What you need to know: Understanding why offers for “your” credit score are not all the same | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Today, TransUnion and Equifax have agreed to change practices that the Bureau found misled consumers about the value of the credit scores they marketed and sold. In their advertising, TransUnion and Equifax misrepresented that the credit scores they marketed and provided to consumers were the same scores that lenders typically use to make credit decisions when that is not accurate. The companies have also agreed to return more than $17.6 million to consumers and pay penalties totaling $5.5 million.  

Read more about the settlements in our press release^[1].

Credit scores, and the information in your credit reports, can provide important information. When considering an offer for a credit score, keep in mind that the credit score being provided or sold may not be the same score that is used by lenders and insurers in making credit decisions. Here is some information to help you make sense of credit score offers.

You do not have just “one” credit score – there are many credit scores available to you as a consumer as well as to lenders and insurers, and the credit score you obtain may be different than the ones that businesses use to make credit decisions. A credit score may vary from lender to lender, and depending on which consumer reporting company compiled the credit history used to generate the score.