What does the term credit score mean to an average citizen

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person's credit files,a measure of credit risk calculated from a credit report using a standardized formula.Factors that can damage a credit score include late payments,absence of credit references, and unfavorable credit card use.Lenders may use a credit score to determine whether to provide a loan and what rate to charge.

Lenders,such as banks and credit card companies,use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt.Lenders use credit scores to determine who qualifies for a loan,at what interest rate,and what credit limits.The use of credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a trusted system.

Credit scoring is not limited to banks.Other organizations, such as mobile phone companies,insurance companies, employers and government departments employ the same techniques.Credit scoring also has a lot of overlap with data mining,which uses many similar techniques.

In the United States of America, a credit score is a number based on a statistical analysis of a person's credit files,that represents the creditworthiness of that person,which is the likelihood that the person will pay their bills.A credit score is primarily based on credit report information, typically from one of the three major credit bureaus,Experian,TransUnion and Equifax.

There are different methods of calculating credit scores. FICO is a credit score developed by Fair Isaac & Co.It is used by many mortgage lenders that use a risk-based system to determine the possibility that the borrower may default on financial obligations to the mortgage lender. The credit bureaus all have FICO alternatives:Equifax's ScorePower,Experian's PLUS score and TransUnion's Credit score.

Americans are entitled to one free credit report within a 12-month period from each of the three agencies.The three credit bureaus run Annual credit report,where users can get their free credit report,normally without credit scores.Credit scores are available as an add-on feature of the report for a fee.
In some states such as California and Colorado a consumer is entitled to a free credit report within 30 days of being denied credit or receiving sub-normal credit terms from a lender due to their credit rating.

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