Personal Credit Scores system

[tigerbob]

Anyone here understand credit scoring? I understand how they work in principle, but one thing has always surprised me a bit.

I lived in the US from 94-98. When I left, I have no idea what my credit rating was but I guess it wasn't bad. I then moved back to the UK for a decade, during which time I had no US bank account, no US credit cards, no US income and completed no US tax returns. However, I did have a credit card that I had forgotten to pay off before I left, that had gone into default by the time they tracked me down in England six months later, and that I then paid off from England.

About 2 weeks after I moved back here in 2008, I wanted to buy a full size pickup. I got a good 'Friends and Family' deal on a RAM 1500 and was going to buy it for cash, but the salesman told me I could get an extra $1000 off if I financed it (the minimum I could finance to qualify was $6K) and that I could pay it off after a month with no penalty, thereby not paying any interest. So I agreed to pay about $17,000 cash and finance the rest. He ran a credit chack on me (which I expected to come back not approved - after all I had only been back for 2 weeks and had no job, no house and no wage slips that I could show).

My credit score came back at 806. I have since learned that this is a pretty good score. How is that possible? It makes me think that the whole credit score system is pretty fucked up if someone like me, given those circumstances, can get an 806.

Anyone care to offer an opinion of why this should be, or have any similar stories?

 

[Big Black Dog]

I don't know how it works either but I do know that my credit score was 824 when I bought my pick-up truck about 9 months ago. To me, credit should be like (a) you have credit or (b) no credit. Makes no sense to me to have something in between.

 

[editec]

One wonders how one can be eliminated from the whole damned credit system?

This credit rating invention is brought to us by the very same people who brought us this economic meltdown.

The whole damed ediface of the consumer credit economy is the secondary device with which the masters fleece their flock.

It is the logical extention of the classist FEDERAL RESERVE BANKING system.

Sadly, few of us can avoid its tenacious grasp over our lives.

 

[Ravi]

Do you have a mortgage? Electric bill, cable bill, student loan, etc...don't all those affect your credit score?

I'd call and ask.

 

[tigerbob]

Do you have a mortgage? Electric bill, cable bill, student loan, etc...don't all those affect your credit score?

I'd call and ask.

I don't have a mortgage, but do own a house so certainly I now have electric bill / cable bil, etc. The point was that I didn't have at the time I financed the truck, so I have no idea what generated the credit rating.

 

[RodISHI]

Decision Management - Predictive Analytics - FICO

EPIC - Credit Scoring

Your Credit Score: How It All Adds Up | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

frontline: secret history of the credit card: more to explore: credit scores - what you should know about your own | PBS

 

[Ravi]

Do you have a mortgage? Electric bill, cable bill, student loan, etc...don't all those affect your credit score?

I'd call and ask.

I don't have a mortgage, but do own a house so certainly I now have electric bill / cable bil, etc. The point was that I didn't have at the time I financed the truck, so I have no idea what generated the credit rating.

If you were renting, that would count toward your score. Basically, the scores predict your ability to pay your bills...so unless you were dinged for nonpayment since you came back you'd have a decent score.

 

[GHook93]

I work at one of the credit bureaus. Your defaulted credit card wouldn't show up, because negative information can only stay on your credit report up to 7 years (BK can last up to 10).

But I highly doubt your story. Did you see your credit report. 800 FICO scores are nearly impossible to get and it sounds like you would have no credit history whatsoever. In those case they either assign you a 900 or a 0 score, indicating you don't have good or bad credit, rather you have no credit.

There is a chance the auto company uses the Vantage score, which runs from 500-990. 800 score would be at a B level.

Did you get a credit card since you been home? Any credit lines? Did you sign up for nicor gas? Do you rent? Does your landlord report your rent payments (there is a trend for many large property management firms to start reporting).

But there is no way in hell you have a 806 credit score.

The auto industry uses the FICO score (some use the new Vantage Score). FICO score runs from 300-850.

Anyone here understand credit scoring? I understand how they work in principle, but one thing has always surprised me a bit.

I lived in the US from 94-98. When I left, I have no idea what my credit rating was but I guess it wasn't bad. I then moved back to the UK for a decade, during which time I had no US bank account, no US credit cards, no US income and completed no US tax returns. However, I did have a credit card that I had forgotten to pay off before I left, that had gone into default by the time they tracked me down in England six months later, and that I then paid off from England.

