Lesson #6: Credit Score

Have you ever used a website to get your credit score and you are so excited that you practically run to the bank to apply for that new car loan or credit card? Then you get there and the (not so nice) loan officer has a score that is almost twenty points lower than the one you got.  Most banks and credit unions use credit reporting agencies that use what's known as a FICO scoring model to get your credit score.  There is a fee charged to the financial institution each time they pull your credit score.  So what some of these sites have decided to do, in order to avoid paying the fee, is create their own model, which is similar to the FICO model, in order to determine your credit score based on the information provided on your report. So don't chew off the loan officer's head, take deep breaths, and take a second look at your credit report, they may be a mistake on there that once fixed could bump your score up after all.  Remember...capital counts ; )