What exactly is FICO Score?

FICO score is just another way of saying your credit rating. We hear terms like “credit rating” and “credit score” and for many, those terms are subjective. FICO score is a rating/scoring system that actually quantifies your credit score and turns it into a number. FICO is short form for this numeric rating system developed by the Fair Isaac Company back in the early 1980′s. This numeric score has become the standardized was the 3 main credit agencies calculate your credit worthiness. Equifax, TransUnion and Experian all have separate files on you, and collect information on your credit history. And all three give you a FICO score.

What Is The FICO Score Range?

Based on your credit details and history you FICO score will range between 300 and 850.

At 300 you’ll have a very hard time getting any creditor to grant your credit. And at 850 you’ll be swarmed with offers from every lender and credit card company.

Your FICO score is not a credit report. A credit report is a detailed list of all your financial transactions. This information, along with a few other things is used to calculate your FICO score.

Your credit report will contain the following

- any credit account you currently have open
- a report of your monthly payments
- how many times you’ve applied for credit, and from who
- what you’ve applied for credit for
- if you’ve declared bankruptcy

Your credit report is just a detailed, ever updating list. You won’t see your FICO score when you look at your credit report.

The credit bureaus use more than just your credit report to calculate your FICO score. Of course, how you pay your bills is important. But they also look at how much credit you’re using, the percentage of credit granted to credit used, total debt load as a percentage, how long you’ve had a credit file, etc.,

The majority of your FICO score is calculated by your payment history and the total debt you currently have. If you want to improve your credit score these are two things you can easily work on.

Pay down your debt, and make sure you make your payments on time. The best thing about hitting a bump in the road is that your score is a dynamic number. It changes constantly, and you can start to improve your FICO score quite easily. Especially now that you know what it is, and how it’s calculated. You’ll end up saving money if you keep an eye on your FICO score!

What Is A Credit Rating?

Your credit rating is a number that many lenders and potential creditors use to decide whether or not to extend you credit. They also use it to determine the interest rates and terms they’ll offer you. There’s quite a few factors that go into determining your credit rating.

The Big 3 credit bureaus are TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Lenders and creditors report their transactions to these bureaus, and then they access these records to decide upon an individuals credit worthiness. Some potential creditors will access just one report. Others will access all three.

What Is A Good Credit Rating Number?

The number that is generated for your credit rating is also know as your FICO score. Your FICO score is a number that ranges from 300 to 850. 300 would be bad, 850 would be great! This number is the easiest way for a potential lender to judge how high risk you are. There is a formula for calculating your particular FICO score. – the percentage of available credit you are using – how much credit you have open, and for how long – payment history and delinquent payments – size of debt and credit.

If your credit rating is lower than 550 you will have a hard time getting credit, or pay extremely high rates. Anything under 500-550 is considered very high risk. Once you get your credit rating over 600 you will have an easier time accessing credit. And above 750 lenders are more than happy to extend you credit.

It’s easier to access your credit report and FICO score thanks to the internet. Before you apply for a loan, mortgage or any other major credit, make sure you check your credit rating first.

Can You Really Get A Free Credit Report?

Yes, Under the Consumer Reporting Act every individual is allowed a free credit report annually. This legislation made it possible for every citizen to access their credit reports to check for mistakes, errors or problems.

Unfortunately, this legislation was written at a time when most of our correspondence was still done through the mail. The legislation states you can request, in writing, a copy of your report and it will be mailed to you.

In today’s wired world you can access your credit report online. But beware, there are a lot of places advertising “free credit reports online”, that you need to really read ALL the fine print.

Can I Get A Free Credit Report Online?

Here’s the most common online credit report offer we see. There are many services that will monitor your credit reports. They make sure there isn’t negative information, or false information being put on your report. If something is flagged they notify you of the report so you can take appropriate action. This is also great to prevent identify theft.

Many of these companies off “free credit reports online”. And then, in the fine print they tell you that you can get your free report by subscribing to their yearly credit reporting monitoring service.

So, it’s not really a free credit report, is it?

It’s a bonus credit report when you purchase their subscription service.

It’s a great idea to check your credit score before you apply for a large loan, mortgage, car loan or credit card. You can request the written report once a year, or go online and pay a few dollars (most aren’t free)

You can access all 3 of your FICO scores from Trans Union, Experian and Equifax. Or, you can go to each individual reporting agency and get a copy of your report from them individually.

