You may have heard about a FICO score, and wondered what it is. Your score is a part of your overall credit rating, which includes not only this score, but also includes all of the credit accounts that you have, any legal actions that have been taken against you, and how many companies have checked your credit. Let's go into detail regarding what your score entails.
When asking what is a FICO score, you have to begin with the past. Your credit history determines in large part how you are rated currently in terms of your score. Late payments, bankruptcy, collections, charge offs and other negative credit information will negatively impact your score. These negative items can remain on your report anywhere from seven t0 ten years. If you have any of these negative items on your report, start immediately to clear this information from your report. Pay all outstanding bills, or make arrangements with your creditors if you cannot afford to pay them right away. There is nothing you can do to remove information that is correct from your report, but creditors look at the amount of time you have responsibly held credit. Even with very bad information on your record, if you can manage to keep any new negative information off your record for a period of time, your FICO score will improve.
The second part of where you fall in the credit score range is the present. Do you have a large number of open accounts? Are these accounts "maxed out", meaning that you have used almost your entire line? These are negatives that will bring your score down significantly. If you are near the limit on your accounts, stop making new charges against them. Begin to pay off your balances as fast as possible. When the balances are paid, be sure to only use a portion of your credit line in the future. One note: do not close any of your older accounts. The longer you have had your accounts open, the higher your score. Start now to improve your credit score.