Credit scores for free
A government should allow consumers to see their credit scores anytime they want.
Now, you can check your free credit score only in the following situations:
- If you are denied by lender because of a low score,
- If the lender uses more than one different credit scores,
- If a credit issuer raises your APR because of your bad score.
We can already get a free annual credit report. Let's fight for more!
We deserve it.
Please support this petition at Change.org if you think credit scores should be available for free for everyone, anytime.
Here is the letter you can send to your sentors to vote for this legislation:
To: The U.S. Senate One great way for you to help constituents take control of our financial futures is to co-sponsor and support the Free Access to Credit Scores Act. This nonpartisan bill will give me access to my credit score free-of-charge alongside my annual credit report, and will make sure I see the same scores lenders use to decide whether I get credit, and at what interest rate. Right now I can get a free copy of my credit report, thanks to a law passed by Congress in 2003. But if I want my credit score, I may wind up paying fees, handing over my credit card for sketchy "trial offers," and not even get the scores that lenders use. It's estimated consumers shelled out about $250 million in recent years to get their credit scores and reports. And a new federal report found that one out of five consumers paid for scores that were 'meaningfully' different than the scores given to lenders. A credit score is a critical tool for me to know when I'm making decisions about my finances. Lenders and banks use it to determine if they will lend me money and at what interest rate; if I can get a credit card and what size limit; even what I'm charged for car insurance. By making a reliable score free-of-charge with my credit report, I can make the right choices to improve my score, and build a better financial future for myself and my family. I ask you to please co-sponsor the Free Access to Credit Scores Act and do all you can to ensure its passage this year. A free credit score is an important tool for constituents like me to succeed during these tough economic times.
The FICO credit score has been created by The Fair Isaac Corp. in order to provide a tool which would be helpful in assessing an individual’s credit risk.
Your score is just the result of the analysis of your credit history. In this case, the higher your score is, the better.
Your chances of receiving a credit grow simultaneously with the score.
There are a few steps you must take to improve your FICO score.
What is a good credit score?
For lenders, the credit score ranges you fall in are more important than a score itself.
- 579 and below – in this range your score is very poor
- 580-669 – below average
- 670-739 – good, average score
- 740-799 – very good
- 800 and more – very high score
What makes up your credit score?
After you have learnt what score your purpose is, the next fundamental step is to find out how the score is calculated and how exactly you can improve it.
Your credit history provides five main factors influencing the score. Each of them presents its own percentage of contribution to the total. These are:
- Payment history: 35 percent.
- Amount of debt: 30 percent.
- Length of credit history: 15 percent.
- New credit: 10 percent.
- Credit mix: 10 percent.
Payment history.
This is the most important part. It shows how much reliable in your payments you are. If you pay off your debts on time it means that you are dealing well with your finances.
Amount of debt.
This factor gives the information of how much you owe. Luckily, having a huge debt not necessarily mean a low score, since it is more significant whether you are still within the limit than how big your debt is. You are in a better position when your debt is bigger, yet still there is some credit available for you.
Length of credit history.
Your score is higher when you have your credit accounts for longer as they provide more information about your financial credibility.
New credit.
If you cannot offer a long credit history it would not be a good idea to open a few new credit accounts at once or in a short period of time.
Mixed credit.
This is the factor that influences your score by showing the level of your credit experience. It is important whether you have had only a credit card or also any different type of a credit such as a mortgage or a finance company account.
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