"Ten consumers in a room may all have the same VISA card, but will probably pay a wide variety of interest rates, determined by each person's credit rating," said ... a spokesperson for Fair, Isaac & Co. Money.CNN.com
KNOW your Credit Score
Eliminate credit frustration
Qualify for More Credit. Pay Less $$
Be Prepared: Know what your Lenders, Landlords, Insurers, Creditors and Employers KNOW ABOUT YOU
This site is your CREDIT SCORE and CREDIT REPORT website.
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union credit reports and scores. National Lenders for all home mortgage, auto, personal, installment, student and personal loans (PLEASE CLICK BELOW)
"The older your credit history, the better. But if you stop using your oldest cards, the issuers may stop updating those accounts at the credit bureaus. The accounts will still appear, but they won't be given as much weight in the credit-scoring formula as your active accounts" said ... an executive at Fair Isaac & Co., one of the leading credit scorers. MoneyCentral.MSN.com
"To improve your credit score under most models, concentrate on paying your bills on time, paying down outstanding balances, and not taking on new debt. It’s likely to take some time to improve your score significantly" Federal Trade Commission Facts for Consumers: Credit Scoring
We look forward to your patronage
Credit Counseling Agencies approved pursuant to 11 U.S.C. 111
a specialized credit reporting agency exclusively meeting the needs of the mortgage industry with mortgage credit reporting and rapid rescoring services. Our rapid rescoring services are limited to mortgage applicants only.
Your one-stop source for real estate services
Is there an ideal number of credit cards one person should have? No. According to ... public affairs manager at Fair Isaac, the FICO formula recognizes no single optimal number of credit cards for all consumers — and that's a good thing. "The formula would be much less predictive if it were that simplistic," he says. LATimes.com
"Lenders have used these scores for years to determine whether to grant you a loan and what interest rate you'll pay. "Credit scores are very powerful predictors of consumers' future [bill-paying] performance," says ... a senior research director at the Mortgage Bankers Assn. But with the rise of technology that can automatically assess consumer creditworthiness while you wait, FICO scores are now requested by insurance companies, cell-phone providers, utilities, landlords, and even prospective employers. That's a reason to make managing your FICO score a priority." Businessweek.com
"It used to be that a credit report was something that was checked only if you wanted to take out a loan or a mortgage," said ... associate director of privacy and identity protection at the FTC. "Now, it's used to make all sorts of decisions about you. If you apply for a job, if you want to get insurance, there is a chance that someone will be looking at your credit report." LATimes.com
"... your credit score has a tremendous impact on your finances. Improving that magic number by just a few points can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest over the life of a loan, and a low score can affect your ability to buy a home, a car, rent an apartment, get a job or qualify for auto insurance." Kiplinger.com
"To help boost dwindling revenues, an increasing number of state, city, and municipal governments are hiring private collection agencies to go after consumers with unpaid public debts such as court fees, library fines, moving violations, and parking tickets ... Those small debts you've ignored could wind up damaging your credit rating and costing you more in interest on your next mortgage or car loan." ConsumerReports.org
"At the same time, more businesses are looking at credit histories and credit scores. Many insurance companies and employers routinely check credit. So do mortgage and auto lenders. And, these days, apartment complexes and utilities often run checks before accepting new customers." Bankrate.com
[Different credit scoring companies, systems, models, scales. See also VantageScore.com ]
" ... Each creditor may use its own credit scoring model, different scoring models for different types of credit, or a generic model developed by a credit scoring company." Federal Trade Commission Facts for Consumers: Credit Scoring
"Bear in mind, not all credit scores are FICOs--FICO simply refers to the formula that Fair Isaac developed. (All credit scores are built around the same ingredients--the data found in your credit report; the recipes are just slightly different.) For instance, each of the major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) creates its own proprietary score, as well as its own FICO score. But because most lenders use the FICO score, you hear about it more. Moreover, the credit agencies customize the recipes for just about every industry out there. "It's a zoo full of scores out there," says Fair Isaac spokesman ... " Money.CNN.com
"It's true that there are hundreds of different credit-scoring formulas and even numerous variations on the FICO formula. (An auto lender, for example, may use a FICO formula that's tweaked to consider behavior with previous auto loans more heavily)..." MoneyCentral.MSN.com.
