Many people starting a credit repair program are under the misconception that the credit bureaus are in some way connected to the government. It is easy to understand this perception. But, as influential as they are, the credit bureaus have no government blessing, charter, or otherwise. They are big business. There are three credit bureaus that count. They are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. They are in the business of gathering credit data about you and selling it to potential creditors.
The Fourth Contender
There is one other credit bureau of substance called Innovis. Innovis is a significant player in the credit data markets, but is not a concern for your credit repair effort. They specialize in gathering and sorting data for pre-screened credit card offers. The mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were instrumental in the accent of Innovis when, in 2001, they demanded that their mortgage servicers report payment histories to Innovis. At the moment Innovis operates behind the scenes, but there have long been rumors that they are planning an assault on the consumer market.
The Credit Score of Choice
Almost without exception lenders use a single type of credit score in making loan decisions. This is called the FICO score and will become a focal point of your credit repair project. FICO is an acronym for the inventor of the score, Fair Isaac and Co. The three bureaus sell these FICO scores directly to lenders and have re-named them for marketing reasons; Equifax calls it a BEACON score; TransUnion calls it an EMPIRICA score; and Experian calls it the EXPERIAN/Fair Isaac Risk Model.
Your Scores May Vary
At the outset of your credit repair project you may want to benchmark your effort by checking your credit scores. You will notice that your scores with the three bureaus are different. This is because each bureau receives data from a different mix of creditors. Some creditors report to all three bureaus, but many don’t. If you examine your three reports you will see that some accounts are missing on each bureau. Reporting schedules also play a roll. Changes in your balances are normally picked up sooner at one bureau than another.
The Makeup of Your Score
The precise formula for calculating your credit score is kept secret. But Fair Isaac offers a significant amount of information about the rudiments. If you are looking for credit repair results it is wise to familiarize yourself with the basics. As you start to work on optimizing your scores you will begin to develop an intuitive grasp of the nature of the scoring model.
Payments
Your payment history comes first and plays a major roll. This includes installment and revolving debt payments. The age of each derogatory event reduces the impact it will have on your score. For credit repair purposes, don’t worry about the past, just make sure that you make all payments on time from now on and you will be fine. Fair Isaac says that this category represents 35% of your score.
Balances
Your balances are the next category, and although in second place, they may be the most important to your credit repair project and to any effort you are making to optimize your scores. Revolving balances carry the most weight, and the relationship between your balance and the limit on your revolving accounts is the key. Installment balances come into play as well; older, time-tested installment debt will help your scores. Fair Isaac indicates that this category makes up 30% of your score.
Age
The age of your credit plays a role as well. New credit will depress your scores for the simple reason that it is untested. You may need to build new credit as part of your credit repair project, but as each month passes the negative impact of new accounts fade quickly. Old accounts are a credit repair asset and should be preserved. This category makes up 15% of your score.
Inquiries
Credit inquiries have a negative but small impact on your scores. Inquiries indicate to the FICO model that you are planning to incur new debt. Fair Isaac credit score engineers will lower your scores temporarily when you have inquiries as a warning to prospective lenders that your budget may be facing new challenges. The impact of inquires fade quickly. Fair Isaac weighs this at 10% of your score.
The Right Mix
Last and least, the type of credit makes up the final 10% of the score calculation. This last category brings to light the fact that there is an ideal mix of debt types for credit score perfection. Fair Isaac does not reveal what the perfect mix is, but when it comes to credit repair success you should focus on building a nice balance of accounts, making your payments on time, and keeping your revolving balances down.
