The ratio of debt to available credit is a major factor in determining the score (old discussion; info already incorp'd)
I'd like to add that the ratio of debt to available credit is a major factor in determining the score. I don't have access to a scoring model, so I can only estimate that this factor is less important than ongoing debt, but more important than length of credit history (i.e. 3rd place on the list of bullets). If there are no comments in teh next coupl of days, I'll add this. Simon G
Simon,
Nobody has an accurate model for scoring because it is a 'secret forumula' owned by a private company- Fair Isaac Corporation. No offense, but unless you reference the sources of your opinion with publicly-available studies, it would remain 'your opinion'. ~CreditWatchDog
CWDUnfortunately I can't do that, because my knowledge comes from working in the credit industry for the last 10 years or so. I'm not sure of how to reference "common knowledge" in a professional field. Suggestions welcome! :) Simon
I take it that CreditWatchDog doesn't have any useful comment to make, after all, beyond a excessively wikified mish-mash of the obvious and the obtuse. Perhaps it would be best if he left it to those who are competent to comment, in future. Simon
Credit rating is not a synonym for Credit score
"Credit rating" currently redirects to this article, "Credit score".
The term "credit rating" is used more broadly than "credit score" in the "credit rating" is a metric applied at the institutional and financian instrument level in addition to the personal level. For instance, it is appropriate to say "the credit rating of the company's bond issue was AAA", in which case there is no possible reference to personal finance. I'm not qualified to compose an appropriate article to ameliorate the confusion, but I trust that a domain expert will step forward to do this composition, or put me in my place as not knowing what I'm talking about :). Regards, Courtland 02:34, July 31, 2005 (UTC)
Usefulness of article
This article is of limited use unless you happen to live in the USA. Might it be better to move it to Credit score (USA) ? Arcturus 22:20, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
There are many credit scores around the world, one of which I am the author of. Wikipedia is not the place to try and establish a single vendor as owner of a generic term. Also, just because an author thinks he knows how the formula works, this doesn't mean he actually knows how it works, nor should he publish guidance that suggests he has the answer.
I suggest most of this content should be removed and relocated .
Would anyone consider adding a paragraph "building up a credit score from scratch" ? This would be extremely useful for foreigners who intend to live in the US. Especially if you plan to stay just for some years e.g. visiting scientists, certain aspects of everyday life are really hard to cope with. Using a foreign credit card e.g. is more than inconvenient if you are a resident alien (and it's really expensive!)
Bankrupcty Risk Score
When will this be further investigated and included to wikipedia? --ConradKilroy 16:38, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
There's the Bankruptcy Navigator Index (BNI) score, produced by the US credit bureau Equifax.
credit rating
Are you penalized if you use a credit card every month and pay it off every month even before you get the statement?
I was told I have derogatory statements on my credit report and trying to figure out if that is it or if the fact I have taken a year to payoff my hospital bill is it
so if leaving $5 on your account each month is better than paying off your entire balance, then what is the advantage of such cards as american express charge cards where you are required to pay off your balance each month? these cards seem to be targetted towards wealthier folks whom the credit card company is not worried about making their payments. i am also trying to understand whether it is better to pay it all off or to leave a balance.
:I use my credit card for all of my purchases and always pay in full at the end of the billing cycle. I have a FICO score of around 750 (which is pretty good). Papercutzz2 (talk) 19:55, 29 March 2008 (UTC)Australian Credit Scores, Any Different?
Does anyone know if Australian credit score calculations are done any differently from American ones?
I found a clean credit resource website with several articles on improving your credit score, but they seem to have an American slant.
Does anyone know if the same principals apply for Australia?
Cheers, Sammy
FICO score of zero, etc
I don't see a citation for the FICO score of zero for the financial adviser, but it is impossible. The minimum FICO score is 300.
The idea of "needing" a FICO score is also misinformed, since it is impossible to not have one, no one is in need of a score.
As far as cell phones, all major carriers require either credit checks or huge deposits. One company requested $10,000 from a friend of mine a few years back. I am not sure if they use a FICO score, but they do use some scoring system. If your score is poor you can still get a cell phone and service but often with lower spending limits and other restrictions.
The pie-chart distributed by Fair-Isaac is inaccurate. For example, if you file for bankruptcy your score will drop dramatically, this is not represented on the pie-chart at all.
I'll let this sit for a while and give the anon editor a chance to respond.
