Credit Scores

Q: I am car-hunting and a dealer pulled my credit report. He got a 595 score but the last score that I received was 675. Why was his score different and should I can I take my own TransUnion credit...

Q: I disputed wrong info in my credit file but i'm not satisfied with the results. What else can I do? A: Anytime you dispute information in your credit files, and the issue is not resolved satisfactorily, you have several...

FICO credit scores range from 300 to 850 points. Banks and other lenders now want to see 700 credit scores and higher, which is all the more reason to strive for perfect credit. You can certainly still obtain credit and...

If you get a FICO credit score, or any other credit score, be sure to read the analysis or summary that comes with your report, explaining why your credit score is a certain number. Watch out for these types of...

From a credit standpoint, the type of debt you’re carrying matters tremendously when it comes to your credit score and your overall credit rating. What precisely counts as “bad” debt? Nearly 100% of the time, it’s credit card debt. Yes,...

Many consumers believe a host of myths and misconceptions about their credit scores. Some of the biggest fallacies surrounding this topic involve race, income and other factors that do not impact your credit rating at all. Here are some other...

There is a lot of misinformation about what goes into your credit score. However, officials from Fair Isaac Corporation (the company that created FICO scores) have said many times that this is the heart of what happens: Your credit files...

Out of the roughly 220 million Americans that have credit files maintained by the “Big Three” credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), about 1 out of 5 individuals have very poor credit, bad credit, or “deep subprime scores,” according to...

If you want to acquire top-notch credit, the first step in doing so is to: a) Pull each of your credit files from the three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion; and b) Get your credit scores,...

An inquiry in your credit file (credit inquiries) is a record of any application for credit that you made. For example, if you seek a mortgage, student loan or car loan, or even if you apply for a credit card...

Any “Public Records” listing in your Equifax, Experian or TransUnion credit report will seriously lower your credit scores. Although the “Account Summary” section of your credit reports may contain negative information such as late payments or collections, more serious delinquencies...

Regardless of whether you pull a credit report from Equifax, Experian or TransUnion, all credit files contain information that can be summarized into five categories: Personal Information The top part of your credit report contains a condensed set of personal...

A Facebook fan considering applying for a mortgage wanted to know how seriously her husband's credit rating would be impacted by a court judgment for a small bill of just $109.00. Here's what she needs to know - and you...

A Facebook fan had heard that a bad credit rating could keep him from getting a job. He wanted to verify whether this is true and wanted to know where he find out about his credit rating. It is true...

You probably already know that not paying a bill can adversely affect your credit score, but do you know by about how much? Do you know what effect opening up a retailer charge card just to get 10% off on...