Credit Guide

Most people who are of an age to care about their credit are aware that the three main credit bureaus, Experian, Trans Union and Equifax, maintain credit reports on them. The bureaus keep track of loans, credit cards and bankruptcies and make note of whether each consumer pays his or her bills on time. Most people are also aware that their credit history is also available in the form of a credit score, which is, in essence, their overall credit worthiness reduced to a three-digit number.

Card Consolidation Credit Debt Beyond that, many people have, at best, a vague understanding about how their financial transactions are regarded by the credit bureaus. There are a number of myths and misconceptions about credit reports and credit scores and how they are affected by things people do financially. Here are a few examples of these popular misunderstandings:

FICO credit scores available on the Internet to consumers are much the same as credit scores from Fair Isaac. They are all trying to compute a number that measures how risky you are as a loan prospect based solely on the elements of your credit report. Credit bureau scores do not use your income, net worth, race, religion, sex, marital status, or age to compute your score. Credit bureau scores are only based on what's in your credit report.

Credit Union A consumer has only one credit score - Not true. Each bureau keeps track of financial transactions independently of the others and may have more or less information to work with than the other bureaus. Plus, until recently, each bureau used their own scoring system. In all likelihood, if a consumer were to contact each bureau to obtain his or her credit score, the result would be three completely different figures.

Despite their importance and growing popularity among businesses, to consumers, ed in mystery. It was not clear how they were calculated or who was using them. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) put out an opinion stating that federal law did not require the credit bureaus to reveal credit scores to consumers who requested their credit reports. This was in part, because the 1996 revisions to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) specified disclosure was not required of "any information concerning credit scores or any other risk scores or predictors relating to the consumer."¹⁴

Merchant Credit Guide Co Your salary affects your credit score - Your score is simply a reflection of how well you handle the credit available to you. If you earn more money, you might have more available credit, or not. Either way, the score is simply a reflection of what type of credit you have and whether you pay your bills on time. How much you earn is not part of the equation.

A credit score is a number that reflects your credit worthiness at a given point in time. For most models, the higher the score, the better the risk.¹⁷ People with higher scores often can obtain mortgages, credit cards, loans, and insurance at more favorable rates. Conversely, the lower the score, the less favorable the terms will be in any offer that is made. The credit score is based on data in your credit report, which is why the bulk of this book is devoted to credit reports, and the system that creates them.

Apply Online For Credit Card Canceling a credit card raises your score - Not necessarily true. Credit bureaus examine how much of your available credit you are using. Less is more; the bureaus like to see that you are using as little of your available credit as possible. If you owe a lot of money on credit cards and you cancel an unused account, it may look like you are using a larger portion of your available credit. That will actually raise your score!

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By Card Credit Debt Debt Guide Marriage merges credit reports - Your credit report is your own. That will not change if you get married. Jointly borrowed money will show up on both reports and will affect both of your scores. And just as marriage doesn't merge the reports, divorce won't separate the joint items. If you get divorced and your ex doesn't pay on your joint loans, your score will decrease.

The 3 national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union) have recently announced a joint venture to produce a new credit score for businesses and consumers called the VantageScore(sm). The three credit bureaus compete with each other in providing credit report and associated products to consumers and businesses alike. The VantageScore (sm) marks the first time the three systems have joined forces to produce a scoring model that scores consumers across all three companies.

Credit Repair The process of compiling credit scores is a complicated one. It's understandable that many people don't entirely understand how the system works. Perhaps the best way to keep tabs on what is going on with your own finances is to check your credit report regularly. You can get a free copy at AnnualCreditReport.com.

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©Copyright 2006 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation, credit counseling, payday loans and personal bankruptcy.

Credit Score

Bad Car Credit Guide Loan Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation, credit counseling, payday loans and personal bankruptcy and HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to mortgages and home equity loans.

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