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What Does The Term Credit Score Mean To An Average Citizen
A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person’s credit files,a measure of credit risk calculated from a credit report using a standardized formula.Factors that can damage a credit score include late payments,absence of credit references, and unfavorable credit card use.Lenders may use a credit score to determine whether to provide a loan and what rate to charge.
Lenders,such as banks and credit card companies,use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt.Lenders use credit scores to determine who qualifies for a loan,at what interest rate,and what credit limits.The use of credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a trusted system.
Credit scoring is not limited to banks.Other organizations, such as mobile phone companies,insurance companies, employers and government departments employ the same techniques.Credit scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining,which uses many similar techniques.
In the United States of America, a credit score is a number based on a statistical analysis of a person’s credit files,that represents the creditworthiness of that person,which is the likelihood that the person will pay their bills.A credit score is primarily based on credit report information, typically from one of the three major credit bureaus,Experian,TransUnion and Equifax.
There are different methods of calculating credit scores. FICO is a credit score developed by Fair Isaac & Co.It is used by many mortgage lenders that use a risk-based system to determine the possibility that the borrower may default on financial obligations to the mortgage lender. The credit bureaus all have FICO alternatives:Equifax’s ScorePower,Experian’s PLUS score and TransUnion’s Credit score.
Americans are entitled to one free credit report within a 12-month period from each of the three agencies.The three credit bureaus run Annual credit report,where users can get their free credit report,normally without credit scores.Credit scores are available as an add-on feature of the report for a fee.
In some states such as California and Colorado a consumer is entitled to a free credit report within 30 days of being denied credit or receiving sub-normal credit terms from a lender due to their credit rating.
7 Ways To Protect And Improve Your Credit Rating
Your credit score accounts for the amount of interest you have to pay for a loan or a credit card. Increasing your score in just a few points will make a big difference in the interest rate you will pay for a purchase. If your credit score is high enough, youll have no problem qualifying for a lenders best rates and terms on auto financing, home loans and small business loans. The following are a few tips about how you can protect and improve your credit rating.
1 – Order Your Credit Report. Your credit score is based on your credit report, so you should begin by ordering your reports and reviewing each one for accuracy. You can get your reports from a service such as MyFico.com, or order from Equifax, Experian and Trans Union separately online or by phone.
2 – Check Your Credit Report Information for Inaccuracies. Check the identifying information for name, social security number, birth date and incorrect address. Make certain that old negatives and paid-off debts are deleted. Check for accounts and delinquencies that are not yours, late payments, charge offs, lawsuits, judgments or paid tax liens older than seven years old. Also, paid liens or judgments that are listed as unpaid, duplicate collections, bankruptcies that are older than ten years and any negative information that is not yours.
3 – Always Pay Your Bills on Time. Payment history makes up more than a third of the typical credit score. If you paid bills late in the past, you can improve your credit score by starting to pay your bills on time. Lenders are looking for any sign that you might default, and a late payment is a good indicator that you are in financial difficulty.
4 – Keep Credit Cards Balances Low. Carrying smaller balances is the best way to increase your credit score. The score measures how much of your limit you use on each credit card or other line of credit, and how much of your combined credit limits you are using on all your cards. Within 60 days, paying down credit card balances can increase your credit score by as much as 20 points.
5 – Try Not to Open In-Store Credit Cards. Although your first credit accounts can serve to build and improve your credit history, there comes a point when each subsequent credit application can reduce your score. New credit cards reduce the age of your credit history, and a department store credit card isnt good evidence of credit worthiness. Every time you apply for a retailers credit card your credit store gets dinged.
6 – Be Conservative When Applying For Credit. Having at least one credit card thats more than 2 years old can help your score by 15 percent. Make sure that your credit report is checked only when necessary. Or, if you are shopping for a home, try to apply for loans within a two-week period. By keeping the loan process within a two-week period, all of the credit report lookups are seen as one single request.
7 – Dont Close Credit Cards or Other Revolving Accounts. Shutting down unused accounts that have outstanding balances without paying off the debt changes your utilization ratio, which is the amount of your total debt divided by your total available credit. It will reduce the gap between the credit you are using and the total credit available to you, and that can hurt your credit score.