If you don’t know what a credit score is, then you’re not alone. About half the people in the US don’t know what a credit score is, and how it affects them. According to financial experts, credit scores are something that everyone should know about, since even retailers use this data to find out whether you’re a reliable person to do business with.
Credit scores play an important role in all types of financial transactions.
Some of the most crucial aspects where your credit score would matter include –
The Requirement Of Credit
While you should get free credit score for all your credit requirements, credit history also becomes a critical factor when you’re applying for any type of credit, signing up for utilities, insurance, or other big expenses. Everyone is required to know about credit reporting and credit scores. It’s an important aspect of their financial lives. You don’t want to stay in the dark about your credit history, since that can be potentially disastrous for you when you do go to apply for credit at a bank. That’s why you should apply for a free credit score report every year to see how you’ve been doing.
Approval Of Loans
With the rising awareness of credit scores and reports, it’s becoming important to understand the how credit scores impact your chances of securing loans and other credit from lenders. If you have high credit scores, you’ll get fast approvals and better deals when it comes to interest rates and repayment periods. Given the massive impact of credit score, it’s important to track borrowings and repayments. If you have a bad credit report or no report at all, that’s something that lenders will take as a sign to jack up your interest rates, since they’re not sure how reliable you are as a borrower. Worst case, they might even reject your application altogether.
In this scenario, if you don’t know what your credit figure looks like, immediately get a free credit score. The Federal Law has mentioned that every person should have get a free credit report. If you don’t have a credit history, it’s high time that you start building it.
Debunking The Myths
Income isn’t a vital part of the credit report or to calculate credit scores. The truth is your monthly wages aren’t that useful when it comes to whether or not you can pay off your debts on time. There are many people who have millions of dollars in their banks, but don’t pay off debts on time.
Similarly, you won’t get anything in the free credit score that includes savings or checking. The debt reflects your debit and credit relationships and predicts the probability of you repaying your debts.
There are companies that work on collecting and maintaining credit information of consumers. These are known as credit reporting agencies (CRAs). There are three such major CRAs in the country, namely Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Apart from these, there are other smaller-scale agencies too that specialize at the job. If you’re worried about “where to get my credit score?,” the larger CRAs are the most reliable bets.
These major CRAs obtain information from companies that you hold business and transactions with. People or companies that lend you money regularly report to these CRAs on your repaying status. There is also detailed information on the amount you are indebted and whether you have ever defaulted on your payments. Aside from the reports obtained from lenders, these companies also tally your general records based on certain other aspects. Some of these aspects are your public records from the local and state judiciary. These include your tax records and bankruptcy information. This information makes up an important chunk of your credit score and its report.
Equifax
Present in 24 countries, Equifax is an agency that offers consumers protection against identity theft and credit fraudulence. They also sell credit reports and credit monitoring assistance to businesses.
Experian
Experian started off in London and is now a trusted agency in 39 different countries. It provides you with a credit score, credit report, and even credit tracker on subscription. The agency uses FICO 8 system of credit score calculation. Experian was a part of Forbes’ “World’s Most Innovative Companies” in 2018.
TransUnion
Based across 30 countries with a database of over 1 billion consumers, TransUnion is another CRA giant. The agency, like the other ones, will provide you with your credit score and your credit reports. In case you decide to freeze your TransUnion credit report, it will also go the extra mile to notify Equifax and Experian, which frankly is a big help especially in case of identity theft and credit fraud.
So, the next time you are sat wondering “where to get my credit score?,” think of these three giants that provide you with an annual credit score and credit report for free once each year. However, if you are looking for more frequent updates, you can subscribe to their services and receive your monthly updates.
Did you know that you have more than a single credit score? Agencies calculate your credit score based on the data in your credit reports. If you are wondering, “where to get my credit score?,” there are three main credit reporting agencies. These can have different credit scores for you if your information on each of their credit reports is different. Also, these agencies charge a fee to reveal your credit score.
Recently, it has become easier to track and get hold of your credit score without paying any fees. You can get it from your credit card company, your loan provider, and even from a non-profit counselor. Here are a few tips you can use to check your score.