What Is the Difference Between the Credit Agencies?

You might have wildly different scores from each credit rating agency and possibly have a false impression of your creditworthiness. Consolidation of the consumer credit rating industry in the 1980s led to three major credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- and a few minor players like Innovis controlling almost all credit reporting. Realistically, there is little difference among them.

Scoring

Each of the three major bureaus has a slightly different version of the FICO scoring model preferred by most creditors, but they all give a very close approximation to a true FICO score. The different weighting systems means you can never truly know how an item will effect your score, because credit scoring models can be very sensitive to small changes in their variables.

Databases

The agencies report the same information, such as loans, collections accounts and judgments, but some may report nontraditional data. Experian, for example, acquired RentBureau in 2009, and reports rental history on some reports. The biggest deviation comes from the bureaus operating separate databases and not all lenders reporting to the same bureaus. You might have a collections account on, say, Experian, but the other two might not pick it up.

Location

The bureaus have headquarters in different cities and tend to have a competitive advantage in those areas in gathering information about customers from regional contacts. Experian, for example, is based in California and Illinois and the Midwest, while Equifax is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Reporting and Formatting

The way the credit agencies format their reports can make reviewing your credit profile much easier than sifting through pages of data. Experian, for example, shows you how long items will stay on your report and a history of the balances on your accounts. Equifax divides accounts into "open" and "closed" rather than listing them alphabetically. TransUnion usually has the most detailed employment history and lets you modify it, such as changing previous employers and your job position.

Considerations

Policies on reporting items can differ among the agencies. TransUnion, for example, reports dismissed bankruptcies for seven years while Equifax reports them for 10 years. Most of time, the agencies report similar items for the same amount of time.