Check Your Credit Report Regularly to Catch Possible Inaccuracies
What is a FICO Score?
The FICO® score, developed by Fair, Isaac and Company, Inc. (the pioneer in credit scoring) is a number between 300 and 900 that lenders use to determine your credit risk. A FICO score is a snapshot of your credit risk at a particular point in time. The higher your credit score the more likely you are to be approved for loans and receive favorable rates. Canada's largest financial institutions use FICO scores to make millions of credit decisions each year.
Equifax and Fair, Isaac demystified credit scores by being the first to provide consumers access to their FICO credit score - the credit score used by the vast majority of lenders to determine a consumer's credit risk.
With your credit report from Equifax you can:
- See the report lenders use most to qualify you for credit
- Plan for major purchases - car, home, education
- Find out who has accessed your credit report
Your credit report directly affects your financial dealings. A survey was done in Canada and found that only 1 out of 11 Canadians is aware of the contents of their credit report. Good credit eases the process of obtaining loans, mortgages, low-interest credit cards even the purchase of a cellular phone. A poor credit history may send a warning sign to potential credit grantors making it difficult or even impossible to get credit. Obtaining your credit report allows you to know where you stand when a lender runs a credit check on you. Accounts, derogatory information, and judgments can remain on your credit report six to ten years from the date filed. Bankruptcies can remain six to fourteen years.
Where does your credit stand?
STAY on top of your credit, check your credit report regularly to catch possible inaccuracies. Monitor your credit report to detect identity theft early and stop it before it seriously damages your credit
