Your credit score, sometimes called a FICO score or credit rating, is one of the most important measures of your financial health. Lenders, credit card companies and even employers use this three-digit number, which may range from 300 to 850, to determine whether you can get a loan, credit card or job. Keeping abreast of your credit score is crucial to maintaining financial health. Fortunately, you can obtain your score easily from the three major credit bureaus.
Background on Credit Bureaus
TransUnion, Experian and Equifax, the nation's three major consumer reporting agencies, use software to come up with individuals' credit scores. Each bureau gives your FICO rating a different proprietary name: Equifax calls it a BEACON Score, Experian names it a Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model and TransUnion calls it a EMPIRICA rating. Despite the name differences, credit bureaus draw from the same information and use the same software to come up with these scores. However, your credit scores may still differ slightly depending on which bureau you contact.
Order Your Credit Score Online
You can order your credit score from each of the three credit bureaus for a small fee. To do this, visit the websites of TransUnion, Experian and Equifax to request your credit scores. After paying the fees, you will be able to view your credit scores online immediately.
Order Your Score by Mail or Telephone
If you do not wish to obtain your scores via the Internet, you can write letters of each of the three bureaus requesting your credit scores. Alternatively, you can contact Equifax, TransUnion and Experian by telephone to order your credit scores. If you request your scores by mail or telephone, it will take approximately two weeks for the bureaus to send you the information.
Free Credit Score
Due to a federal law passed in 2011, you can obtain your credit scores for free under some circumstances, reports Leslie McFadden, a columnist for consumer finance magazine Bankrate. If a credit card company or lending agency denies your application due to your credit score, it must send to you by mail a copy of your score, along with the name of the credit bureau from which it obtained your information.
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