Debt Relief Information

What Is A FICO Score?


Your FICO score or credit score as it's commonly called is a very important calculation that can control whether or not you are eligible to receive credit and if eligible the terms you can receive credit under. Failure to understand the impact this score can have on you future purchasing power and lifestyle can be disastrous. This article will break down all the information you need to know regarding your FICO score.

As I mentioned above the FICO score is a numerical score that is based on your financial history as collected in your credit report. Creditors can use this number to evaluate whether or not you are able to pay a loan back on time. The higher the score the more likely you are to pay off a loan on time and the less of a credit risk you pose.

The FICO or credit score ranges are broken down as follows:

720-850 - This represent the best score range

700-719 - Able to obtain favorable financing terms

675-699- This is still a decent score range

620-674 - May have trouble obtaining favorable credit terms

560-619 - May have trouble obtaining credit

500-559 - Time to improve your score

Your credit score is broken down into 5 distinct categories each with their own importance based on a percentile. The 5 categories and the percentage they represent I relation to your credit score are as follows:

Payment History - 35%

Amounts Owed - 30%

Length of Credit History - 15%

New Credit - 10%

Types of Credit Used - 10%

Your payment history contains information on credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts and any mortgages you may have had. It also details any past due accounts and the amount owed on hem. You will also find bankruptcy information as well as other adverse information in regards to your credit history. This is why it warrants a 35% piece of the pie.

Your amount owed is generally speaking the amount owed on any accounts you currently have and number of accounts with balances. Note that it has a large impact (30%) on your credit score. The length of your credit history details when accounts were opened and the last activity on those accounts. New credit shows the number of recently opened accounts by the type of account and number of account inquiries. Finally the type of credit used is a snapshot of what types of financing you have held.

Other information that is included in your credit report but has no bearing on your FICO score includes your race, age, where you live and your sex and employment information. Although the FICO score doesn't use these factors the employment information may be used by other companies and creditors to help in their decision making process.

There are three major credit-reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion that have your credit information on hand. Each of these credit bureaus maintains their information separately, which can cause the financial data to be slightly different among the three of them. Most experts agree that in order to get the best snapshot of your financial history and credit worthiness it is a good idea to request a report from each of the reporting agencies. It is also highly recommended that you actually review your credit report once a year in order to identify and correct any errors before they cause any future potential problems when you apply for credit. Recent changes in the laws no allow for consumers to request 1 free credit report each year in order to look for any such errors.

Here is the contact information for each of the three reporting credit bureaus:

Equifax: (800) 685-1111, www.equifax.com
Experian: (888) 397-3742, www.experian.com
TransUnion: (800) 888-4213, www.transunion.com

As you can see your FICO Score is a very important number that represents your financial trustworthiness in the eyes of creditors. Failure to properly monitor it could cause you future headaches when it comes time to apply for any form of credit.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Debt-Relief-Solutions.com. He provides more debt relief, consolidation and credit repair information that you can research in your pajamas on his website.


MORE RESOURCES:

Debt relief companies under statewide investigation
Bizjournals.com, NC - 4 hours ago
All the companies involved purportedly offered debt relief services, including credit counseling, credit repair, debt management and credit card rate ...
State Attorney General Takes Aim At Debt Relief Companies Tampa Tribune
Debt Relief Scams WJHG-TV
Debt Relief Fraud Tampa Bay's 10
Central Florida Political Pulse - Pensacola News Journal
all 22 news articles


Debt-Relief Firms Attract Complaints
MarketWatch - 14 hours ago
The Florida attorney general's office has received more than 1400 complaints about debt-settlement and other debt-relief companies this year through early ...


BBC News

Financial Collapse Dims African Prospects for Debt Relief, Donor Aid
Voice of America - 16 hours ago
By Howard Lesser Consequences of the international economic rescue effort will not be felt for several months. But African countries, which so far have only ...
Gov't mulls plan to take ownership stakes in banks Bakersfield Californian
Keynesianism's Last Stand Lew Rockwell
IMF and G-7 Say: No More Lehmans BusinessWeek
all 1,240 news articles


H&R Block: Foreclosures Trigger Tax Liabilities
CNNMoney.com - 1 hour ago
EESA extends the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act to 2013 -- it was originally scheduled to expire at the end of 2009. Taxpayers will benefit from two ...


Paulson pads nine lucky banks with tax bucks
Tampabay.com, FL - Oct 14, 2008
The Florida attorney general's office has received more than 1400 complaints about debt-settlement and other debt-relief companies this year through early ...


domain-B

TEXT-India govt outlines steps to increase mkt funds
Reuters India, India - 8 hours ago
(i) Under the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, government had agreed to provide to the commercial banks, regional rural banks and ...
FM announces measures to aid banks, improve credit flow Business Standard
FM announces credit on bailout plan Times Now.tv
FM fast-tracks liquidity to banks Business Standard
all 52 news articles


Hindu

RBI cuts CRR further by 100 basis points
Hindu, India - 2 hours ago
Further, the RBI decided to provide Rs. 25000 crore to banks as the first instalment under the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief scheme of the ...
RBI cuts CRR by 1 per cent more Rediff
Fresh move to quench cash thirst Calcutta Telegraph
RBI allows breathing space of Rs 1,45000cr Times of India
Business Standard - Seeking Alpha
all 481 news articles


H&R Block Explains Tax Benefits of Recent Legislation
International Business Times, NY - 1 hour ago
EESA extends the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act to2013 -- it was originally scheduled to expire at the end of 2009. Taxpayers will benefit from two ...


Debt Relief Credit Repair - Repairing Your Credit
Gather.com, MA - Oct 13, 2008
... with credit report agencies when you visit http://www.creditlegalrepair.com , the permier portal on free debt relief credit repair advice and resources.


MSN Money UK

Treasurys, Libor Ease Amid Relief in Credit Markets
Wall Street Journal - Oct 14, 2008
This should provide some relief for consumers and companies, whose debt financing is tied to the London interbank offered rate. The US government said that ...
More signs of credit easing CNNMoney.com
Credit Shows Signs of Easing on Bank Rescue Wall Street Journal
all 58 news articles

debt relief - Google News

home | site map
© 2006
web www.worldbizinfo.com