The credit score conundrum

Dupaco’s Bright Track launched within Shine Online Banking this week.

But this free credit tool might raise a numbers question.

Your credit score might vary from one credit report to the next. Dupaco’s Georgia Slade explains how this can happen and what it means for you.

Why can your credit score vary?

Your credit and payment data is collected from three major credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Transunion and Experian. Lenders use their own scoring models, depending on the type of business they do. Each model weighs credit factors differently to generate consumers’ credit scores.

Bright Track uses VantageScore to rate credit.

“If you take all of that into consideration, you can see how someone might get a different score from two different credit reports pulled the same day,” Slade said.

The differences really don’t matter. It’s the trend that counts—the upward trend. Bright Track is a guide to get you to where you want to go in Credit Land.

“You should be more concerned with the direction your score is heading over time, rather than getting too concerned over the variances between different scoring models,” Slade said. “Bright Track provides information on why your credit score falls where it does and delivers practical ways to improve it to help you pay less and achieve financial sustainability.”

To keep that score heading in the right direction, it’s important to:

• Make your payments on time.
• Reduce your spending.
• Pay off your credit card balances each month.

“Credit scores matter,” Slade said. “They can be used by lenders to determine how much you will pay in interest, by insurance providers to determine your rate, landlords to assess your ability to pay rent and employers to aid in determining personal integrity and financial sustainability.”