Re: FICO Scores

Marienkaefer2 · ‎03-09-2010

On 3/27/2014 gazelle77 said:
On 3/27/2014 straykatz said:
On 3/27/2014 gazelle77 said:
On 3/27/2014 straykatz said:
On 3/27/2014 gazelle77 said:
On 3/27/2014 straykatz said:
On 3/27/2014 Ford1224 said:
On 3/27/2014 gazelle77 said:
Yes- it is kind of confusing... you can have too much credit and look bad, or not have enough or any and look bad. Having a good income does not hurt. Owing a lot on your cards even if you pay on time can really knock your score down. Better to have just a few cards, not have too high a limit on each card, and not owe a lot on those cards.

Many years ago while I was still working and making good money, my scores were always excellent, over 800. I never had a problem getting a mortgage or buying a car, etc. I also had about eight or ten cards which I always paid more than the minimum payment. So I was handling my debt well, but I had a lot more debt then than I do now.

I now have only three cards with very low balances. However, I am much older, retired, and I have no idea if these credit agencies have access to my health records . . . that would be a good thing to find out. However, I think all of that probably factors in also.

No and why would they? However, unpaid medicals bills that end up in collection can show on your report if that collection agency reports the debt.

because credit cards are no different than a loan... plus they are insecured credit... they want to know as much about you as possible to see if anything could affect your paying them back. Companies have access to everything... they just pay for it. So next time you fill out one of those health histories at your doctor... and tell them everything... know that what they tell you is private is NOT PRIVATE AT ALL.

Your private Information is sold on the open market like stocks.

gazelle....she asked if her Health Records were on file at the credit bureau....NO THEY ARE NOT!....your health records are protected by HIPPA!

OK. Believe what makes you comfortable. No problem...

I don't need to just believe what makes me comfortable because I worked at Experian and have a lot of knowledge about the credit industry both from working there and previously from working for a major auto loan lender.

O.K.

If no one admits to anything, then how do you know? How are you privy to what's really going on?

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.--Marcus Tullius Cicero

LilacTree · ‎03-25-2012

Starting a new response re the HIPAA (correct initials) information being made available to the credit agencies. THEY ARE NOT. I just had a conversation with a representative of Experian, who said the only thing medical they see are unpaid bills. They have absolutely NO access to an individual's health records.

He also told me that the three agencies report directly to FICO itself, and FICO is the one who calculates the scores. He suggested I go to www.myfico.com to discuss this further as to why the discrepancy in scoring. That surprised me, but we do learn something new every day, don't we?

I may or may not do that today. Right now I have a headache, LOL.

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986

stilltamn8r · ‎03-14-2010

yes, your hospital health records are protected by HPPA, but if you owe money to, say an Oncologist.. that will show up on your credit record, and the person/bank reading your credit report could certainly draw the conclusion that you might have cancer.

straykatz · ‎03-09-2010

On 3/27/2014 stilltamn8r said:
yes, your hospital health records are protected by HPPA, but if you owe money to, say an Oncologist.. that will show up on your credit record, and the person/bank reading your credit report could certainly draw the conclusion that you might have cancer.

${#emotions_dlg.rolleyes}$ ....loans are not approved or denied based on a drawn conclusion...they are based on actual facts listed in credit history reports and income statements.

stilltamn8r · ‎03-14-2010

On 3/27/2014 straykatz said:
On 3/27/2014 stilltamn8r said:
yes, your hospital health records are protected by HPPA, but if you owe money to, say an Oncologist.. that will show up on your credit record, and the person/bank reading your credit report could certainly draw the conclusion that you might have cancer.

${#emotions_dlg.rolleyes}$ ....loans are not approved or denied based on a drawn conclusion...they are based on actual facts listed in credit history reports and income statements.

Absolutely right- I was addressing the privacy issue raised above

KathyPet · ‎03-09-2010

ford, if all three bureaus have the identical same creditors listed with the same credit limits and outstanding balances then you are dealing with their individual proprietary scoring models and there is nothing you can do about it. Each bureau has developed complex programs that weight the information differently based on that bureau's calculations and I can guarantee they are not going to explain to anyone how that all works. if you get a individual,report and score from Experian they do have a section that gives you tips on how to improve your score based on your report but to be honest I have found that advice to be ridiculously generic and not even worth following. I think you know this but the credit bureaus do not do any sort of a debt to income calculation when they score you because they have no idea what your income is. They are only using the information they receive from your creditors and any other public records like collections or judgements. I always use My FICO to get my scores. Also, if you go to a individual,credit bureau and get their individual report and credit score then you are getting their calculation from their system and not from MY FICO. I am quite sure that MY FICO simply reports what the credit bureau tells them.

LilacTree · ‎03-25-2012

On 3/27/2014 KathyPet said: ford, if all three bureaus have the identical same creditors listed with the same credit limits and outstanding balances then you are dealing with their individual proprietary scoring models and there is nothing you can do about it. Each bureau has developed complex programs that weight the information differently based on that bureau's calculations and I can guarantee they are not going to explain to anyone how that all works. if you get a individual,report and score from Experian they do have a section that gives you tips on how to improve your score based on your report but to be honest I have found that advice to be ridiculously generic and not even worth following. I think you know this but the credit bureaus do not do any sort of a debt to income calculation when they score you because they have no idea what your income is. They are only using the information they receive from your creditors and any other public records like collections or judgements. I always use My FICO to get my scores.

According to the guy I spoke to, the individual bureaus don't do the calculating themselves. They send the information they get to FICO and FICO does it for all of them. Yes, MYFICO is where one would go to get the scores, one is allowed a free score once a year, plus whenever they are turned down for credit, they can get a free score then also. Otherwise, there is a fee.

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986

stilltamn8r · ‎03-14-2010

Right the lender will use the credit report to determine the debt to income ratio- - The credit report only reports the % of available credit being currently used-

The credit report has no idea what you currently make it is only when you fill out a credit app for a particular lender that this info comes to light-

lulu2 · ‎03-09-2010

Both of us are in our 60's. We do not carry a mortgage. I have no idea what our FICO score is, and obviously could not care less about it.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

On 3/27/2014 Ford1224 said:
On 3/27/2014 KathyPet said: ford, if all three bureaus have the identical same creditors listed with the same credit limits and outstanding balances then you are dealing with their individual proprietary scoring models and there is nothing you can do about it. Each bureau has developed complex programs that weight the information differently based on that bureau's calculations and I can guarantee they are not going to explain to anyone how that all works. if you get a individual,report and score from Experian they do have a section that gives you tips on how to improve your score based on your report but to be honest I have found that advice to be ridiculously generic and not even worth following. I think you know this but the credit bureaus do not do any sort of a debt to income calculation when they score you because they have no idea what your income is. They are only using the information they receive from your creditors and any other public records like collections or judgements. I always use My FICO to get my scores.

According to the guy I spoke to, the individual bureaus don't do the calculating themselves. They send the information they get to FICO and FICO does it for all of them. Yes, MYFICO is where one would go to get the scores, one is allowed a free score once a year, plus whenever they are turned down for credit, they can get a free score then also. Otherwise, there is a fee.

that is not correct - each company has their own scales with which they make their determination. And there are many more companies than just the 3 you can get reports from online. Some say the highest score would be 800 and some 1000 - so obviously where you fall on the number would be totally different.