August 21, 2026 · 5 min
Equifax and TransUnion will not match. Read both.
A dealer often pulls one. A bank may pull the other. A plan that fixes only the score you can see is half a plan.
Same scale, different files
Both bureaus score from 300 to 900. They do not hold the same data. A lender chooses where to report. Your car loan may be on Equifax and missing from TransUnion, or the other way around. The models are different on top of that.
A gap of a few dozen points is normal. A gap of a hundred usually means one file has something the other does not: a collection, a late payment, or an account you do not recognize.
Who pulls which
There is no public list that every dealer follows. Auto lenders in Canada often pull Equifax. Banks and card issuers vary. A mortgage lender may look at both and use the lower one.
That is why “my score went up” is an incomplete sentence. Up on which file, and is that the file the next lender will see.
What to check on each
Payment history, first. A late mark that is wrong is worth a dispute. One that is right has to age. Balances next. A card that has been paid down can still show the old balance until the issuer reports.
Then collections, and inquiries you do not recognize. You can get your own report from each bureau. A free consumer report is not the same product a lender buys, but it is enough to see what is on the file.
How a plan uses both
If the damage is only on one bureau, that is the one you work. Paying a collection Equifax does not have will not move an Equifax score. Bringing a card down will, if that issuer reports to the bureau you care about.
CreditON treats them as two files on purpose. Soft pulls from either, when they are connected later, are a way to watch. They are not a shortcut around the work.
General notes for Canadian files. Not a rate quote, and not a reading of your Equifax or TransUnion report.
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