Credit Karma vs Transunion score: why the difference?

Hi! How frustrating!  And such a wide swing, too.  You would expect some small differences in credit scores among different credit entities but certainly not that dramatic of a difference. A couple of things might be going on.

You say that one check was “soft” and the other “hard” check or pull. This WalletHub article discusses the difference between them. Just like a quick look at a book or magazine results in less information – both good and bad – being collected and absorbed, the hard credit check is going to be more detailed and in depth and will reveal more.

It may have been that you did your CreditKarma score, then you applied for a loan that required a hard check and then maybe you applied for that same loan from another company that required a hard check and THEN you pulled your score from Transunion and the two hard credit checks, coupled perhaps with a high debt ratio because of possible financial difficulties had lowered your score? So many factors can contribute. This article by Caroline Mayer of Forbes about credit scores in general may be helpful.

Getting your credit checked is kind of like getting weighed. If I stand on it right, my scale at home gives me a weight that makes me feel relatively slim and happy, but the scale at the doctor’s office seems to register a weight many pounds higher than what I feel I should be credited with. And the scale at the gym is somewhere in between.  Happily, your credit score can be improved (check out this WalletHub article) by following basic, management advice.  Best wishes to you and thanks for writing.