Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

Credit Scoring is already a confusing enough topic to understand. One of the most common myths about credit scores is that there is only one credit score. Web sites or financial advisors who claim there is only one “real” credit score are either misinformed or are being misleading. In fact, there are many different credit scores used by lenders – some estimate more than 1,000 – although some scores are used more predominantly than others. There are even some check approval services that have also develop risk models and scoring that are based on check writing patterns in order to predict the risk of a particular check being returned. The most commonly used credit score is a credit risk score. A credit risk score is designed to assist lenders by predicting whether or not a consumer will pay their bills on time in the future. The most common credit risk score is designed and developed by a company called Fair Isaac Corporation. This Minneapolis based company builds the industry standard “FICO” score.

There are many different places where consumers can purchase their credit reports and credit scores however not all of the scores being sold are, in fact, the authentic FICO score.  You may also have more than one FICO score as each of the three major credit reporting agencies collect and report information in slightly different ways; since your credit score from each agency only uses the information contained in that agency’s report, it’s possible to have three different scores.

When you are shopping online for your credit reports and credit scores be sure that the score you are buying is branded as the authentic FICO® Credit Score. These can be purchased through various reputable web sites such as http://www.myfico.com.