About 2 weeks after I moved back here in 2008, I wanted to buy a full size pickup. I got a good 'Friends and Family' deal on a RAM 1500 and was going to buy it for cash, but the salesman told me I could get an extra $1000 off if I financed it (the minimum I could finance to qualify was $6K) and that I could pay it off after a month with no penalty, thereby not paying any interest. So I agreed to pay about $17,000 cash and finance the rest. He ran a credit chack on me (which I expected to come back not approved - after all I had only been back for 2 weeks and had no job, no house and no wage slips that I could show).

My credit score came back at 806. I have since learned that this is a pretty good score. How is that possible? It makes me think that the whole credit score system is pretty fucked up if someone like me, given those circumstances, can get an 806.

Anyone care to offer an opinion of why this should be, or have any similar stories?

 

[GHook93]

I don't know how it works either but I do know that my credit score was 824 when I bought my pick-up truck about 9 months ago. To me, credit should be like (a) you have credit or (b) no credit. Makes no sense to me to have something in between.

less that 2% of the public has over 800 scores and we just met 2!

Look there are NOT just one score out there. There is FICO (all these bureaus have different scores, EQ =Beacon, TU = Empirca, EXP = FICO), there is the new Vantage score, the BK Score, the Recovery Score, Fast Track, Custom Models, Scorex, etc.

Funny thing is if you get monitoring services and pull your credit report and score, you ARE NOT getting FICO. the only way to get FICO is through myfico.com!

 

[GHook93]

One wonders how one can be eliminated from the whole damned credit system?

Don't get anything on credit!

This credit rating invention is brought to us by the very same people who brought us this economic meltdown.

The credit system is a heck of a lot older than the current problem!

The whole damed ediface of the consumer credit economy is the secondary device with which the masters fleece their flock.

Credit is based off of:
(1) How you pay your current credit lines, pay on time good, bad late bad
(2) Your balance to credit limit ratios
(3) The number of accounts you have
(4) Bankruptcy
(5) And to a VERY small extent credit inquiries (but not how people think and not to impact people think it has)
(6) The length of credit history. If you have a credit card you never defaulted on for 10 years, that is a lot better than one you had for a year!

Its a flawed system no doubt, but its a heck of a lot better than the alternative!

It is the logical extention of the classist FEDERAL RESERVE BANKING system.

Um not its not! Its a COMPLETELY private institution of 4 agencies. They compile information for commercial use and they are VERY profitable.

Sadly, few of us can avoid its tenacious grasp over our lives.

Maybe because not all of us are socialist!

 

[GHook93]

Do you have a mortgage? Electric bill, cable bill, student loan, etc...don't all those affect your credit score?

I'd call and ask.

I don't have a mortgage, but do own a house so certainly I now have electric bill / cable bil, etc. The point was that I didn't have at the time I financed the truck, so I have no idea what generated the credit rating.

Most auto dealers have automated systems. I am thinking there is a mistake. 800 scores require a lot and they are not acquired by accident!

 

[Paulie]

Do you have a mortgage? Electric bill, cable bill, student loan, etc...don't all those affect your credit score?

I'd call and ask.

I don't have a mortgage, but do own a house so certainly I now have electric bill / cable bil, etc. The point was that I didn't have at the time I financed the truck, so I have no idea what generated the credit rating.

If you were renting, that would count toward your score. Basically, the scores predict your ability to pay your bills...so unless you were dinged for nonpayment since you came back you'd have a decent score.

Maybe rent is reported to credit agencies in your state, but not here.

Here, you get NOTHING for paying rent on time except a pat on the back.

 

[tigerbob]

I work at one of the credit bureaus. Your defaulted credit card wouldn't show up, because negative information can only stay on your credit report up to 7 years (BK can last up to 10).

But I highly doubt your story. Did you see your credit report. 800 FICO scores are nearly impossible to get and it sounds like you would have no credit history whatsoever. In those case they either assign you a 900 or a 0 score, indicating you don't have good or bad credit, rather you have no credit.

There is a chance the auto company uses the Vantage score, which runs from 500-990. 800 score would be at a B level.

