Hi Merlin. It's not supposed to. You're allowed one free credit report from the 3 big agencies every year and it isn't supposed to affect your score. Who told you your score would be affected?
Well, no one exactly. But, I got "the eye" from my the Wells Fargo associate when I said I'd like to take a peek at it when we went to buy Don's car. Luckily, mine is o.k. at the moment. But, why would they charge you and why is it such a secret? I checked out credit karma as well. Does that put my credit up for anyone to have access to see? I'm not sure that was such a bright idea anyway.
This post was edited by Merlin at August 8, 2017 5:42 PM MDT
Read Tom's response, dear Merlin. He is exactly right. You can go on the individual sites, Experian, TransUnion, Equifax, and order your scores. You can also do what I did. I put a lock/freeze on my account with all 3 companies. I think two of them charged a one time $10 fee to do it. This way, no one can pull my report or apply for credit in my name. I take the lock off when I apply for a loan, then put it right back on when I know the loan company has gotten what they need.
I can't answer about Credit Karma. Haven't used them.
Thank you pearl. You made me feel better because now I've checked I'm not sure I can again until another fiscal year or something.. Ugh! I don't know anything about this stuff. I just know I pay my bills in a timely fashion and I shouldn't have any marks against it. Somehow I think I do though. It's not perfect. But, it isn't bad either. I don't know dear pearl. I wish I did. :s
If you know your credit score, you will have a better idea of whether or not the bank is giving you the best interest rate it can with the lowest required down payment. Given Wells Fargo's recent reputation, I presume the Wells Fargo associate wanted to charge you as high an interest as he could; and your knowing your score might make that more difficult for him.
I have been using Credit Karma for at least two years. It tends to underestimate my FICO credit score because it uses a slightly different method to arrive at its score; but checking your score on Credit Score does not result in what is called a "hard inquiry"---which will affect your score negatively (but not that significantly) for a short period of time.
A high FICO score affects the amount of your down payment as well as your interest rate. My wife and I just bought a new truck recently. We put about 20% down. Then after runninng our score, the salesman commented that with the score we had, we could buy 4 new trucks with no money down and still with the lowest interest rate offered. (No way of course for us to afford such a purchase.) But I learned something about a credit score than I hadn't known before.
Look into this link that is run by Discover. It will give you your true FICO score. I do have a Discover card, but I don't think having a card is necessary to use the site. (And it's free): https://www.creditscorecard.com/
This post was edited by tom jackson at August 8, 2017 5:43 PM MDT
Thank you very much Tom. I really appreciate your input. Don and I do bank with Wells Fargo but our loan went through Chase. When we bought Don the Mazda 3 a month ago, we also put a substantial amount of money down and have no interest. But, that was through Chase. We've been considering moving our money to a credit union for a bit now. Well Fargo hasn't been that impressive these last couple or years. Congratulations on your new truck! Yippppeee! And good for you for having such outstanding credit. :)
It is your second paragraph and "hard inquiry" that has me baffled. Why is that?
This post was edited by Merlin at August 9, 2017 6:09 AM MDT
A hard inquiry occurs when an individual applies for any type of credit, such as a mortgage, credit card or auto loan. The reason a hard inquiry may lower an individual's credit score is because someone who has recently applied for new credit is seen as a potentially riskier borrower. Also called a "hard pull."
For example, if you need to borrow $5000 and apply for credit from 10 borrowers, when they all check your credit, a lender might think you are desperate---and they desperate people tend to default on their loans. Not entirely "fair" but while they might miss a few potential customers, it tends to decrease their risk in lending.
If you have any more questions, just reply to this comment.
Tom, sorry for the delay. For some reason I was dropped from the internet and had to re-boot.
I understand much better. You might consider going into banking :) Your calmness and awareness of anxieties some of us have is very admirable.
Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me. I am going to look into it further. Between you and Harry, I don't feel like I've bruised my credit. I feel much better. Have a great evening and see you soon on another question, I hope. Take Care, Merlin P.S. VAaarroOOOOmmmmm on your new truck!!! Yaaaa Whoooo!!! Big smiles and "MY hat is off to you!!"
Thanks, Merlin. I'll be 72 this fall, and I think I will stay retired.
I used to use the AnnualCreditReport.com (Link is https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action) (This website is the only one that is government authorized to provide you with free copies of your credit report.), but I haven't bothered ito go there n a couple of years. Credit Karma is pretty much all I use (or need) now---and I do so infrequently. The Discover link is interesting if I want to know my precise FICO score, but Discover also prints my FICO score on its credit card statements if I have bought anything during the month.
Here's a link that will give you some more information. (And if I recall correctly, Credit Karma also has a lot of information on its website as well.) https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/ficoscore.asp
This post was edited by tom jackson at August 9, 2017 6:10 AM MDT
I hope not. When I did, the bank made it feel like I was prying into their information. I was thinking why? It's my score. Why shouldn't I be able to look at it any time I would like? At any rate, I do feel better having you answer this because it has been bothering me since we bought the car. Like I'm not supposed to look at it again for another year or something. I just didn't get it. Thank you for taking the time to answer. I appreciate it. Have a great day! :)
Let me reply to this too since I answered before my reply to your earlier comment posted.
