Ask The Money Coach

Posts Tagged ‘Equifax’

Your FICO credit scores – like all credit scores – are based on the underlying data and information that is contained in your credit files with the “Big 3” credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. According to Fair Isaac, the company that created the three-digit FICO scores (which range from 300 to 850 points), in order to have a FICO score generated for you, your credit history must contain at least three things:

•    a minimum of one credit account that has been open for six months or longer
•    at least one account that is “undisputed” and that has been reported to a credit bureau during the past six months
•    an absence of any notation in your credit files that you are “deceased” or that an account you are associated with belongs to a deceased person

Some Issues Are Out of Your Control

Note that if you recently began establishing a credit history, there could be delays in you being assigned a credit score. Additionally, there are several factors outside of your control that may impact your ability to have a credit score generated. For example, assume you opened a credit card account six months ago. You may not yet have a FICO credit score because it’s possible that the credit card company took two or three months to actually report your account to the credit bureaus.

Additionally, there’s a good chance that you will not have a credit score if you have ever been listed as a co-signer or authorized user on a credit report, and the person with whom you were a co-signer/authorized user has died. In such a case, that person’s credit history would note that they are deceased. Additionally, the account you shared with that person would also reflect that it belonged to a deceased individual, which could impact you.

Related articles by Zemanta

• What Exactly Is Perfect Credit? (askthemoneycoach.com)

Related Questions:

• how to establish a fico score if you dont have one
• how do i get my first credit score
• how to establish a fico score
• In 6 months will I have a fico score?
• what is my credit score when first established
• what\s the first fico score

Question: I am 24 years old and my credit is not too spectacular.  Most of the accounts on my credit reports are things I have done to myself, but the other half (and the most expensive portion of my debt) was done by an immediate family member who knows my social security number and has put cable, electric and telephones in my name and did not pay the bill. I don’t want to get my family member in trouble but I am not sure what to do?

Answer: You should start by taking control of your finances and being honest about what is going on. You are the victim of identity theft, pure and simple. And it’s well past time you started letting others know that you did not authorize or open those utility accounts and that you are not responsible for them, period. End of story. Start monitoring your credit every month to make sure nothing else unexpected pops up there. Put a credit freeze and a credit alert on your credit reports to prevent further damage from this person who has blatantly taken advantage of you.

Lastly, you need to confront this person directly. It doesn’t matter if that person is a “close” family member. I don’t care if it’s your sister, a cousin – or even your mother. Let this individual know that they have totally crossed the line and damaged your finances and credit rating in a way that is completely unfair, disrespectful to you, and that has long-lasting implications. Tell the person that they have exactly 1 week to contact every creditor in which they used your name to cut off service in your name — and put it in their name.

If that person’s credit is bad (which I suspect it is) and they can’t get a phone, electric service or cable in their own name, that’s their issue to deal with; not yours. A week’s time is plenty of notice for them to take action. Tell them that if they don’t handle it in a week, you will be forced to contact those utilities directly and advise them of the situation. Hopefully, you will be stern and straight-forward enough in your approach to this person that he/she will know that you mean business. I’m not saying that you have to turn the person in (although they do deserve it). But neither should you be held continually responsible for someone else’s financial mess.

If the person doesn’t act quickly, and follow through as you’ve told them to do, don’t hesitate to get those services cut off. If push comes to shove, and you “have to” tell who the culprit is, I would go ahead and do it. Why would you go through unwarranted financial stress for this person when clearly they’ve shown you absolutely no personal or financial consideration whatsoever? – Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, The Money Coach

Related Questions:

• if you are reported to the credit bureau does it affect your cereit
• what to do if family member used your name for utilities
• somebody has cable in my name what do i do
• family member electric bill in my name
• putting a utility in your name for a family member
• What do I do if somebody put a light bill in my name
• what happens when a family member opens a credit card in your name without permission
• what to do if someone puts a bill in your name
• what to do if someone puts bad credit in your name?
• putting a family member bill in your name
• letting someone put cable in your name
• letting someone put a bill in your name

In addition to your FICO credit scores, you should also get your Experian PLUS score. In recent years, consumers got all three FICO scores – based on their TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian reports. But as of 2009, you can now only get two FICO scores (based on what’s in your Equifax and TransUnion files). You can no longer get an Experian-based FICO score. So what should you do to get a score based on all three credit files? My recommendation is to get your third credit score directly from Experian via its www.creditexpert.com consumer website. This score is known as your Experian PLUS Score.

Why You Need Your Experian PLUS Score Too

Some people suggest that buying any scores other than FICO scores is not worth it. They contend that it’s a waste of money for you to buy a score that’s not used by lenders. However, I disagree. I think it’s ultimately far more valuable for you to have additional information, as opposed to less information when it comes to your credit.

When you get your Experian PLUS score, you’ll acquire keen insights into what is strengthening your credit profile – and what is weakening it. Here’s what Experian told me about my score, which was 780:

What factors raise your PLUS Score:

• You have paid your bills on time and currently do not have any overdue accounts or derogatory information, such as a collection, charge-off, or bankruptcy, on your report.
• You have a good cushion of available credit between your current balance and your credit limits on all open trades. This has a positive affect on your credit score. This cushion shows lenders that you are unlikely to overextend yourself financially.
• You have at least 2 or more open major credit cards, such as Discover, American Express, VISA, or MasterCard, on your credit report. This often tells lenders that you are a responsible borrower and they may be more likely to see you as a good credit risk and extend you credit.
• Your credit file shows no record of any current delinquencies on real estate accounts, such as a mortgage. Having real estate accounts in good standing is viewed positively by lenders.
  

• What factors lower your PLUS Score:

• Credit scores are calculated based on various factors in your credit report. Currently, your credit report does not show any significant negative or derogatory information.

My Experian PLUS score and report also told me how my score stacked up against the rest of the U.S. population (I was in the 91^st percentile), and it showed me a graph to illustrate how risky I would be viewed (as either High Risk, Medium-High Risk, Medium Risk, Medium-Low Risk, or Low Risk) if I were to change my payment patterns, credit usage or various financial habits. I found all of these points relevant and useful.

The Scoring Ranges for the PLUS Score and the FICO Score

Therefore, while the Experian PLUS score isn’t the one pulled by lenders, it is nonetheless helpful. And for those who choose not to purchase their two FICO scores, even though Experian uses a different scoring model than the one used to calculate your FICO scores, knowing your Experian PLUS score can at least give you a rough approximation of how well you fare numerically based on information in your Experian file. For instance, the FICO scoring model ranges from 300 points to 850 points. By comparison, under Experian’s scoring model, credit scores range from 330 to 830. When I purchased my Experian PLUS score, it was 780, roughly comparable to the level of my FICO scores. So for the sake of having three scores, and getting deeper insights into your scores and credit rating, I believe the Experian PLUS score is also well worth its $14.50 price tag.  Granted, it’s not the score lenders use, but it’s educational nonetheless.

Related articles by Zemanta

• What Is the VantageScore and How is it Different from the FICO Credit Score? (askthemoneycoach.com)
• What Exactly Is Perfect Credit? (askthemoneycoach.com)

Related Questions:

• plus score
• experian plus score
• what is a plus score
• experian plus score vs fico score
• plus score range
• PLUS score model
• experian plus score range
• what is experian plus score
• what is a plus score?
• experian plus score model
• experian credit score percentile
• plus score from experian