Did you get a credit card since you been home? Any credit lines? Did you sign up for nicor gas? Do you rent? Does your landlord report your rent payments (there is a trend for many large property management firms to start reporting).

But there is no way in hell you have a 806 credit score.

The auto industry uses the FICO score (some use the new Vantage Score). FICO score runs from 300-850.

Anyone here understand credit scoring? I understand how they work in principle, but one thing has always surprised me a bit.

I lived in the US from 94-98. When I left, I have no idea what my credit rating was but I guess it wasn't bad. I then moved back to the UK for a decade, during which time I had no US bank account, no US credit cards, no US income and completed no US tax returns. However, I did have a credit card that I had forgotten to pay off before I left, that had gone into default by the time they tracked me down in England six months later, and that I then paid off from England.

About 2 weeks after I moved back here in 2008, I wanted to buy a full size pickup. I got a good 'Friends and Family' deal on a RAM 1500 and was going to buy it for cash, but the salesman told me I could get an extra $1000 off if I financed it (the minimum I could finance to qualify was $6K) and that I could pay it off after a month with no penalty, thereby not paying any interest. So I agreed to pay about $17,000 cash and finance the rest. He ran a credit chack on me (which I expected to come back not approved - after all I had only been back for 2 weeks and had no job, no house and no wage slips that I could show).

My credit score came back at 806. I have since learned that this is a pretty good score. How is that possible? It makes me think that the whole credit score system is pretty fucked up if someone like me, given those circumstances, can get an 806.

Anyone care to offer an opinion of why this should be, or have any similar stories?

Ouch!

Please feel free to doubt the score, but don't doubt the story. I've given you no reason to believe that I'm a liar, as far as I'm aware.

No, I didn't see the credit score. He told me I had an 806. I have no idea which agency he used.

I suppose there is a chance that my score could have been impacted by my UK bank account. When I planned to move back to the US, I asked my UK bank to open an account with one of their branches in the US (didn't have any in Michigan, so they opened one for me in Buffalo). I opened this account so that once we had sold our house in the UK we could transfer the proceeds to the US without having to pay any fees (it was considered an internal transfer), and we got a preferred exchange rate.

They did mention at the time that this would also mean that I would establish a credit rating again in the US, but until the house was sold and we made the move the US account was effectively dormant.

To answer your other questions, yes I have several credit cards, I have signed up for electric / gas, I don't rent (I own a house), and we have a credit line with our brokers (Edward Jones). But, as I said in an earlier post to Ravi, I didn't have any of these things when I financed the truck. All I had was a US bank account with nothing in it. Oh, actually, we did have a credit card, provided by the bank when we opened the account. But we had never used it.

 

[tigerbob]

I don't know how it works either but I do know that my credit score was 824 when I bought my pick-up truck about 9 months ago. To me, credit should be like (a) you have credit or (b) no credit. Makes no sense to me to have something in between.

less that 2% of the public has over 800 scores and we just met 2!

 

[boedicca]

I don't know how it works either but I do know that my credit score was 824 when I bought my pick-up truck about 9 months ago. To me, credit should be like (a) you have credit or (b) no credit. Makes no sense to me to have something in between.

A big driver is if you have access to credit but have not utilized it - i.e., credit card borrowing ability of $20,000 with an outstanding balance of $500. A couple of other important factors:

- no dings for late payment
- few if any prior credit checks being run (the more credit reports that have been run on your account make it look like you are too desperate for money, go figure)

 

[GHook93]

I don't have a mortgage, but do own a house so certainly I now have electric bill / cable bil, etc. The point was that I didn't have at the time I financed the truck, so I have no idea what generated the credit rating.

If you were renting, that would count toward your score. Basically, the scores predict your ability to pay your bills...so unless you were dinged for nonpayment since you came back you'd have a decent score.

Maybe rent is reported to credit agencies in your state, but not here.

Here, you get NOTHING for paying rent on time except a pat on the back.

It doesn't depend on the state it depends on the landlord. Regular old Joes who own property are not going to report the rent payments. However, more and more commerical property managment companies report the rent payments.

 

[GHook93]

Having over a 800 score is very hard to achieve.

