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Solving the riddle of your credit score
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It's important to note that someone who has only one credit-card account -- no loans, no other credit accounts reported to the bureaus -- would find that her credit score will suffer more when her credit report shows that her card is maxed out. However, someone with several active credit cards who has not missed a payment for many years and who typically keeps low balances on her cards won't get hit so hard if occasionally she maxes out.
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Your credit report is free -- check it regularly to be sure everything's correct
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Credit reports now are free to consumers, so Orr, a Wichita resident, takes advantage of the service as often as possible.
'I'm worried about identity theft,' he said.
Orr scans his reports for any mistakes and has found several, including accounts that should have been closed, his mortgage listed under two account numbers and an incorrect birth date.
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Credit score looks at accounts as a whole, each individual card
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The credit-scoring algorithm looks at the credit utilization rate for each active account and, separately, a person's credit usage for several accounts together, said Craig Watts, public affairs manager for Fair Isaac, the company that created the FICO credit score used by many lenders to evaluate consumer credit risk
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The fine points of credit scoring
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The credit-scoring algorithm looks at the credit utilization rate for each active account and, separately, a person's credit usage for several accounts together, said Craig Watts, public affairs manager for Fair Isaac, the company that created the FICO credit score used by many lenders to evaluate consumer credit risk.
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Exercise your right to free credit reports
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The recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide consumers with a free credit report copy (upon request) every 12 months, has increased the questions I receive about credit reports.
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Cracking the credit-scoring algorithm
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I'm always trying to crack the credit-scoring code that plays a big role in determining how much consumers pay for the money they borrow.
The credit-scoring algorithm looks at the credit-utilization rate for each active account and, separately, a person's credit usage for several accounts together, said Craig Watts, public-affairs manager for Fair Isaac, the company that created the FICO credit score used by many lenders to evaluate consumer credit risk.
According to Watts, here is what's factored into your credit score:
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Consumer financial myths
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Consumers are bombarded with financial misinformation. Here are some consumer finance facts that confuse people...
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Get Your Credit Report Free
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If you're like the majority of Americans, you don't know what your credit score is, let alone what it's used for.
Traditionally used to approve mortgage loans, the three-digit number representing your credit risk is now influencing a number of other business transactions.
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How to Improve Your Credit Rating
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No one extends the credit required for a mortgage or a car loan to a person with a poor credit score. Lots of people don't learn this lesson until their credit is shot and they're stuck paying off years of accumulated debt.
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7 fast fixes for your credit score
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In order to improve your credit score, it's important to know where you stand currently. Despite all the media attention given to free credit reports, you still have to pay to find out your credit score, the three-digit number ranging from 300 to 850 that is the key to your borrowing costs.
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Consumer Credit Reports must be shredded
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Anyone who uses consumer reports for business purposes is now required to take appropriate measures to dispose of the data to protect against 'unauthorized access to or use of the information.' The Disposal Rule, a part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, went into effect last month.
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Credit After Bankruptcy
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Not only can you get credit, you might actually get more credit offers after declaring you can't pay your debts. So why are lenders willing to give folks a credit card when they know they have filed for bankruptcy? Once you file for bankruptcy, you can't do it again for many years. In the past it was six years. However, under the recently passed bankruptcy law, debtors who file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy court protection will not be able to get any future debts dismissed for eight years.
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Credit Card transactions less secure then expected.
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'Unfortunately, the nature of cyber-crime, and identity theft, is such that law enforcement will probably always be involved in a game of catch-up,' said Paul Luehr, Minneapolis-based vice president for Stroz Friedberg LLC, a national computer forensics and consulting firm.
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Interest Rates raised by Sky Financial
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Sky Financial Group
(Nasdaq: SKYF) announced that it is raising the prime interest rate to 6.25
percent from 6.0 percent, effective today.
The prime rate is a benchmark used to set interest rates on various forms
of corporate and consumer credit. It is one of several interest rate indexes
used by Sky. The prime rate last changed on May 3, 2005.
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Closing Credit Card Accounts may Hurt Credit Score
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Pay down your debt, and take advantage of low-interest promotions when you can. But don't close the old accounts. Your credit score will stay higher if you keep the accounts open because the average age of your accounts will increase, along with your available credit.
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Consumer Credit "Security Freeze" to prevent ID Theft
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Thanks to a bill passed last year by the Legislature, Louisiana consumers will be able to place a 'security freeze' on their credit report, state Attorney General Charles Foti's office said.
With a security freeze in place, a credit reporting agency cannot release the consumer's credit report or credit score without his express authorization. The freeze does not affect a consumer's right to a free copy of his credit report.
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