CreditReform wrote:...You have an agenda...
I don't want to rain on your conspiracy parade, but I'm afraid you're mistaken. None of the people who responded to you are employees of Fair Issac; in fact if you read old posts most of us have struggled with how to raise our own credit scores. The only agenda we have here is to decode some of the confusion, and help each other learn how to get the best benefit out of our own credit.
Fico scoring uses past and current behavior to predict future behavior. It does this to answer one key question for potential lenders: "How likely are you to pay the money back as agreed?"
If your credit history shows you are someone who uses credit (has an active credit card with a balance, a car loan, a mortgage, etc.) and uses it responsibly (always pays on time, pays in full every month, etc.) you are, based on previous data, more likely to successfully pay back a loan as agreed. If you are new to credit, or recently added credit, you are statistically less likely to pay it back. Statistically, not personally. If 9 out of 10 people with your score default, maybe you are the one in ten that doesn't.
Just like with life insurance, being in different risk groups means you are treated differently. Banks will charge more to high risk groups, because a certain number of them will default.
Having good credit is fairly simple; all you have to do is always pay on time, and show a history of using credit responsibly. And the way to show that is detailed at length on these boards. If you came to blow off steam and stick it to the man, you're in the wrong place. But if you want to take hold of the reigns, and learn to win the credit game instead of being a victim of it, you came to the right place.
Please feel free to join us, share your experiences, and get some good advice. Personally, I went from a score in the 500's to one in the 700's with what I learned here. I had one three hundred dollar credit card and a 19% car loan - now I own a home, have 40 grand in available credit, and my car is at a 1.5% rate. It can be done. The first step is taking responsibility, educating yourself, and owning it.
On the other hand, if you think the credit game is so unfair, put your money where your mouth is. There are plenty of websites like Prosper.com where you can lend your own money to people with various scores. Put your savings on the block... and start looking at credit profiles. Decide if you still feel the same once it's your own money on the line.
Either way, best of luck, and welcome to the forums.
