You may have seen commercials advertising websites to check your credit score.
During the couple hours per day I watch TV I see at least a handful, or while browsing the web I frequently bump into credit score advertisements; they are everywhere.
However, I'd suggest that you do not give into these websites and waste your money on their "fake" credit score products.
And here's why.
Even though these credit scores can be helpful in determining your ballpark credit score, they are almost always completely off what your true credit score is.
The only company that provides a true credit score is FICO.
FICO, which stands for Fair Isaac Corporation, is the company that invented the scoring system that checks out a person's credit history and "scores" them with a number that is usually between 500 and 800, with 800 being extremely high and 500 being fairly low.
FICO uses an extremely complex system to score someone's creditworthiness, and this system has not been duplicated by any other company.
Because this system is so complex and reliable, lenders use it to look up someone's credit history, and therefore determine the risk they would have by lending to that person.
A person with a high credit score is low-risk, and has demonstrated ability to pay back money borrowed on time and consistently.
Alternatively, someone with a low credit score often has a poor credit history, or no credit history at all.
A person with a high credit score also gets lower rates on house and car loans, among other things; while a low credit score results in high interest rates and difficulty in getting any kinds of loans at all.
Beware of websites that try to entice you into buying their credit score products.
There is only one accurate and reliable credit scoring system, and that is FICO.
During the couple hours per day I watch TV I see at least a handful, or while browsing the web I frequently bump into credit score advertisements; they are everywhere.
However, I'd suggest that you do not give into these websites and waste your money on their "fake" credit score products.
And here's why.
Even though these credit scores can be helpful in determining your ballpark credit score, they are almost always completely off what your true credit score is.
The only company that provides a true credit score is FICO.
FICO, which stands for Fair Isaac Corporation, is the company that invented the scoring system that checks out a person's credit history and "scores" them with a number that is usually between 500 and 800, with 800 being extremely high and 500 being fairly low.
FICO uses an extremely complex system to score someone's creditworthiness, and this system has not been duplicated by any other company.
Because this system is so complex and reliable, lenders use it to look up someone's credit history, and therefore determine the risk they would have by lending to that person.
A person with a high credit score is low-risk, and has demonstrated ability to pay back money borrowed on time and consistently.
Alternatively, someone with a low credit score often has a poor credit history, or no credit history at all.
A person with a high credit score also gets lower rates on house and car loans, among other things; while a low credit score results in high interest rates and difficulty in getting any kinds of loans at all.
Beware of websites that try to entice you into buying their credit score products.
There is only one accurate and reliable credit scoring system, and that is FICO.