To borrow Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's analogy, we and the salesmen we deal with are not our friends but neither are they our enemies (but don't turn your back on them as you walk away). Some like to make you think they are doing you a favor by letting you buy something you want. Your knowing what you are entitled to terms wise prevents them from having an advantage when they try to get just a "tad" more money for themselves and their employers. If he offers someone a deal outside of the internal parameters that the company has established for of the granting of loans, he's going to have to explain why to his manager---and he better have a good reason.
Hmm... You're not in the US, right? I checked your profile and it doesn't say, so I don't know if I should say where I think you're from. lol That makes a difference.
It's the US laws that grants people in the US the right to see their credit reports three times in 12 months free. Ideally, you'd pull each of the big ones, but do it at different times, so that you're getting monitoring throughout the year, though you could pull them all at once or pull the same one three times, I believe. I'm not sure what laws are outside the US are.
That's a relatively new law- maybe the last decade, I think???? Anyway, that is done through a special site. It's not the standard credit report sites. Pulling your report through this method should not impact your score at all.
However, there are lots of places that will supply you with a report, often for a fee. Depending on how it's done, it usually looks like that agency is pulling your report, ergo, it looks like you're trying to obtain credit. When you try to obtain credit too often, lenders start to wonder what you're up to. They think you'll max yourself out or open too many lines at once, so they don't trust you- you're too risky.
Years ago, when my ex husband and I went in to buy something, and I think it was a car, but maybe a mortgage???, anyway, my ex's report was sitting on the guy's desk and we asked if we could look at it. He said he wasn't allowed to show it to us because there was some kind of stupid law or line in the contract that said he wasn't allowed to share the credit results with anyone- it was a universal rule that didn't make allowances for the person on the report. No idea if that's true or not. He let us look anyway, but he told us not to tell. lol
Thank you JA. I understand now that if you were to look at your credit often, it might raise an eyebrow. There are so many reasons why you would though. Like you and your car. The same with Don and me. Actually, it blew my mind. It has been 17 years since we bought a "new" car. To feel like you can't look at it seems a little ridiculous. Thank you for clearing up the confusion. You are a sweetie. Have a great night and see you on another. Hugs :) Love, Merlin
Though I appreciate and like all the helpful answers you received, I stopped reading them.
This is all Bu** sh**! I believe anyone should be able to look up their own credit score, for free, any time, for however many times one wishes - - without any fee, without penalties and without ALL THESE INTRICATE DETAILS and EXPLANATIONS! Geez!
This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at August 9, 2017 9:53 AM MDT
A credit report and a credit score are two different things---so how do you deal with the reality that we can't "look up their own credit score, for free, any time, for however many times one wishes - - without any fee, without penalties and without ALL THESE INTRICATE DETAILS and EXPLANATIONS!"
I just don't look up either my credit score or report. :)
I still think (I admit I don't really know the specific intricacies of credit reports/scores) that a person should be able to look up their own credit information without all these rules.
I can see you know your stuff, tom jackson! I appreciate your input on this question! It's stuff I'm unfamiliar with. :)
In general, I just don't really understand, that in the grander scheme of things, why The Powers That Be decided that individuals had to jump through hoops to obtain information about themselves and/or be penalized somehow at times. I also admit I still don't understand all of it but I bet it all probably boils down to money (obviously, I guess) and who gets the advantage.
(I admit my original answer was written in a minor fury. Sorry.)
This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at August 9, 2017 3:24 PM MDT
No problem. And I will admit I do strive to provide accurate and complete answers to all the questions that I answer---although my opinions do have less force than when I provide available facts.
Here's the complete Wikipedia article--the bold font is my emphasis:
FICO, originally Fair, Isaac and Company, is a data analytics company based in San Jose, California focused on credit scoring services. It was founded by Bill Fair and Earl Isaac in 1956. Its FICO score, a measure of consumer credit risk, has become a fixture of consumer lending in the United States. In 2013, lenders purchased more than 10 billion FICO scores and about 30 million American consumers accessed their scores themselves. FICO was founded in 1956 as Fair, Isaac and Company by engineer William Fair and mathematician Earl Isaac.] The two had met while working at the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California. Selling its first credit scoring system two years after the company's creation, FICO pitched its system to fifty American lenders. FICO went public in 1986 and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.[5] The company debuted its first general-purpose FICO score in 1989.[3] FICO scores are based on credit reports and "base" FICO scores range from 300 to 850,[3] while industry-specific scores range from 250 to 900.[9] Lenders use the scores to gauge a potential borrower's creditworthiness.[10] Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac first began using FICO scores to help determine which American consumers qualified for mortgages bought and sold by the companies in 1995.[11] Name changes[edit] Originally called Fair, Isaac and Company (hence the abbreviation FICO), this name was changed to Fair Isaac Corporation in 2003.[7] The company renamed itself FICO in 2009.[12] Headquarters moves[edit] Originally based in San Rafael, California, FICO moved its headquarters to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2004.[13] In 2013, it moved back to California and is currently sited in San Jose, California.[14]
This post was edited by tom jackson at August 9, 2017 3:37 PM MDT
Hey, thanks, tom jackson! After reading all the article/ answers/comments/etc., perhaps I know a bit more about it all than I thought. Again, I appreciate your input. At the very least, you've helped me take a bit of the heat out of my mind concerning it all. :)
It's a query and those count against you. It usually means you have applied for credit or lease. Too many of them look bad, thus the advice to only look at your report very infrequently.
This post was edited by Thriftymaid at August 8, 2017 8:31 PM MDT
Harry 