Consumer Credit Reports – equifax experian score

W. M. Blake asked:




Your credit report can have a great deal of impact on your purchases and other financial transactions. Purchasing a new home, qualifying for loans, buying a car, applying for credit cards – even getting an education can be affected by your credit.

When you’re looking for any kind of loan or financing, your credit status will play a big part in how good (or bad) of a deal you’ll get. The better your credit report, the better rate you’ll get. Of course, the opposite is just as true – to the point where bad credit might prevent you from getting financing at all.

Your credit report includes a score that indicates how creditworthy you are – how much of a risk you’ll be, to look at it from the lender’s point of view. This score is determined by your financial history – do you make payments on time, have you missed payments, have you ever declared bankruptcy, etc.

The FTC mandates that all consumers are entitled to one free credit report each year. This gives you the opportunity to review your report for errors and correct any mistakes that you might find. This free credit report can be obtained online at no cost to you. There are many services and websites that offer credit reports, but often for a fee.

Your credit report includes information such as your place of employment, birthday, a list of all your creditors, credit applications (approved or not), foreclosures and bankruptcies.

This information comes from a variety of sources, so there is always a chance an error can find its way onto your report. Reviewing your report annually will help to ensure that these errors are caught and can be corrected to keep your credit report clean.

Wilma

Kyle Sugerak asked:




A growing number of consumers need credit repair services, even if they live in Minneapolis.

Experian, one of the three national credit bureaus, recently released its State of Credit report, in which it highlighted the average Vantage credit scores across the nation. The Vantage credit score, along with the more popular FICO credit score, is used by mortgage lenders and financial institutions to judge the creditworthiness of borrowers. Those borrowers with low credit scores, caused by missed payments, bankruptcies, and other financial missteps, will struggle to obtain loans at solid interest rates.

The residents of Minneapolis, with an average Vantage credit score of 787, topped the Experian list. Midwest cities, in fact, scored well: The residents of Madison, Wis., had an average Vantage score of 785, coming in second place.

Overall, though, most U.S. cities had Vantage credit scores that received grades of “C” or lower.

Falling Credit Scores

Another recent study, this one done by FICO, the largest provider of credit scores in the country, showed that the recession and its slow recovery has taken a toll on consumers and their credit.

The FICO study reported that nearly 25 percent of consumers had FICO credit rating under 600. Such a low score qualifies as a terrible one, and borrowers will struggle to earn approval for most loans from conventional lenders with such a weak score. Lenders of all type, whether they are passing out mortgage, auto, or personal loans, are taking a closer look at borrowers’ credit scores. They’ve learned important lessons during the Great Recession and its aftermath: It’s important to lend only to those consumers whose credit scores demonstrate that they have a history of paying their bills on time.

Banks and mortgage lenders have received significant criticism for their actions during the boom times, when they lent generous amounts of money to borrowers even if they had low credit scores, shaky employment histories, and high levels of debt.

Today, lenders and banks are more cautious when it comes to passing out money. Consumers need strong credit scores – and in many cases the help of credit repair services – to qualify for the best loans today.

Credit Repair Services

Plenty of companies offer credit repair help – but not all of these companies are trustworthy. The ones to avoid are fairly easy to spot: They boast in late-night TV commercials that they can raise consumer credit rating by 100 points or more in days. They may also claim that they can legally remove bankruptcy filings or foreclosures from consumers’ credit reports.

The truth is that there is no way to legally remove a correctly filed bankruptcy or foreclosure mark from a credit report. These reports just have to fall off after a certain number of years, seven or 10 depending on the filing.

Credit Repair Help

The best credit repair services are those that will help consumers through the process of searching your three free credit reports – consumers can order each of their three credit reports at no charge every 12 months from AnnualCreditReport.com – for errors. Correcting errors, such as incorrectly reported missed payments or open credit card accounts that consumers actually closed – can boost consumers’ credit rating fairly quickly.

The top credit repair services also help consumers set up a monthly budget that will prevent them from missing their payments. They’ll also provide credit counseling services to help consumers determine the reasons for their overspending ways.

Consumers today can no longer afford to overlook their credit scores. Lenders of all types rely heavily on them when determining who gets money and at what interest rates. Those consumers who fail to tackle their credit problems will find that life can be awfully stressful.

Steven