Find Answers to Your Credit Questions
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Credit Scores
There are many misconceptions about credit scores. In this column we seek to sort out myth from reality.
Is there more than one credit score? How do inquiries affect credit scores? How are they used by lenders? How can you get your credit scores? What are risk factor statements, and how can you use them to improve your credit scores? Find out the answers to these and more questions, or submit your own question.
- “Compromise sale” of home will hurt credit
- Balance-to-limit ratio applies only to revolving accounts
- Checking your own report will not hurt your credit scores
- Closing accounts after death of husband
- Closing accounts when you have good credit scores
- Credit score factor “proportion of balances too high,” with virtually no balances
- Credit scores hurt by lack of revolving accounts
- Declined loan because credit score cannot be calculated
- Discharged bankruptcy will still affect credit scores
- Education level does not affect credit scores
- Getting your own report, paying credit cards won’t hurt your credit scores
- Getting your personal report does not affect credit scores
- How often to purchase your credit scores
- Impact of balance transfers on credit scores
- Impact of inquiries is minimal when shopping for a mortgage
- Impact of missing one mortgage payment
- Impact on credit scores of missed payments, mortgage modification
- Lowering credit limits could hurt credit scores
- Making multiple payments each month can help credit scores
- Meaning of “proportion of balances to high credit on revolving accounts”
- Opting out of preapproved offers does not help credit scores
- Ordering your own report doesn’t hurt credit scores
- Paying collection accounts in full can help, but might not improve credit scores
- Paying credit card bills early doesn’t hurt scores
- Paying everything off may not improve scores immediately
- Paying off closed or charged off accounts can help scores over time
- Pre-paid cards will not help credit scores
- Purchasing your own scores will not hurt future credit scores
- Repaying a large purchase with minimum payments can hurt credit scores
- Requesting a decrease in your credit limit can hurt credit scores
- Requesting lower credit limits could hurt credit scores
- Risk factors are key to improving credit scores
- Several months of recent history needed to calculate credit score
- Spouse opening new credit card accounts
- Test your credit score knowledge at CreditScoreQuiz.org
- The difference between FICO and Fast StartSM
- The difference between PLUS scores and FICO scores
- The effect on credit scores of paying off and closing credit cards
- The impact of a new mortgage on credit scores
- The impact on credit scores when you exceed your credit limit
- The meaning of “too few accounts rated current”
- There are different credit scores, but not different “levels” of credit reports
- Time is necessary before credit score can be calculated
- What a Vantage Score “D” means and how to make it better
- Why credit scores change even with little account activity
- Why high school students do not have a “beginning credit score”
- Why you can’t retrieve a credit score from last year
- You cannot dispute a credit score
- Your credit report does not show that your application was declined