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Best Credit Monitoring Service
Tuesday, Jul 3, 2007
Question: I'm trying to figure out what credit monitoring company is the best. I currently have freecreditreport.com that monitors my Expirian and gives me the score. I recently went to the TransUnion site and tried out their free monitoring system. In comparing scores Freecreditreport.com and Truecredit.com have over a fifty point difference on my Experian account. So it leaves me to wonder which one is accurate or which is the best credit monitoring system.
I have tested Lifelock.com, and it seems to be a good service.
I do want you to be aware, however, that I do not think that any credit monitoring service is a great service for consumers, since it is something you can do yourself for free. For an outline of how to monitor your own credit, you should visit:
Free Credit Monitoring
You can obtain a free copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three credit bureaus by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. Once you have obtained a copy of each of your reports, carefully review them for errors, and disputes as necessary with the appropriate bureaus.
The reason why you may have different scores from different companies.
You mention in your question that there is a significant difference between your Experian and TransUnion credit scores. There are two primary reasons why the same consumer can have different credit scores with each of the three major credit bureaus. The first reason is that the three bureaus use
similar, but not identical, formulas for calculating a credit score based on the information in your credit reports. The second is that each of your three credit reports can contain significantly different information about your credit history. With each credit bureau using a different formula to calculating your credit score, and using different data, it is no wonder that the results can differ significantly.
There are several popular credit scoring models used by the credit bureaus, developed as proprietary formulas by various companies. Some of the most popular are CreditXpert, PLUS (developed by Experian), and, the most well known, FICO (developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation, www.fico.com ).
While each of these models looks at the same basic aspects of your credit history, slight variations in how different factors are weighted mean that, even when based on the exact same credit history information, the resulting scores can vary by 50 points or more. The variance caused by scoring models could easily account for the difference between your Transunion and Experian scores.
In addition to using different scoring models, the three credit
There are several popular credit scoring models used by the credit bureaus, developed as proprietary formulas by various companies. Some of the most popular are CreditXpert, PLUS (developed by Experian), and, the most well known, FICO (developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation, www.fico.com ).
While each of these models looks at the same basic aspects of your credit history, slight variations in how different factors are weighted mean that, even when based on the exact same credit history information, the resulting scores can vary by 50 points or more. The variance caused by scoring models could easily account for the difference between your Transunion and Experian scores.
In addition to using different scoring models, the three credit
bureaus are likely showing different credit history information on your credit reports. It is quite normal for the bureaus to report some different information from one another. I encourage you to carefully review the information on all three of your credit reports to make sure that everything appearing on the reports is accurate. Again, if you find any incorrect or unknown listings, you should dispute them with the credit bureau showing the inaccurate data. The Federal Trade Commission offers a helpful guide to disputing items on your credit reports, available at
FTC Guide to Disputing Credit Report Items
What credit score will my lender use?
Lenders are aware of the potential problems that can result from differences in the scoring models and information used by the different bureaus, which is why many lenders use your middle credit score. This fact is a good indication that wide variations in credit scores are a common occurrence.
For more information about credit scoring, credit reports, and how they affect you, I encourage you to visit the Bills.com Credit Resources page.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn. Save.
Good Luck,
Bill
www.bills.com
FTC Guide to Disputing Credit Report Items
What credit score will my lender use?
Lenders are aware of the potential problems that can result from differences in the scoring models and information used by the different bureaus, which is why many lenders use your middle credit score. This fact is a good indication that wide variations in credit scores are a common occurrence.
For more information about credit scoring, credit reports, and how they affect you, I encourage you to visit the Bills.com Credit Resources page.
I hope this information helps you Find. Learn. Save.
Good Luck,
Bill
www.bills.com
Also, make sure to get a free financial health check-up with Bills IQ!
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1. Posted by Ed Zender on Friday 25th September 2009 14:58
I do understand having different scores from the different credit reporting agencies, and I do understand that I can get a free credit report annually. Annual reports are fine, but once a year can be costly and your credit can be totally ruined. Like many others I want better control of my credit and want daily or weekly updates. Credit monitoring systems seam to be the way, and I don't care so much about having to pay for this service, but I do expect accuracy. Currently I have two credit monitoring systems, Credit Keeper and Credit Check Total. The difference between the two is astonishing. I don't know if Credit Check Total is telling me what I want to hear or what my scores actually are. For example my TransUnion score is over 60 points higher than Credit keepers. They are obviously getting the information from the same place so why is there so much difference? Where is the best place to get accurate information. Everyone says know your credit score, but no two credit monitoring systems give you the same information.
2. Posted by Bill on Friday 25th September 2009 15:02
Readers? What are your personal experiences with these types of services. Do you see 60-point difference between two monitoring services? Please respond below.
3. Posted by Adriana Rangel on Thursday 12th November 2009 13:36
I have the same problem. Chase Identity Protection monitoring service has my score for Experian 37 points less that what freecreditreport.com is showing.