You can look at the individual details in side your credit report such as credit available, bankruptcy, collection orders, delinquent payments and ratio of debt available to debt used.

Just for your piece of mind, if you do access your credit information online be assured that there is some heavy duty encryption going on that will protect your information from digital pirates. The credit bureaus are making digital privacy a priority.

It’s only smart to check on your credit rating on a regular basis. Just don’t get sucked into a bait and switch subscription service that charges you for protection in return for a free credit report.

Update: check out the Annual Credit Report Service for updates on how to access your yearly free credit report electronically.

What Exactly Is A Credit Check?

A credit check is what a potential lender performs to decide whether or not to extend credit to you, and under what terms. It is a quick way for a grantor to decide upon your creditworthiness. The potential creditor reviews your credit report that is compiled by the credit bureaus. Your credit report will have a FICO number (known as your credit score) and other personal and financial details. Creditors report on people they lend money to. This history of payments, loans, defaults, delinquencies and the size of the debt determines your FICO score.

When a credit check is ordered the potential lender can see a complete history of all your financial dealings, and how responsible you were in the repayment. They also see just how many times you’ve applied for credit recently.

By the way, a personal credit check is different from a business credit check

Who Looks After A Credit Check?

Any time you’ve ever applied for credit, from a simple loan or a credit card, or attempted to obtain financing for a car or electronics, the lender will perform a credit check. The three big credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These are well established sources for performing a credit check. That being said, many of the items on your credit report can be wrong. It is reckless and foolish to not check your report to make sure it’s correct.

Any individual can request report by submitting a written request to a credit bureau through the mail, or you can order your report online. Unfortunately, there are mistakes on a lot of credit reports. By performing a credit check BEFORE you apply for a major loan, mortgage or credit card you can save yourself from potential problems.

What Is A Credit Bureau?

Credit bureaus are compilers of information. Each credit bureau (there are 3) collects information on financial credit details from merchants and lenders, and make that information available (through a credit check) to others who are considering making loans or granting credit.

The big 3 credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. Merchants and lenders report to them about how individuals repay and manage their credit. They also make credit reports available to anyone wanting to know financial and personal details from an applicant requesting credit, applying for a job or wanting to rent property.

The Big 3 credit report agencies keep a running list of the credit accounts you have opened, how much you currently owe, what your highest debt load was, and your current balance, whether you make payments on time (or not), and the specific lenders who’ve granted you credit.

They also store other information about you as well, addresses, current and past employment, your SIN number, and other public records such as liens, judgments, and bankruptcy.

Is There Anything A Credit Bureau CAN’T Do?

Sometimes it seems like these companies are collecting every bit of personal information they can. As George Orwell predicted “big brother is watching”. By law there are some personal details that the credit bureau is not allowed to record. Things like race, age, health issues and criminal record.

It was legislated that you can legally request a free copy of your credit report from the BIG 3 annually. But you have to request them through the Annual Credit Report Request Service. Beware of the offers for “free online credit checks”. These usually come with paid subscription credit protection services.

There are other reasons that you can legally request a free copy of your credit report from the credit bureaus. If you’ve had an application rejected, are on public assistance or unemployed, or if you suspect you’ve been a victim of identity theft or credit fraud. If you are worried about these issues you should contact each credit bureau and ask for their help.

Keeping on top of your credit scores, credit ratings and possible identity theft problems has become easier thanks to the emergence of the convenient online credit check.

Why Should You Care About An Online Credit Check?

It is important to stay on top of your finances. We now live in a digital information and technology can be incorrect, and your credit report can affect your financial future, we recommend you perform an annual online credit check at the very least.  The sooner you find a problem, the faster you can get it fixed and reduce the harm to your credit rating. You can subscribe to services that will monitor your credit reports for you. But, at the very least, you should check your ratings annually. This credit check will help you see what all your potential grantors and creditors are going to use to judge your level of responsibility, trustworthiness and creditability.

Your credit report is assembled and maintained by various credit bureaus who gather information from your current and passed creditors. This information is reported by banks, credit card companies, loans companies and almost anyone that has a business that utilizes credit.

