Why do Credit Scores Differ from one Credit Bureau to Another?
Last Updated : Feb. 19, 2021, 3:07 p.m.
Nowadays, with the emergence of many credit report agencies in India people have started to check their Credit Score whenever they want to apply for any debt. Now the people want to know their credit history and how they are managing their debts. This could be only possible with the help of credit bureaus that are operating in India. But on the other hand, there is a confusing factor how can a credit score checked from one credit bureau differ from another. Therefore, we have discussed various reasons why your credit score varies when you check it from different bureaus. The Algorithm and the Scoring Model of different bureaus might be the responsible reason for the variation in the credit score. There are also some other reasons that you might explore in this article.
Reasons for Variations in Your Credit Score
Here are some reasons why your credit score is not the same in two different credit rating agencies. You must explore the determining factors that cause such fluctuations in your Credit Score checked from different Credit Report Agencies.
Algorithm and Scoring Model
Every Credit Bureau has a different algorithm and way of calculating the Credit Score. Suppose you have checked your Credit Score on Equifax and CRISIL and Equifax has the algorithm of decreasing 10 points on skipping EMIs and CRISIL has an algorithm of decreasing 7 points on skipping EMIs then your final credit score will differ from others.
Therefore, it is clear that the algorithm followed by these bureaus is different from each other and thus it creates a difference in the Credit Score. Similarly, suppose Transunion CIBIL decreases 6 points on credit card late payment and Experian decreases 3 points on credit card late payment then your final CIBIL score will be different on both the bureaus. If we suppose you have skipped 3 credit card payments then your points will differ by 9 points.
Information Shared by Lenders to Bureau
Banks and other lending institutions share the repayment pattern of their customers with the credit bureau, based on which the customer’s credit score is generated. It can happen that the Credit Bureau ‘A’ takes information from 20 banks whereas Credit Bureau ‘B’ takes information from 18 banks only.
Then is such a situation the Bureau ‘B’ has skipped 2 banks and doesn’t have the record of those customers whereas Bureau ‘A’ in calculating the score including those 2 banks. So finally score of the Bureau ‘A’ will differ from the Score of Bureau ‘B’.
Incorrect Information Shared by You
Sometimes due to inaccuracy of the information provided by the applicant results in the calculation of a wrong Credit Score. It can be a mistake in the phone number or in the name. Sometimes there are individuals with joint accounts and it can be with your parents, child, or spouse. So, people provide their phone numbers at the time of checking their score instead of providing the numbers of the primary applicant.
Thus, it creates a difference in the credit score because in such a case the bureau will have the information of the primary applicant and you are giving the phone number of the secondary applicant.
Dates and Time Period
It is also an important factor for the mismatch in your credit score from different bureaus. If you are checking your score on a gap of a day, a week, or a month then your score will definitely vary from each other because your credit score changes every second.
The reason for a change in the score is the time gap of checking your score because in that time gap the algorithm of the bureau might have been updated or your debt paying history is shared by the lenders. Whatever may be the reason but if you are checking your Credit Score on a gap of a week or a month then your score will definitely be different in two bureaus.
Time Gap of Sharing Information
Now you know that the banks and the lenders share your repayment history and debt managing pattern with the bureaus. But there is a certain time gap of sharing your details with the bureau and it can be a week, a month, or a quarter.
Suppose Equifax gets the information from the lender on a monthly basis and CRISIL gets the information on a weekly basis then it is obvious that if you are checking your score during the month then Equifax doesn’t have the full information whereas CRISIL will have all the updated information. Thus as a result your Credit Score checked from one credit rating agency differs from another.
Linked Phone Numbers
There are many individuals in India who have two phone numbers and they use both numbers equally. So, a mismatch in your phone numbers registered with the credit report agencies might also fluctuate your Credit Score.
Suppose you have registered your one number with Transunion and the other number with Experian then it is obvious that Transunion will fetch the details of the first number and Experian will fetch the details of the second number. As a result, your Credit Score will differ from each other because Transunion has calculated your score on the basis of your first mobile number and Experian has calculated the score on the basis of the second mobile number.
Conclusion
Well, you have seen a number of reasons how a Credit Score checked from one Credit Bureau differ from another. It can be due to the difference in the algorithm of the credit bureau or the differences in your registered phone number. On the other hand, the CIBIL Score gives a clear picture of your repayment history and how you manage your debts. So, if there is a difference of 5 to 10 points in the credit scores while you are checking it from different bureaus then it can be due to the above reasons.