Bank accounts don't get reported to the credit bureaus (it gets reported to the efunds).

UK, like German, Russia, Brazil etc all have separate credit bureaus, so you might have credit there, but very doubtful they pulled one of those reports. I have a few customers that sometimes pull foreign reports, but they are very expensive.

I work at one of the credit bureaus. Your defaulted credit card wouldn't show up, because negative information can only stay on your credit report up to 7 years (BK can last up to 10).

But I highly doubt your story. Did you see your credit report. 800 FICO scores are nearly impossible to get and it sounds like you would have no credit history whatsoever. In those case they either assign you a 900 or a 0 score, indicating you don't have good or bad credit, rather you have no credit.

There is a chance the auto company uses the Vantage score, which runs from 500-990. 800 score would be at a B level.

Did you get a credit card since you been home? Any credit lines? Did you sign up for nicor gas? Do you rent? Does your landlord report your rent payments (there is a trend for many large property management firms to start reporting).

But there is no way in hell you have a 806 credit score.

The auto industry uses the FICO score (some use the new Vantage Score). FICO score runs from 300-850.

Anyone here understand credit scoring? I understand how they work in principle, but one thing has always surprised me a bit.

I lived in the US from 94-98. When I left, I have no idea what my credit rating was but I guess it wasn't bad. I then moved back to the UK for a decade, during which time I had no US bank account, no US credit cards, no US income and completed no US tax returns. However, I did have a credit card that I had forgotten to pay off before I left, that had gone into default by the time they tracked me down in England six months later, and that I then paid off from England.

About 2 weeks after I moved back here in 2008, I wanted to buy a full size pickup. I got a good 'Friends and Family' deal on a RAM 1500 and was going to buy it for cash, but the salesman told me I could get an extra $1000 off if I financed it (the minimum I could finance to qualify was $6K) and that I could pay it off after a month with no penalty, thereby not paying any interest. So I agreed to pay about $17,000 cash and finance the rest. He ran a credit chack on me (which I expected to come back not approved - after all I had only been back for 2 weeks and had no job, no house and no wage slips that I could show).

My credit score came back at 806. I have since learned that this is a pretty good score. How is that possible? It makes me think that the whole credit score system is pretty fucked up if someone like me, given those circumstances, can get an 806.

Anyone care to offer an opinion of why this should be, or have any similar stories?

Ouch!

Please feel free to doubt the score, but don't doubt the story. I've given you no reason to believe that I'm a liar, as far as I'm aware.

No, I didn't see the credit score. He told me I had an 806. I have no idea which agency he used.

I suppose there is a chance that my score could have been impacted by my UK bank account. When I planned to move back to the US, I asked my UK bank to open an account with one of their branches in the US (didn't have any in Michigan, so they opened one for me in Buffalo). I opened this account so that once we had sold our house in the UK we could transfer the proceeds to the US without having to pay any fees (it was considered an internal transfer), and we got a preferred exchange rate.

They did mention at the time that this would also mean that I would establish a credit rating again in the US, but until the house was sold and we made the move the US account was effectively dormant.

To answer your other questions, yes I have several credit cards, I have signed up for electric / gas, I don't rent (I own a house), and we have a credit line with our brokers (Edward Jones). But, as I said in an earlier post to Ravi, I didn't have any of these things when I financed the truck. All I had was a US bank account with nothing in it. Oh, actually, we did have a credit card, provided by the bank when we opened the account. But we had never used it.

 

[GHook93]

- few if any prior credit checks being run (the more credit reports that have been run on your account make it look like you are too desperate for money, go figure)

Some what of a fallacy. Too many credit pulls can effect your score if you pyramid the inquires, such as you have a mortgage inquiry, credit card inquiry, auto loan inquiry, personal loan inquiry etc in too short of a time frame. Even if that is the case, you score might got down 5 points. Within a month or 2 it goes back up.

Note if you get inquiries all from the same inquiry type its views as 1 inquiry (unless its excessive). Example if you get 5-8 mortgage inquiries in a week or so. Its still viewed as 1 inquiry.

 

[tigerbob]

Having over a 800 score is very hard to achieve.

Bank accounts don't get reported to the credit bureaus (it gets reported to the efunds).

