Customer Service

How can I understand my score?

It takes time and there is no quick fix for eliminating past aspects of your credit history that may be affecting your score. In fact, quick-fix efforts usually don't work. Be sure to avoid "credit repair" clinics that offer to remove late payments or bankruptcies from your credit record. Such clinics are often disreputable, preying on vulnerable consumers who are often desperate for help. It is illegal for these clinics to offer to remove accurate and timely negative items from your credit history. If you are unsure about a clinic's credibility, contact the Better Business Bureau before signing up. The best advice is to monitor your credit responsibly over time.

Scores can change gradually over time as one's overall credit picture gets better. That happens by engaging in creditworthy behavior going forward, such as paying your bills on time and using credit conservatively. In addition, you should focus on the key factors provided with your score. We will sell you your credit score and include an explanation of the factors affecting your score. These are the main elements or factors affecting your credit score. Here are some illustrations of the "dos" and "don'ts" of creditworthy behavior:

Do

• Pay your bills on time. Delinquent payments and collections can have a significantly negative impact on your score.
• If you have missed payments, get current and stay current.
• Pay off debt rather than move it around.
• Re-establish your credit history if you have had problems. Opening new accounts responsibly and paying them off on time may help in the long term.
• Apply for and open new credit accounts only as needed.
• Keep credit cards but manage them responsibly. In general, having credit cards and installment loans (and paying timely payments) may help in the long term. Someone with no credit cards, for example, tends to be a higher risk than someone who has managed credit cards responsibly.
• If you are having trouble making ends meet, contact your creditors or see a legitimate credit counselor.
• Keep balances low on credit cards and other revolving credit.

Do Not:

• Close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to raise your score.
• Open a number of new credit cards that you do not need, just to increase your available credit. This approach could backfire and actually lower your score.
• If you have had credit for a short time, do not open a lot of new accounts too rapidly. New accounts could lower your average account age, which will have a larger effect on your score if you do not have a lot of other credit information. Also, rapid account build-up can look risky if you are a new credit user.
• Do your rate shopping for a given loan within a short period of time. FICO® scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new credit lines, in part by the length of time over which inquiries occur.