Under the federal Consumer Reporting Act, you are entitled to a copy review all of the information a credit bureau has on you. In years gone by the best way to see this report was to request a copy by mail. Thanks to the internet, you can now do an online credit check.

A personal credit rating and credit check is a little different than that of a corporation or business. If you are looking for information on company credit checks you can read more at this link: business credit check

Life Is Simpler With An Online Credit Check

The percentage of people who have incorrect information on their credit report is staggering. And, these mistakes can have a major impact on your ability to get a credit card, rent or buy a home, and get a car loan.

Reviewing your credit file through an online credit check allows you to make sure your report doesn’t have any errors or mistakes that can cost you lost opportunities or increased interest rates. Just one negative thing on your file can boost your interest rates significantly.

An online credit check should allow you to see your report at all 3 major bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.)

The Big 3 store information that they collect from lenders you have applied to for credit.

You can access your credit report annually by requesting a free copy in the mail. But, if you are like most people, you never really get around to writing that letter. Checking your credit report should be a priority for planning our financial future. Beware of the “free online credit check” offers. The best online credit check would be free, but this usually comes with an ongoing subscription to a credit monitoring service.  Whether you use the free snail mail method of subscribe to a monitoring service you should keep an eye on your credit score and digital identity. Think of it like “checking the oil” in your car. The advent of the online credit check is something we can all do quickly, easily and it prevents major problems.

First, What Is A Business Credit Check?

A business credit check or credit report is very similar to that of a personal credit check. Most businesses need credit to grow and survive. Just like individuals, businesses and corporations need to be  graded on a scale to assess their credit worthiness (like a FICO score). In most cases, businesses will be asking for huge sums of money, much more than in personal lending situations.

A creditor or grantor will have a business credit check done on a loan or line of credit application. The loan or credit request will be accompanied with a staggering amount of reports, financial statements and usually a business plan. The business credit check is run to check on the payment history of other past loans and credit. Many of these items are not usually found in a financial statement. The statement might say that a payment was made, but it probably doesn’t include a note as to whether it was paid on time or not.

Where Can I Get A Business Credit Check?

There are many companies who will assist a potential lender by delivering a quality business credit check. Probably the largest and most famous company would be Dunn and Bradstreet.

The are a large variety of credit reports that can be assembled and accessed. The detail and breadth of the report will be directly proportional to the amount of money being requested.

A relatively new company probably doesn’t have a lot of credit and loan repayment history. An established corporation could have decades of repayments, loans and debts.

The ability to run a credit check on businesses is also very important for other small businesses. If you own a fairly small business and are thinking of extending credit to another corporation it would be foolish not to investigate their payment history and credit worthiness. And now you have the option of running an online credit check on most corporations you’ll do business with.

In today’s society many small businesses have closed because of a huge accounts receivable account that was unpaid from one client. Sometimes unforseen circumstances cause good businesses to get into trouble. But, not requesting a business credit check on a potential client you are going to extend credit to would be reckless.

Clean Up Your Credit Report – How To Clean Up Your Credit For Beginners

If you are sick and tired of your bad credit rating and are looking for advice on how to clean up your credit report, you have found the right article. In just a few short paragraphs, you’ll learn the basics of how to clean up your credit report quickly and easily even if you are a complete beginner.

So what exactly does “clean up your credit report” mean? Although that phrase itself is open to interpretation, generally “cleaning up your credit” refers to the process of improving your credit score by disputing and having negative items and accounts removed from your credit report. Even though this is a process that is completely free and relatively easy to do, many consumers aren’t aware of the fact that they can dispute negative items on their credit report directly to consumer credit reporting agencies and have them removed. Below are the answers to some common questions that arise when first starting the process of cleaning up your credit report.

Why would I want to remove items from report?

Simply put, negative items and accounts on your credit records have an adverse affect on your credit score. This goes without saying, but the lower your score the harder it is for you to obtain loans and financing. In addition to that, if you have a low credit rating it is likely that you will pay higher interest rates and fees, even if approved for a loan.

So what items can I have removed from my report?

Any information that is inaccurate or being reported incorrectly can be removed from your credit report fairly easily. Collection accounts, a bankruptcy from 20 years ago and even late payments you weren’t responsible for can all be removed from your credit report. These inaccuracies and incorrect entries have a negative effect on your credit score every day they stay in your credit report, so removing them immediately is of the utmost importance to your credit rating.