UK, like German, Russia, Brazil etc all have separate credit bureaus, so you might have credit there, but very doubtful they pulled one of those reports. I have a few customers that sometimes pull foreign reports, but they are very expensive.

I work at one of the credit bureaus. Your defaulted credit card wouldn't show up, because negative information can only stay on your credit report up to 7 years (BK can last up to 10).

But I highly doubt your story. Did you see your credit report. 800 FICO scores are nearly impossible to get and it sounds like you would have no credit history whatsoever. In those case they either assign you a 900 or a 0 score, indicating you don't have good or bad credit, rather you have no credit.

There is a chance the auto company uses the Vantage score, which runs from 500-990. 800 score would be at a B level.

Did you get a credit card since you been home? Any credit lines? Did you sign up for nicor gas? Do you rent? Does your landlord report your rent payments (there is a trend for many large property management firms to start reporting).

But there is no way in hell you have a 806 credit score.

The auto industry uses the FICO score (some use the new Vantage Score). FICO score runs from 300-850.

Ouch!

Please feel free to doubt the score, but don't doubt the story. I've given you no reason to believe that I'm a liar, as far as I'm aware.

No, I didn't see the credit score. He told me I had an 806. I have no idea which agency he used.

I suppose there is a chance that my score could have been impacted by my UK bank account. When I planned to move back to the US, I asked my UK bank to open an account with one of their branches in the US (didn't have any in Michigan, so they opened one for me in Buffalo). I opened this account so that once we had sold our house in the UK we could transfer the proceeds to the US without having to pay any fees (it was considered an internal transfer), and we got a preferred exchange rate.

They did mention at the time that this would also mean that I would establish a credit rating again in the US, but until the house was sold and we made the move the US account was effectively dormant.

To answer your other questions, yes I have several credit cards, I have signed up for electric / gas, I don't rent (I own a house), and we have a credit line with our brokers (Edward Jones). But, as I said in an earlier post to Ravi, I didn't have any of these things when I financed the truck. All I had was a US bank account with nothing in it. Oh, actually, we did have a credit card, provided by the bank when we opened the account. But we had never used it.

Interesting. I just checked the HSBC website, and it says there that opening an account with HSBC USA only transfers your HSBC credit history, so, my mistake.

All of which leaves me none the wiser. Never mind, it was just an academic question anyway.

http://www.us.hsbc.com/1/2/3/hsbcpremier/worldwide/arriving

 

[MaggieMae]

Anyone here understand credit scoring? I understand how they work in principle, but one thing has always surprised me a bit.

I lived in the US from 94-98. When I left, I have no idea what my credit rating was but I guess it wasn't bad. I then moved back to the UK for a decade, during which time I had no US bank account, no US credit cards, no US income and completed no US tax returns. However, I did have a credit card that I had forgotten to pay off before I left, that had gone into default by the time they tracked me down in England six months later, and that I then paid off from England.

About 2 weeks after I moved back here in 2008, I wanted to buy a full size pickup. I got a good 'Friends and Family' deal on a RAM 1500 and was going to buy it for cash, but the salesman told me I could get an extra $1000 off if I financed it (the minimum I could finance to qualify was $6K) and that I could pay it off after a month with no penalty, thereby not paying any interest. So I agreed to pay about $17,000 cash and finance the rest. He ran a credit chack on me (which I expected to come back not approved - after all I had only been back for 2 weeks and had no job, no house and no wage slips that I could show).

My credit score came back at 806. I have since learned that this is a pretty good score. How is that possible? It makes me think that the whole credit score system is pretty fucked up if someone like me, given those circumstances, can get an 806.

Anyone care to offer an opinion of why this should be, or have any similar stories?

Maybe it was the credit reporting company the dealership used. It might be interesting to check it now and see if that write-off shows up. Apparently it didn't the first time around. You can get one free annual credit report at annualcreditreport.com.

My own credit score has been lowered only because on three cards I chose to stick with the lower interest rate and close the accounts for any further purchases. Now THAT sucks. But hey, I'm not planning on any more big purchases anyway, so they can do what they want. In fact, the first time one of them tries to slap on some sneaky penalty, I'm just going to call and say I'm not making any further payments AT ALL. (CNN's money guru Clarke Howard suggested that, believe it or not.)