There are three main companies that collect credit data and create credit reports and scores, these are called Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs), they are: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Each CRA gets their info from different organisations and uses their own scoring system to work out your credit score, so your score will be different with each CRA.
The credit score you see when checking your credit report may not be the same as what lenders see when checking your credit application. The score you see is designed in a way to help you understand how lenders may see you based on the info in your report.
Lenders may also calculate their own credit scores using different types of information and calculations to create a score based on the product you’re applying for.
This means you could get two different scores from the same lender, depending on the product you are applying for.
The types of scores you may have can include:
Lender’s scores
Lenders can create their own credit score when you apply for credit. They’ll perform a ‘hard search’ — this means it will appear on your credit file and lenders can see it — to get the info they need held by the CRA. They might not look at the credit score, but at the info in your report. This could include how much credit you already have, or if you’ve missed any payments.
The lender can also do their own calculations to create their own score, based on the product you have applied for. Depending on the credit product, the lender may use many different factors to create the credit score.
Credit Reference Agency scores requested by the lender
Lenders can also request the credit score provided by the CRA. This score is often used in addition to the lender's score, although the lender can use the score provided by the CRA as the only credit score to check an application, although this will usually still be within the lenders own scoring system.
Your credit score with Credit Reference Agencies
When you check your credit score and report it comes from one of the CRAs. Your TotallyMoney credit report is from TransUnion.
This score and report is created to help you understand how lenders might view your credit report information. It’s created in a way to give you a total view of how the info in your credit report might affect your chances of being accepted for credit.
Just so you know, even if you have an excellent credit score, this doesn’t guarantee you will be accepted for credit. Each lender has their own criteria for accepting applications and will use their own scores to check their criteria and lending policies.