Credit Reports and Credit Scores: Articles and Resources
What You Need To Know About Your Credit Score
You probably know that your credit score is important, but you may be confused what it actually it is, how it is used, and how affects you.
The most important thing your credit score does is to help banks or financial institutions determine if they should lend you money or extend you credit. Your credit score also is a key factor in determining your interest rates for any loans, credit cards, or lines of credit you get.
You have more than one credit score. The most important credit scores are assigned to you by each of the three main credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Even though all three are using essentially the same information, you scores will differ between the three bureaus.
Bills.com has free tips, articles, and videos, to help you learn about your credit score and credit reports. Learn how your credit score is determined, how you can improve your credit score, and how to read and understand the information on your credit report.
Read the credit score questions from other Bills.com readers or Ask Bill a credit score question that you have.
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Credit Card Debt Help Plan
5 Step Plan to Reducing Your Credit Card Debt
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Bad Credit Ratings - How to Bounce Back
Article on Improving Your Credit Score and Bouncing Back from a Bad Credit Rating
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Bad Credit Score
Getting a Car Loan with a Bad Credit Score
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Free Credit Report
Free Credit Report — Why You Need One!
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Free Credit Score
Learn More About Your Free Credit Score and What it Means
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Credit Report Update and Paying Off Loan
How long does it take for credit report to update after paying off an auto loan?
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Bank of America Credit Report
Bank of America put a negative on my credit report. I am buying a house, and want to learn how to clean-up my credit report.
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Loan to pay off credit cards
I am considering a loan to pay off credit cards and to do some repairs on my home which I own. What kind of loan would I need?
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Credit Card Debt Help
Tips on How to Get Credit Card Debt Help
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Chase Credit Card Debt Consolidation
I am Drowning in Credit Card Debt. Chase is My Largest Creditor. Is there a good Chase Debt Consolidation Program?
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Debt Consolidation
Debt Consolidation and How to Consolidate Debt
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Refinance My Home
Help Me Refinance My Home -- What you need to know.
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Debt Relief
Debt Relief Options - Debt Consolidation, Credit Counseling, Debt Settlement and Debt Consolidation Loans
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Get a Loan Overview
Qualifying for a Loan
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Credit Counseling
Credit Counseling Information
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Consolidating Bank of America Debt
My Biggest Debt is With Bank of America. What is My Best Bank of America Debt Consolidation Option?
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Hardship based loans
Need to apply for a personal loan due to financial hardship.
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Government Debt Relief
Government Debt Relief and Grants
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Debt Consolidation Loans
What is the Best Kind of Debt Consolidation Loan?
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Buy a Home with an FHA loan
Learn How An FHA-Insured Loan Can Benefit You, When You Are Looking to Buy a Home.
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R9 Charge Off & Credit Rating
When shopping for a car I was told that I have an R9 from old credit card. Can I clean my credit report?
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Bank of America Credit Report
Bank of America put a negative on my credit report. I am buying a house, and want to learn how to clean-up my credit report.
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FICO Score Calculation
How do I figure my FICO score?
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Spouse's Bad Credit Affect My Credit Score?
I married someone with bad credit. Will it affect my credit? How does that work?
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Civil Judgment
Will a civil judgment affect my credit?
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Collecting on Delinquent Child Support
My ex has been reported to the credit bureau due to non payment of child support. How is this going to affect him?
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Minimum Credit Score | What's the Minimum Score for a Loan
What is the minimum credit score I need to get a home loan mortgage? I want to refinance my home loan mortgage and I want to know what the minimum credit score is.
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Improve Your Credit
Will paying a credit card bill early improve your credit?
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Disputing Credit Report
I have derogatory items on my credit report I have paid off. Should I validate the debt? How can I fix my credit report?
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Hard Inquiries
How may I remove hard inquiries from my credit reports?
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Old Debt & Credit Score
Is it better for my credit score to lower my credit utilization, or pay off old delinquent debt?
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Credit Report Public Record
How do I learn what appears in the public information section of my credit reports? What should I do if I see errors in my credit report?
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No Credit or Bad Credit?
Which is worse, having bad credit or no credit at all?
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Steps to Establish Credit
How can I help my daughter establish credit?
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FICO Score Calculation
How do I figure my FICO score?
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How applying for credit affects credit score
Credit applications and their impacts on your credit score.
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Settlement Paid in Full
Will paying a delinquent account in full have a greater impact on my credit score than a smaller settlement amount?
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Seasoned Tradelines
Is becoming an authorized user on a seasoned tradeline legit or a scam?
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Bank of America Lawsuit
Bank of America misapplied a mortgage payment, reported a non-payment, and caused my credit score to drop and raised my closing costs. What recourse do I have?
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Zero APR Credit Card & Credit Score
How can I take advantage of a 0% APR credit card without damaging my credit score?
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Lemon Law & Credit Report
I bought a lemon that was replaced under my state's lemon law. Will that appear as a repo on my credit report?
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National Action Financial Services
I received a letter from National Action Financial Services for a debt I do not owe. What are my rights? What can I do?
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Credit Report & Authorized User on Credit Card
My credit card account is in collections, and this appears on my child's credit report? Why? What can we do about it?
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Credit Limit Credit Score
I expect a bonus check. Which of my credit card accounts should I pay first to increase my credit score?
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Piggyback Credit
Will I improve my credit score if I piggyback on my spouse's credit card?
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Hard Inquiries
How may I remove hard inquiries from my credit reports?
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Understanding Credit Score Discrepancies
Why do my credit scores from Experian and Equifax differ by 50 points?
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High Credit Score
I do not plan to borrow money to buy a car or home. I have a high credit score. Is it important to maintain my high score?
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What Affects Credit Score
What factors affect my credit score? If I co-sign a loan will that hurt my credit score?
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Free Credit Report With Score
How do I get a free credit report that contains my credit score?
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Collection Account & Credit Score
I paid my collection accounts and my credit dropped. Why? What can I do about it?
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Loan Consolidation & Credit Score
Will getting a consolidation loan lower my credit score?
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Raise Credit Score for Free
I do not understand why my credit score is 546. How do I raise my credit score for free?
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Marital Credit Score
Will a joint mortgage cause the credit scores in both spouses to merge?
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Pre-Pay Vehicle Lease & Credit Score
If I pre-pay my vehicle lease, will that give my credit score a quick, sharp boost?
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+ Does credit card debt hurt my credit score?
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+ How often do credit scores change?
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+ I have a number of credit cards. Will that affect my credit score?
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+ What Information do credit bureaus collect about me?
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+ What is a good credit score?
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+ Will Credit Counseling hurt my credit?
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+ Will credit monitoring hurt my credit score?
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+ Will pulling a credit report affect my credit?
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+ Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
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+ Bankruptcy
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+ Charge-off
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+ Credit History
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+ Credit Inquiry
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+ Credit Report
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+ Credit Score
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+ Creditor
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+ Delinquent
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+ Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
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+ Fair Isaac and Company
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+ FICO Score
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+ Revolving Debt
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+ Verification
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