How can I clean up my credit report?

There are a couple of different options for consumers looking to clean up their credit report. The first option is to dispute the items on your credit report directly to the credit reporting agencies themselves. Several federal regulations and guidelines ensure that these credit reporting agencies handle your disputes in a timely fashion. Even so, having inaccuracies removed through a dispute can be a slow process. Another option available to people seeking to clean up their credit report is to use a credit repair agency. These agencies act as the consumer’s representative to the credit reporting agency, handling all of the paperwork and follow-up that comes through the dispute process.

So now that you have the basics on how to clean up your credit report, it’s time to take action. Obtain a copy of your credit records and examine them for inaccuracies. If you find any potentially negative items that aren’t correct, you can begin the process of disputing them to have them removed. It’s a process that requires a little bit of work, but is well worth the result: A better credit score.

Nobody has the power to foresee emergencies or anticipate an urgent financial expense. An accident or a big financial loss in business can occur at any point of time. And unfortunately, surviving through such major economic depressions becomes all the more complicated if your next payday is scheduled after two weeks or so. Hence, to support the economic condition of such people, the intelligent finance planners have developed the provision of bad credit payday loans. These payday loans are basically short term loans that are present in the market to offer good monetary solutions to all the borrowers bearing the remark of a poor credit score. Therefore, if you are also placed under the category of low credit scorers then right away opt for this loan plan.

With bad credit payday loans you can avail an amount ranging between £40 and £1000 and it is offered for short repayment duration of 14 – 18 days. The loan amount is free from the clutches of the lender and can be used for any kind of purpose according to the borrower’s wish. Generally, these loans have high rate of interest, as no security has been submitted by the borrower but at the same time, you can manage to get this assistance at affordable interest rate if you conduct a well planned market research. One thing you must keep in mind before taking bad credit payday loans is that you should make all the repayments within the due course of time as lenders have all the rights to take legal action in case of any deferment.

As bad credit payday loans are meant to serve the urgent monetary requirements of the individuals, the approval procedure of the loan is settled with easy features, so that they can receive the loan amount within the shortest possible duration. You can utilize this loan to curb all sorts of urgent needs such as credit card debts, electricity bills, education fee etc. Moreover, people often opt for this loan scheme as it is a short term loan and can be repaid easily, where the borrower gets free from the burden of the debt in a short period. However, what tops the list of benefits of this loan is the fact that you are not required top place any security or collateral against the loan demand.

Bad credit payday loans can also be availed through the traditional method as well as by online services. However, nowadays, most of the people are going for the internet application as it does not include the toiling task of faxing and copying the documents. In this process, you simply have to fill in the online application form that is available on the website of your preferred lender. This form may ask for your personal and employment details as it is important for the lender to get assured about the repayment ability of the borrower. Once you have given all these details, the executives of the company will get back to you promptly. Hence, if you also wish to enjoy the services of such an easy financial aid, then do not waste more of your time and instantly search for the reliable lenders, who are dealing in the option of bad credit payday loans.

Four Ways to Protect Your Confidential Information From Identity Theft and Corporate Espionage

In this day and age, with identity theft and corporate spying running rampant, you can’t be too careful about protecting the sensitive information that every business deals with on a daily basis. It is wise to protect yourself. It is now the law that every business must properly destroy any potentially sensitive information about its clients, employees, or customers before discarding it. Just as there are many ways in which you store, handle and protect confidential information, there are also many ways to safely destroy that information when the time comes to do so.

