     Anonymous | Sunday, March 19, 2000 - 10:15 am 
A lot of people don't understand that you can get your credit score when you go to the bureau to get your report all you need to do is ask for it. |
| Christine Baker (Admin) | Sunday, March 19, 2000 - 06:21 pm
Where do I go? |
| Lynn Whealer | Monday, March 20, 2000 - 08:31 am
As recently as mid-February, when I got all 3 of my reports, I asked all 3 CRA's about getting the score, and was explicitly told that they are not provided to the consumer. If your experience was different, who did you talk/write to? Do you have a phone number, contact, or address?
Currently the only way I know of getting a score is to do a "hard" inquiry with a CRA subscriber who will agree to then disclose the scores to you. If the info above is true, it would allow the consumer to "track" his/her score without accumulating unnecessary hits on inquiries. |
| Sean (Sean) | Monday, March 20, 2000 - 04:56 pm
The above is not true. Whoever anonymous is they're blowing smoke up your... |
| Anonymous | Monday, March 20, 2000 - 05:30 pm
I went to Trans Union and ask for my report i told them i need my score i was going to buy a home they said no problem.
It cost $2 more |
| Maurice | Sunday, March 26, 2000 - 06:21 pm
A friend stopped by the other day and I ran her credit report (Experian) through QSpace and got her FICO score through eloan.com.
The result? 788
Her credit report is as follows: 20-year history, no derogatories, three inquiries in two years, no real-estate loan, one installment loan with a $3,000 balance (from $8,000).
The remainder of her file consisted of major credit cards and department-store cards -- probably 12 or so. She had large open lines of revolving credit, all with tiny or no balances. All in all, about 98 percent of 40K available.
Among Discover, First USA and AT&T Universal, she had $28,000 of available credit and ZERO balances with each.
She also had three department-store cards she hadn't used in years but never closed. All had zero balances showing. One card she hadn't used since 1989 was still reporting.
My score, which eloan got from Equifax, was 707. I have only four trade lines -- all major credit cards with very low balances in proportion to the lines. There are no derogatories in my file.
Next month, I'll have an installment loan reporting because I just bought a new car. The best rate the dealer said he could get me was 9.9 percent. He said I had "good credit" but that my file was too "thin" to get the best bank rate.
A few days later, the bank that financed my car called me with a preapproval for a Platinum MasterCard, explaining that my credit was excellent. The rate after the 3.9 percent introductory period: 15.24 percent, fractionally better than the national average last week.
So, I wasn't the best risk, according to the dealer. But then the bank turns around and gives me their best card, saying I WAS their best risk. Go figure.
Wonder if my friend could go over 800 just by officially closing old, unused accounts and keeping slightly higher balances on her cards?
Wonder if I could get up to 750 by making six on-time payments on the new car loan and carrying slightly higher balances on my cards?
I'll be in the market for a mortgage in 12-18 months and want the highest score I can get. But after reading this thread and other threads on this board, I haven't a clue on how to attain a significantly higher score.
And I guess this is folks such as Greg and Christine's beef: the paucity of information and the inherent mystery of it all.
BTW, the highest salary my friend ever has earned in a year is $24,500. The credit-card companies simply kept upgrading the quality of her cards and the credit lines because of her excellent payment history and the responsible use of her cards. |
| Sean (Sean) | Sunday, March 26, 2000 - 06:25 pm
Sounds like you'd benefit from having 20+ years of credit history and a few more credit card tradelines. |
| SHERRY L FRANCIS (Sherry) | Sunday, April 16, 2000 - 09:41 am
HI, I JUST APPLYED FOR A SECOND MORTGAGE. MY MIDDLE SCORE(THE ONE THEY GO BY) WAS 692.I WAS DENIED THE LOAN AND TOLD I'D NEED A SCORE OF 700. WHAT CAN I DO TO RAISE MY SCORE.I HAVE 3 CREDIT CARDS THAT HAVE A ZERO BALANCE.WOULD IT HELP IF I CLOSE THOSE ACCOUNTS.2 OF THEM HAVE BEEN USED AND PAYED OFF.THE OTHER,WAS NEVER USED AT ALL.AND I STILL HAVE 2 OTHER ONES WITH A BALANCE ON THEM.WHAT CAN I DO TO RAISE MY SCORE?I ONLY NEED TO RAISE IT A LITTLE BIT. PLEASE HELP |
| kristy welsh - creditinfocenter.com (Kristy) | Monday, April 17, 2000 - 05:45 am
I suggest you shop around for another mortgage company or broker. Your score is pretty good, really. |
