Credit Score

Understand credit reports: What it is used for

Annualcreditreport.com offers a free credit review from each of the three main credit bureaux (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) once every 12 years. This website, however, does not contain any credit checks, more specifically FICO score. Be careful with other websites that have free credit reporting. Be sure to always check the small text before purchasing a credit item that you may not need.

Your free credit reports content will vary as your creditors provide credit bureaus with up-to-date information. When you are considering a larger acquisition or are working on improving your FICO score, you should review your credit reports more than once a year. Lots of websites provide general credit ratings that are not used by creditors.

When you are about to make a large buy, you should probably review your FICO score, not just a credit score. When you really want to be sure that you see the same information that your lender judges you by, then ask the lender what score they are using and then buy that accurate score or record of notches.

As an example, it is typically for a borrower to review all three FICO-scores when he rates you for a credit. Some car credit providers, however, can only use one FICO score to get you eligible for a car credit. Ensure that you see the credit score that your creditor uses to rate you!

UK Equifax

So if you do not fulfill the requirements of a creditor, you may still be able to obtain credit from someone else. However, if you are denied credit, it is important to find out why you were denied before making another request. They should also be cognizant that too many credit seekers in a brief space of times can be rated badly by creditors.

Which is a credit reference?