FICO or Fako—Which Score is Best?

A credit score is a computer-generated number that summarizes an individual's
credit profile and predicts the likelihood that a borrower will repay future obligations.
By comparing this information to thousands and thousands of credit reports, credit
scoring identifies your level of credit risk.

You can purchase credit scores from many different sources, but the most popular
are FICO® and the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion and
Experian. Two of these three major bureaus—Experian and TransUnion—sell their
own version of a credit score. These "fake" scores are useless to you, since FICO®
scores are the industry standard used by all major lenders. Equifax sells their
FICO® score, so it's the most accurate of the three.

Per Fair Isaac, the company that invented the FICO® credit risk score, FICO® Scores
are calculated from a lot of different credit data in your credit report. These
percentages are based on the importance of the five categories for the general
population. For particular groups - for example, people who have not been using
credit long - the importance of these categories may be somewhat different.

PAYMENT HISTORY

• Account payment information on specific types of accounts (credit cards,
  retail accounts, installment loans,
• Finance company accounts, mortgage, etc.)
• Presence of adverse public records (bankruptcy, judgments, suits, liens,
  wage attachments, etc.),
• Collection items, and/or delinquency (past due items)
• Severity of delinquency (how long past due)
• Amount past due on delinquent accounts or collection items
• Time since past due items (delinquency), adverse public records (if any), or
  collection items (if any)
• Number of past due items on file
• Number of accounts paid as agreed

AMOUNTS OWED

• Amount owing on accounts
• Amount owing on specific types of accounts
• Lack of a specific type of balance, in some cases
• Number of accounts with balances
• Proportion of credit lines used (proportion of balances to total credit limits on
  certain types of revolving accounts)
• Proportion of installment loan amounts still owing (proportion of balance to
  original loan amount on certain types of installment loans)

LENGTH OF CREDIT HISTORY

• Time since accounts opened, by specific type of account
• Time since account activity

NEW CREDIT

• Number of recently opened accounts, and proportion of accounts that are
  recently opened, by type of account Number of recent credit inquiries
• Time since recent account opening(s), by type of account
• Time since credit inquiry(s)
• Re-establishment of positive credit history following past payment problems
  

TYPES OF CREDIT USED

Number of (presence, prevalence, and recent information on) various types of
accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, mortgage, consumer
finance accounts, etc.

 

CONSUMER PROTECTION
FCRA, CROA, FACTA. Find out
what the laws are and what they
mean to you and your credit score.

LOCAL & FEDERAL AGENCIES
There are several agencies that
monitor collectors and consumer
credit reporting agencies.

PROTECT YOURSELF
From identity theft to unwanted
credit offers. here are several ways to protect your identity, your credit and your personal information.

CREDIT PARTNERS
See a list of credit friendly lenders
and service providers. Extra savings for Safe Harbor clients.