San Francisco — Given that credit scoring is based on proprietary statistical models, there's little hope that consumers will ever fully understand why they've been allocated one score over another....
I had a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharged in March 1997. My credit scores are now 690, 710 and 718. I want to cancel the two Capital One credit cards I acquired since ...
Your credit score is an analysis of your past credit history that is used by lenders to figure out how much of a risk you are. Scores range from 300 - 850 ... (Marshall Loeb)
Being an authorized user on a well-managed account with a long payment history could boost your credit rating. But if the account goes unpaid, your credit score could take some serious hits....
Borrowers who try to pay off old delinquencies, charge-offs and collection accounts often learn the hard way: Sometimes, doing the right thing does the wrong thing to your credit.
"I get letters from people who have scores in the 830s, and they're complaining," Mr. Sjoblad said. "It's like a millionaire arguing over a stick of gum. Once you're over 750 – really, 720 – you're going to be able to get the best rates."
No. "The consumer is borrowing his or her own money, and the loans are not reported to the credit-reporting agencies," says David Rubinger, vice-president of communications for Equifax, one of the major credit bureaus.
On January 26, 2003, Fair Isaac promoted credit score awareness in a television commercial on credit scoring aired during the Super Bowl. The educational ad highlighted the importance of credit scores in determining consumer interest rates on mortgage and auto loans, and referred viewers to www.myFICO.com for more...
Credit scores are numbers calculated to measure the risk of delinquency or default posed by a consumer seeking credit. They are used by potential lenders to rank consumers and determine whether a consumer qualifies for a loan, how much the consumer will be loaned, and at what rate ...
Your credit score, or FICO score, is arguably one of the most important pieces of information in your financial life. Lenders, landlords, insurers, utility companies and even employers scrutinize this rating -- which sums up all of the information in your credit reports with three digits ranging from 300 to 850. Yet, according to a survey released ...
Credit-card rules that raise minimum monthly payments could hurt banks and debt-burdened consumers alike ... Because of a crackdown by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), most banks and credit-card issuers will ratchet up required minimum monthly payments over the next 12 months or so. In the future, the payments must cover all fees and interest and pay down at least some of the outstanding borrowing.
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Q: I am a 27-year-old who is pursuing her MBA and working full time. I have a FICO of around 600 and just went thru CCCS (Consumer Credit Counseling Service) and consolidated around $35,000 worth of credit card debt. How will this affect my ability of obtain a new job? A: First, let’s explain your FICO number. FICO is a score provided by the Fair Isaac Company that combines credit ratings from several agencies. The higher your
You have a lot riding on your credit scores -- your mortgage rate, car payment, credit card interest rates and more -- so it is critical that you know where you stand. But the score you think you have and the score lenders think you have are two very different things, as Consumer Alert found out. Most savvy consumers think they have three scores -- one from Experian, one from Equifax and one from TransUnion. But, you really have many more and they all can be very different. "They're could be hundreds out there," said Walt Wojciechowski, of Experian.
Royal Mortgage Credit Reporting LC www.RoyalMortgageCredit.com is a member of the National Credit Reporting Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Mortgage Brokers and National Association of Professional Mortgage Women.
"Carrying a lot of debt doesn't necessarily mean you'll have a lower score," (Fair Isaac public relations manager Craig Watts) Watts says. "It doesn't hurt as much as carrying close to the maximum. People who consistently max out their balances are perceived as riskier. People who never use their credit don't have a track history. People with the highest scores use credit sparingly and keep their balances low." ..
The model compensates for people who are rate shopping for the best mortgage or car loan rates. The only time shopping really hurts your score, Watts says, is when you have previous recent credit stumbles, such as late payments or bills sent to collections. "Then, looking for new credit will be seen as an alarm because statistically, before people declare bankruptcy and default on everything, they look for a life preserver," Watts says. Also, if you have a very young credit file, an inquiry can count for more than if you've had credit for a long time.
"The mantra for getting a great score is pay your bills on time, keep account balances low, and take out new credit only when you need it," says Craig Watts, public relations manager for Fair Isaac Corp.
"People who do that faithfully have very high scores. It usually means you're being conservative and cautious about credit. It's not a toy and it shouldn't be a hobby." ...
A BIG NO-NO: One thing you shouldn't do if you're just trying to boost your score is close unused accounts, Watts says. "If someone tells you to close unused accounts to improve your score, they're pulling your leg," he says. "It won't help you and it can hurt you." Closing unused accounts without paying down your debt changes your utilization ratio, which is the amount of your total debt divided by your total available credit. "You appear closer to maxing out your accounts," he says. "That's why your score can drop. It doesn't mean people shouldn't close them, but don't close them to improve your score."
Here's who might be concerned, according to Watts: · People who take an unusually long time (several months) to shop for a new mortgage or auto loan. · Consumers who shop around in the same year for several different lines of credit not associated with a mortgage or auto loan. · People who know before they begin applying for credit -- presumably from conversations with creditors -- that their credit score barely qualifies them for their desired credit offering. "We generalize by saying that typically no more than 10 percent of a FICO score's weight is determined by a person's taking on [and searching for] new credit," Watts said. "But for most people, inquiries have little to no influence on their FICO score."