Justforasecond 18:30, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
I work at a large Canadian Bank. If you have no bureau history (i.e. score) your credit application will be treated as high risk, so you're either declined or offered a lower credit limit/higher interest rate. Historically, borrowers with no bureau history are very high risk. KidC 16:51, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
A credit score of zero could be the result of never having borrowed money from a financial institution. My grandfather was a farmer who had never borrowed a dime from an institution and he didn't have a credit score. --Drizzt3737
Purpose of a FICO score
I changed the "Purpose of a FICO score" section. Perhaps the whole section should be deleted because it isn't sourced. At any rate, the section was very badly written and wasn't even grammatically correct in many places. I kept the content roughly the same, I therefore don't necessarily endorse the content but it nonetheless it needed to be cleaned up and made more academic in tone. (I also the removed the dubious "qualification" of "New York Times Bestselling Author." The "Left Behind" authors are also "New York Times Bestselling Authors". 66.74.157.12 20:26, 3 June 2006 (UTC)Dave
I deleted the whole thing. It directly contradicts information from the rest of the article with absolutely no citation. Until it's fixed, it doesn't belong in an encyclopedia entry. Josh 02:32, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Vantage Score
The vantage score is avalible from all three of the credit reporting agencies, and is offered as a competitor to FICO. This should be noted. I work for TransUnion, so I probably shouldn't be the one to write this section of the article, but somebody should do research and add info about the Vantage score.
why isn't annualcreditreport.com on a *.gov tld?
I'd have a lot more faith in annualcreditreport.com's being a legit site if it were on a *.gov domain. Why isn't it? I mean, the people who issue *.gov tld's are responsible for the existance of this website, aren't they? TerraFrost 03:34, 16 October 2006 (UTC)
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/freereports.htm
Citations needed
I've noticed a lot of "Some consumers believe", "Many companies use", etc. in this article, without any citations to back them up. Could people add in some reputable-source references for some of these, so that readers can ensure that what they are reading is accurate, and not just something that a random Wikipedia editor thought up? --ΨΦorg 13:51, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
Rights to know Credit Score?
I was disappointed when the law requiring credit reporting agencies to provide a free credit report (in the U.S.A.) didn't require one's score to be included. Has there been any discussion about this, and is there anything relevant to this that could be included in the article?
Credit history via SSN
The bad credit fixer would like to discuss the issue of credit history being generated by accounts assigned to social security numbers which in many instances are not correct or can be faudulent.
Social security numbers are public and can be obtained from any 1003 Residential Loan Application or purchasing leads from the credit bureaus. This practice has created the situation where millions of Americans find accounts which are not theirs on their credit reports.
In most circumstances these accounts create a negative credit history and it is very difficult if not impossible to get them removed. Instead of innocent until proven g
Retirement Information and Services
... All of OPM Retirement ... Income Tax Calculator; Life Events; Report of Death; Retirement Publications
OPM terminates contract for electronic retirement calculator (10/16/08 ...
The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday ended a contract with Hewitt Associates because it was not satisfied with the company's performance in creating, developing and ...
FEGLI Home Page
OPM.gov Home | Subject Index | Important Links | ... This calculator allows you to determine the face value of ... and see how the life insurance carried into retirement will ...
Retirement Service Credit Payment Calculator
This is the Office of Personnel Management's website for online retirement services. On this website, you may determine the tax-free portion of your annuity payment.
OPM Settles on Retirement Calculator - Tech Insider
This from FedBlog and fellow blogger Alyssa Rosenberg: The Office of Personnel Management has settled its dispute with Hewitt Associates over a faulty retirement calculator for the ...
Stephen Barr - OPM Halts Work on Retirement Calculator ...
The Office of Personnel Management sent a "stop work" letter to the contractor developing a software system to calculate retirement benefits for federal employees, officials said ...
OPM terminates contract for electronic retirement calculator - Nextgov
The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday ended a contract with Hewitt Associates because it was not satisfied with the company's performance in creating, developing and ...
OPM to offer retirement calculator - Federal news, government ...
Your online source for federal news, government operations, agency management, federal pay & benefits.
OPM halts work on retirement calculator - Federal news ...
Your online source for federal news, government operations, agency management, federal pay & benefits.
NIH/OHR - Benefits - Retirement
HHS Retirement Calculator for Employees Covered by the Civil Service' Retirement System; HR Information and Benefits System (HRIBS) OPM Retirement Facts Brochures (all .pdf files)