not to check your credit anymore. Though the Equifax score is not going to be the same as a FICO score, it will be relatively close and should give you an idea if you are in good standing or not. From there, work on improving your credit and then, if you plan on applying for credit, let the lender do the checking for you.