1. Lock It Up: There is no telling where and when your sensitive information will be compromised. You may, in fact, be giving prying eyes an opportunity every time you step away from your desk for a few minutes. Thus, it is highly recommended that you find secure, physical protection for such things as confidential documents, CDs, floppy discs, zip drives and tapes, password cheat sheets, and file cabinet keys. For portable computers which contain sensitive info, you should purchase and use laptop locks. Another necessity is to make sure that you keep all office doors and filing cabinets locked when they are not in use, and at the end of each day.
2. Shred It: Obviously the most secure of all the solutions, the best way to eliminate unnecessary risk is to shred daily, on site, and by hand, any items that you no longer need, that might be dangerous or compromising in the wrong hands. Also you should make sure that you clean the areas around all printers and fax machines at the end of every day (or even every few hours) and shred any confidential info that may have been left behind by careless employees or co-workers. Because of the added security, having your own on site shredders is much preferable to giving your sensitive documents over to a shredding service.
3. Password Protect It: One easy and wise thing to do is to set up your computer to implement a password protected screen saver after fifteen minutes or less of non use. Also, it should go without saying that you should never share your passwords with anyone, or even store them anywhere on the computer. If you can’t avoid that, disguise them in a file that doesn’t use the word “passwords” in the file or file name.
4. Clean It: As in that laptop that you are passing on to a new employee, selling, or even throwing away. Before doing any of the above, make sure that you have properly wiped and reclaimed all of your information. If you are throwing a computer away, take pains to securely destroy it, and its hard disk or flash drive. Remember that simply deleting files may not be sufficient. If you really want to wipe your hard drive you will need to use a special utility to overwrite the sectors on the hard drive so that the data can be undeleted.

Of course, these security measure need to be adopted company-wide to be effective. It might be a good idea to have a meeting with all of your employees in which you go over these basic security measures. Later, you could even conduct an audit so you can ensure that your office is as secure as is possible.

Identity Theft Recovery: The Road Back

Not too long ago, a friend of mine mentioned that one of his coworkers recently recovered his stolen identity. I asked how long the process took. “Only two years” he replied.

Compared to my business partner’s six year nightmare “only” maybe appropriate but like most victims of identity theft, he probably thought “when”. As in, “when will I get my life back?”

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer nonprofit organization, reported that victims spend on average 175 hours trying to recover their identity, often over a period of years. Factor in out of pocket expenses, (usually over $1,500 according to the FTC) and recovery gets painfully magnified.

What are the steps to identity restoration? It starts with obtaining a police report. That report doesn’t mean other law enforcement agencies have been contacted. Yet you must do a complete search of local and federal law enforcement databases too find out if anything else, including criminal activity exists on your identity.

You’re also going to need the police report to contact the many and I mean many different agencies and organizations, including the Social Security Administration, The Federal Trade Commission, all of your financial institutions, the 3 major credit bureaus, the Passport Office,The Department of Motor Vehicles, the Post Office, as well as the Medical Information Bureau . All of these places must be sent a fraud notification alert. Concerning your financial institutions, get them to cancel your credit cards and close your bank accounts. Find out from your bank about any suspicious activity, such as accounts tampered with or opened fraudulently. Reopen new bank accounts with password verification.

Know your rights. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1992, you must be told not only what’s in your file but if that information is being used against you. The Federal Trade Commission recently expanded the rights available to victims of identity theft, including your right to get negative information due to fraud blocked from your records.

This brings us to the credit bureaus. Make sure your credit report reflects the identity theft and gets flagged with a fraud alert. Many victims have received assurances that the matter would be resolved, however months and sometimes years later, the credit bureaus have not cleared their records. This without a doubt ranks as THE biggest headache for identity theft victims.

Once a negative gets put on your record, it seems the credit bureaus refuse to remove it, in spite of the countless documentation you provide to them. This can affect you well into the future when buying a house, car or any other big ticket item. If you are going to do this by yourself, constant follow up is critical. That goes for all the organizations but especially the credit bureaus. Be diligent until the matter gets resolved. Getting a lawyer wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Stay Away from “credit repair companies”. No matter what they advertise, there’s usually nothing they can do to help you with identity theft. Some of them even offer to help you apply for credit under a new identity. Hello? When trying to eliminate fraud from your record you don’t want to create more fraud!

Advise the utility companies. It’s not just bank accounts and credit cards. Many identity thieves commit fraud by opening telephone accounts, purchasing cable television or establishing credit with the gas & electric companies, in the hopes it will go unnoticed for as long as possible.

If necessary get counseling. Identity theft can be a shattering experience mentally and emotionally. Victims and family members often feel violated. It’s not their fault of course but the feelings remain. A network of support groups and counselors exists if you need it.

The road back from identity theft can take years, cost a lot of money,and cause much stress and pain . But with follow up, support and belief that the nightmare will end…the nightmare WILL end.