"...Another myth is that there is only one credit score. In fact, ... there are more than 1,000 credit scores used by lenders ... there isn't just one FICO score, either ... there are generic FICO scores that can be used in any lending situation. FICO scores are designed specifically for mortgage lending, for auto lending, and even for credit unions. As a result, it is quite possible to have different FICO scores when exactly the same information is used in the calculation ... Each system has its own scale and unique method of assessing lending risk." MarketWatch.com
"I've heard estimates that there are more than 1,000 different credit scoring systems, and I'm aware of almost 20 different companies that produce risk scoring systems. A few of the scores are generic, meaning they can be used by multiple lenders, in multiple industries, and for different types of loans. Other scores are industry specific, loan-type specific, or are developed for a specific lender. ... one of the great myths about credit scoring is that there is only one FICO score ... In fact, lenders can request that one of five different FICO scores be applied by Experian. The Experian/Fair, Isaac score is the generic FICO score you hear about with a 300 to 850 scale. But there are also FICO scores for auto lending, bankcard services, personal financing and installment loans. The scale for those FICO scores is 250 to 900 ... It just means that when you read or hear from someone that there is only one score, or that all scores have a scale of 300 to 850, the person making the statement isn't very well informed. It also means you shouldn't expect the numbers to always match, even if they are two FICO scores." Experian.com/ask max/
"Among their many applications, credit reports and scores now help determine if a family can borrow money to buy major necessities like homes and cars; they affect the prices businesses charge for such products as mortgages and auto insurance; reports and scores are used by an increasing number of employers to assess job applicants; they are used by landlords to evaluate prospective renters; and a growing number of utilities are using credit reports and scores to price deposits for numerous services. In short, both the access and terms of
access to an increasing array of basic necessities, including jobs, housing, insurance, energy, and communications, are now influenced by an individual’s consumer credit report and scores." [endnotes omitted]
"In the past, only banks and financial service companies routinely ran credit checks on potential employees. But employers in other sectors increasingly are including them in the screening process to assess applicants' honesty and integrity, traits not readily gleaned from a résumé ... Companies are relying on credit reports because employers, afraid of being slapped with libel suits, are no longer as candid about the performance of former workers. And the aggregation of consumer data and the Internet have made the information easier to access. Federal laws require that companies notify job applicants before conducting credit checks, but many firms reason that viable applicants with good credit have nothing to hide." The Boston Globe .
"The term “credit score” -- (i) means a numerical value or a categorization derived from a statistical tool or modeling system used by a person who makes or arranges a loan to predict the likelihood of certain credit behaviors, including default (and the numerical value or the categorization derived from such analysis may also be referred to as a “risk predictor” or “risk score”); and (ii) does not include-- (I) any mortgage score or rating of an automated underwriting system that considers one or more factors in addition to credit information, including the loan to value ratio, the amount of down payment, or the financial assets of a consumer; or (II) any other elements of the underwriting process or underwriting decision." Fair Credit Reporting Act
CONSUMERCREDITSCORE.COM
CREDIT REPORTS, CREDIT SCORES, IDENTITY THEFT, CREDIT CARDS,
HOME LOANS, AUTO LOANS, PERSONAL LOANS
"Indeed, your credit history and credit score largely determines the size of the interest rate you will pay for your home mortgage as well as for your credit card balance. A prospective landlord will likely look at your credit report to determine whether you will be a suitable tenant. Even a prospective employer might examine your credit report to learn more about you, but only after getting your written consent to do so.
Utility companies, as well as providers of residential and cellular telephone service, consider your credit report and score when deciding whether to offer you service. The premium you are paying for your homeowners and auto insurance policies is increasingly determined by a credit score--a number assigned to you that is essentially a grade based on your credit history and credit worthiness. Insurance companies believe there is a correlation between credit and the predictability of future claims. In other words, the better you handle your credit, the less likely it is you will file an insurance claim." Forbes.com
