What is A Credit Score?

It is important to understand what a credit score looks like, especially for those who are planning large purchases such as a new home or car. Credit scores also affect credit cards and auto insurance; they can even impact where you rent or what type of job you will be able to obtain, if any!

A credit score essentially converts all the information from a credit report into a single number in an attempt to quantify the odds that borrowers will repay loans on time. However, that number is not designed to paint a complete picture of someone’s financial life. Until recently, credit scores and credit reports were kept secret from consumers. Only after passage of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 did they become widely available. Now lenders must provide them for free to consumers who apply for a mortgage; they also can be purchased at any time.

Fair Isaac, maker of the original credit score known as FICO, says a makeover is coming soon. Consumers’ scores will be affected when FICO 08 is released, but it’s not yet clear how much. Ok, now I know you all are probably asking who/what is Fair Isaac? The FICO was introduced by Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac Corp. in 1988 as an attempt to quantify the odds that borrowers will repay loans on time. The company’s name is derived from those of Bill Fair and Earl Isaac, a mathematician and an engineer, respectively, who created the credit scoring concept and founded Fair Isaac in the 1950s. Fair Isaac has on its Web site a diagram of what goes into a credit score and what doesn't.

Not all credit scores are the same. Consumers have to buy their credit scores from the credit bureaus, but when they do they are buying a product called a Vantage Score, not the FICO score from Fair Isaac that most lenders use. And some lenders sometimes create their own variation on a FICO score, adding in their own criteria.

Anyone interested is getting a copy of their FREE credit report can do so by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. Or for more information on credit scoring, you can contact the Summit County Office of Consumer Affairs by phone at 330-643-2879 or online at http://www.co.summit.oh.us/conaffairs.htm.

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Shawne Buckner

Board Member

WENDCO Westside Neighborhood Development Corporation

As an outreach specialist, I am responsible for developing a consumer education program, giving public presentations and mediating consumer complaints against businesses regarding the purchase of goods or services. Many of these complaints involve foreign lottery scams, predatory mortgage lending, unauthorized charges on credit cards, mail order and telephone sales, motor vehicle repairs, Internet scams and prize offers. I am member of the Summit County Foreclosure Prevention Partnership Program and Tuff Stuff Committee and a board member of Westside Neighborhood Development Corporation of Akron, where I help to provide leadership in the area of housing and commercial revitalization.

I began my career in consumer protection and education in November 2006; prior to that I worked in the banking/mortgage industry for over 10 years. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, I graduated from Ellet High School and went on to pursue an education in criminal justice at The University of Akron.

If I had to pick one thing that I love about my job, I would choose the public speaking events that I give to senior citizens. My goal is to educate as many senior citizens as possible about ways to protect themselves from becoming a victim of crime. My speeches to senior groups range from medical health claim scams, free credit reports, work-at-home schemes and home improvement scams, to protecting themselves from purse snatchings, robberies and burglaries.