Turned Down for a Loan? Could A New Credit Bureau Be To Blame?

A new credit reporting agency is changing the rules on credit scores, but not necessarily in everyone’s favor.

A Los Angeles man said he was turned down for a car loan despite having a high credit score from the three traditional credit bureaus.

Bobby Torrence takes his finances seriously.

“I wanted to eliminate debt. Whenever I get credit cards that come in, I pay them off in three to four months’ time,” Torrence said.

His credit score is above 800, which is considered excellent by the traditional credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

So when Torrence bought a new car, he thought getting a loan would be easy. He was wrong.

“They said that I was denied because of this new credit reporting agency,” Torrence said.

That credit agency, SageStream, gave Torrence a credit score of 631. That’s considered poor under the traditional system.

Torrece said he called the company for an explanation and SageStream told Torrence that he had to prove his score was better.

"They told me to send them information on my bank accounts, credit history, and any other loans I might have had,” Torrence said.

That didn’t sit right with Torrence. So he reached out to the NBC Responds team in Los Angeles, who contacted SageStream.

A public relations firm responded with a statement that reads in part:

“Please note there is no "one" credit score assigned to an individual consumer... Credit scores produced by each consumer reporting agency can differ depending on the data that they have about a consumer.”

SageStream’s credit scores range from 1 to 999 but the company’s website does not explain how scores are calculated, or what is considered good or bad. By comparison, the widely used FICO score typically range from 300 to 850.

A score of 800 or higher is considered exceptional under the FICO system, while scores 580 and below are considered poor. A fair score ranges from 580 to 669. A score that falls between 670 and 739 is labeled good, while a very good score is anything between 740 and 799.

NBC Connecticut searched the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Complaint Database and found more than 200 complaints against SageStream and its parent company ID Analytics. Four of the complaints were filed by Connecticut residents.

Torrence ended up financing his new car through a credit union instead of the dealership.

“We were able to get a better deal,” he said.

NBC Connecticut reached out to SageStream for comment, but has not heard back.