Automatic Rent Payments
by Electronic Check or Credit Card

The Federal Trade Commission explains your rights to access consumer reporting information that affects your credit score. You can access your credit report for free from each of the 3 credit bureaus once a year. The best way to use this to your advantage is to pull one credit report every 4 months from one of the credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. By the end of a year you will have used your 3 allotments. The only official website designated for this purpose is www.annualcreditreport.com.

If there is information on a credit report that has been reported inaccurately, then you can write that credit bureau and explain why it is not accurate. Send copies of documentation that show why the information is incorrect.

If a company denies you credit, insurance, or employment, you are entitled under federal law to ask for a copy of the credit report they pulled on you. You have 60 days to make this request in writing. The denial notice that you receive should include the name, address, and phone number of the credit bureau to contact.

Your credit score is not included with your credit report. The credit report shows factors that affect your credit score, but not that actual credit score. You will have to pay for your credit score separately. You can order that from any of the 3 credit bureaus. You can also use a FICO score estimator that is available from Bankrate, Inc and myFico.

Your credit score is a number that is also referred to as your FICO score. This gives lenders the ability to assess how likely your are to pay back a loan on time. The higher your credit score, the less risk they assume, and the better loan rate you receive.

Companies report your payment history to 3 major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. They may not all have the same information so your credit score may vary slightly depending on which bureau your credit score is pulled from. They report on your payment history, the length of your credit history, the amounts you owe, and the types of credit you have.

Credit scores can range from a low of 300 to a perfect score of 850. These are the levels of risk and FICO scales that are commonly used to determine what kind of loan you can get and the cost of that loan.

760 - 850 Excellent, lowest rates

700 - 759 Very Good, relatively low rates

680 - 699 Acceptable, normal loan rates

620 - 679 Uncertain, higher rates

Below 620 High Risk, highest rates

Many lenders use 620 as a base number since anything less is considered high risk. Do the best you can to get your credit score above 620 before seeking a new loan.