August 27, 2010, 5:15 am
Just recently FICO released data showing that over 25 percent of consumers now have a credit score of 599 or below. That’s a whopping 43 million people that are considered subprime and what’s even more startling is those numbers continue to climb.
Credit scores play such an integral role in our country’s credit system and more consumers need to be aware of how today’s financial decisions will impact tomorrow’s borrowing potential.
In FICO’s world ‘damage points’ are applied to a consumer’s credit score when there is evidence of financial hardship or patterns of risky behavior. Some ‘damage point
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August 4, 2010, 1:51 am
Credit Report Inquiries
Out of the 88 negative rating factors that can hurt your credit score one in particular that I would like to cover in this post are inquiries.
In the credit scoring system inquiries are given two types of classifications one being ‘soft inquiries’ and the other ‘hard inquiries’. Let’s cover these two briefly: 
Soft Inquiries
These inquiries do not affect your credit score so don’t be alarmed if you see a lot of these on your file.
There are three main types of credit checks that fall into this classification.
- Personal – When you order your own credit reports or scores directly from the major consumer credit agencies or myFICO.
- Promotional – Businesses that check your credit for promotional purposes use the data in order to solicit its products or services such as those pre approved credit card offers you find in your mailbox.
- Procedural – As part of its procedure a company or lender that you currently have an established account with may periodically check your credit in order to either extend additional credit or look for signs of financial distress.
Hard Inquiries
A hard inquiry is what negatively impacts your score and according to myFICO one additional hard inquiry for some people may take up to but not more than 5 points off a credit score!
This credit check occurs when a creditor pulls your report as a result of you applying for credit. One important thin
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