Daemon: MyFico.com – which score to purchase, TransUnion or EquiFax?
Which credit score+report should I buy – TransUnion or EquiFax? I know that the two Fico scores can sometimes vary a lot, and I’ve read that lenders will take the middle score between these two and Experian. But, I’d really rather not buy both scores, as I’m buying largely out of curiosity. So is either score “better” in any way? And if not, then is either report better? (I think these are the same reports you get at annualcreditreport.com so I care more about the score than the report)
Also, for the Experian credit report I got free at annualcreditreport.com, there’s a section “Inquiries Shared With Others”. Unlike the “Inquiries Shared Only With You”, this section does not say: “These inquiries do not affect your credit score.”
Do these “Inquiries Shared With Others” affect your Fico scores, and if so by how much?
Answers and Views:
Answer by Meggerz
More companies use TU and Experian than Equifax. Equifax is mostly used by insurance companies and rental agencies.
The inquiries shared with others DOES affect your score – because they are shared with others and are responses to pulls on credit. If they are for employment and insurance, they affect your score less. Recent inquiries are approximately 10%. See below:
Payment History–35% How you’ve handled credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts, mortgages, etc. FICO also looks into public records such as bankruptcy, wage attachments, and collections. For payment delinquencies, they want to know, how much, how many, and how long ago they occurred.
Amounts Owed–30% What you owe, what types of accounts, and how many. The percentage of your credit line your balances typically use. The percent of the principal still owed on installment loans.
Length of Credit History–15% How long the account’s been opened, its specific type, and account activity.
New Credit–10% Number and proportion of recently opened accounts and recent credit inquiries. Time since account openings and credit inquiries. Is this a re-establishment of positive credit history following past payment problems?
Types of Credit Used–10% Number of and recent information on all the various types of accounts you use — credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, mortgages, consumer finance accounts, etc.
Good luck and congrats on being on top of your credit!
Answer by WreckThey are the same reports that you get from the three credit bureaus.
The score is just a grade from that.
Are you just curious?
Google: Fico Score Estimator Bankrate.com
or Credit.com Credit Score Calculator
They won’t be exact since they are just calculators
You can also get a fakko score from free sites such as
Quizzle.com and CreditKarma.com
They are not real fico scores. Part of their rating system is based on your income since the score is geared more towards lenders. They have a part that’s not in the fico called Amount of Cash Flow which as every economist knows is money in and money out. Based on the income you put in.
Inquiries shared with others does not affect your score. (internal inquiries/soft)
Even hard inquries affect your rating only 1 or 2 points.
Stay as part of your score for 1 year and on the reports for about 2.
Don’t ever worry about them.
Just never apply for more than one credit card or loan more than every 6 months
Get your three free credit reports from
Annual Credit Report.com
And try those calulators of fake score sites that will give you a idea of your score
The scores are based on the reports. If the reports are different, the scores will be different. If the reports are similar, the scores are probably similar. Just pick one. Neither is better than the other.
The person claiming that most creditors use TransUnion and Experian over Equifax is not correct. It depends on what part of the country you are in. In the south, most creditors use Equifax; in the west, Experian. Major lenders use all three.
Only inquiries generated by a credit application ding your score — and then only a few points. Those “shared with others” are soft inquiries, probably mostly pre-screening for mailing lists, and have no impact on your score.
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