To be confused by this credit score

[SliceOSalami]

I am completely willing to accept that I may be being stupid but can someone explain this to me please?!

I have had an Experian account for a while now which I check regularly. My score is 'excellent' and very close to the highest 999 score on there.

I recently applied for a mortgage and was rejected and told to get in touch with Equifax to discuss the reasons why. I've just signed up for an Equifax free trial and my score according to them is in the 'poor' bracket.

I am so confused as to how they can be so vastly different? I always pay my existing credits on time so I've no idea why it would be poor anyway.

Is this a common thing? I can contact them of course but I'm just curious if this is normal and I'm just unaware. I had assumed my score would be similar across the agencies?

[BoingBoingyBoing]

Your credit score doesn't really mean anything, each agency creates it in their own way and it's not something mortgage providers care about.

What they will care about with mortgages is whether you pass their affordability criteria, which have significantly tightened over the last few years. They will look at your incomings and outcomings, and significantly will also test to make sure you can still afford payments if you have a child, if interest rates significantly increase etc.

[LaughingDonkey]

Did you have a look at Equifax's credit history to see anything ''in red''?

Credit report -> on the left you will see parts of your credit report (personal info, financial associates, electoral register, credit agreements). You can click on each and investigate (especially if the icon is red).

[DipseeDaisey]

I have no idea how a credit score works, so can't offer advice i'm afraid, I have always had a high score, the highest score on the one i use (attached to my bank app) is 750, it has ALWAYS been in the high 600's, recently checked and it has gone right down to the 400's, I have no idea why, I haven't paid anything differently, credit cards etc go out by direct debit and I always check to make sure I am paying enough and that I don't need to up my direct debit amount.. My bills are always paid on time. I just don't understand it.
Hope you manage to get yours sorted OP

[DuckALaurent]

I may be that Experian have your data correct but Equifax might have a glaring error causing you to have poor credit and therefore putting the mortgage lender off wrongly.

You need to see what Equifax have on your file and get them to correct or remove any wrongly placed bad credit.

[SliceOSalami]

I'll have to check with Equifax then why theirs is so hugely different to Experian.

The mortgage lenders AIP system specifically told me it was because they had checked with their credit agency (Equifax) and to contact them if I thought there were any problems.

I'm like you Dipsee, I pay everything on time by DD and always have one is near perfect and this one is really low!

[Hoggleludo]

I’d do what the mortgage company tell you and also @LaughingDonkey. Who had a good idea on how to check it.

But the easiest way will be to ring eqifax or whatever they are called

[SliceOSalami]

Thanks I'll have a look at it properly shortly and maybe give them a ring too.

I thought it may be because my surname has recently changed (marriage) about 8 months ago but apparently that shouldn't make a difference and I've already changed my accounts to my new surname anyway.

[OnceUponAThread]

You mentioned you're recently married, was this a joint mortgage application? Could be that your OH's poor credit rating is what caused the rejection.

Experian explain this well here: www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/does-marrying-someone-with-bad-credit-affect-your-credit/

That said - it shouldn't affect your own score with Equifax. They each have slightly different ways of collecting scores, and it may just be that Equifax has lots of out of date info. I found that one of the CRA's had a poorer score for me, but they were missing some info which I supplied and then in ticked straight up.

Also - some banks publish which CRA's they use to do checks. If your Experian rating is perfect - worth looking for a mortgage provider that uses Experian not Equifax. (Some use more than one, some use only one, some use all three).

[BumpBundle]

Credit scores are absolute bull.
I have one credit card that is paid off in full every month that I've ever had it. Never taken out a loan (other than my student loans which aren't considered in a credit check). I have arranged overdrafts on my current account and my joint account. Nothing ever bought on finance.
When I applied for a mortgage, they said my credit score was too low and I was unmortgageable.
I honestly think they just make it up as they go along...