Why credit scores are taking a leap

Jill onMoney

Credit scores recently reached a record high, and given changes to the industry they could continue to rise.

According to FICO, creator of the widely used credit score, the average score hit 700 during the spring, the highest since at least 2005. As a reminder, FICO scores range from300 to 850, and borrowers with scores above 750 are generally considered excellent, while scores below650 are considered poor.

The most important factors that determine your FICO score are payment history, total debt outstanding, length of history and the number of hard credit inquiries frommortgage, auto or student loan companies. (Your score is not hurt by “soft” inquiries, which include preapproved offers, insurance or employment searches, or inquiries you make into your own credit report or score.)

Because credit scoring is used to determine the cost of borrowing and also for apartment rental purposes, the data used to compile it must be accurate and complete. That’s why it is important to check your credit report at least annually at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you find errors, you can dispute any information by contacting the company whose report youwant to dispute.

The good news is the process should become easier because of theNational Consumer Assistance Plan, whichwas launched in 2015 by the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies— Equifax, Experian and TransUnion— after a class-action lawsuit demonstrated that consumerswere harmed frombad data.

The purpose ofNCAP is to make credit reports more accurate and make it easier for consumers to correct any errors. The credit reporting companies are enforcing stricter rules about the accuracy of the data they collect, including the reporting of civil judgments and tax liens, which could help boost the credit scores of millions of Americans by 10 to 40 points.

Meanwhile, FICO’s competitor, VantageScore Solutions, recently announced the release of the fourth generation of its score, which will become available from the three credit reporting agencies this fall.

According to credit expert John Ulzheimer, VantageScore’s score is a “game changer” because it will consider “trended” credit data, which accounts for whether borrowers are paying their credit card balances in full each month or if they’re just making a token payment and adding to their monthly balances.

The data will reflect historical balances and the amount borrowers paid going back 24 months. This makes sense because “people who do not pay their cards in full each month are riskier than people who do pay them off in full each month,” Ulzheimer says.

So paying your bill in full each month is likely to become even more important. “Notwithstanding the fact that you’re paying interest on the unpaid balance, nowby not paying your balance in full, yourVantageScore 4.0 score is likely to be lower because you’re a riskier consumer,” Ulzheimer says. Conversely, those who do pay off their balances in full each month will likely enjoy a higher score.

Before you get too excited about the new score’s rollout, it is important to knowthat VantageScore is number two in the market and FICO still reigns supreme. But Ulzheimer says that the VantageScore 4.0 is better for consumers and better for lenders.

“It’s rare that a new scoring system is a true win-win for consumers and lenders ... andVantageScore 4.0 is just that.”

Contact Jill Schlesinger, senior business analyst for CBSNews, at askjill@JillonMoney.com.