MONEY TALKS

Credit can be a confusing topic, and is often riddled with misinformation and myths. Here, our financial expert answers some familiar questions and addresses misconceptions about credit reports, scores and ratings—yes, they’re all different!

Common questions and misconceptions about credit answered

1 ARE CREDIT REPORTS, SCORES AND RATINGS THE SAME THING?

No. Your credit report is a detailed history of your credit products and how you’ve handled them. Your credit score is a number between 300 and 900 and is used as a predictor of how likely you are to pay back your debts. Your credit rating, by contrast, is a rating for each product (or trade line on your credit report) you have.

2 IF I’M MARRIED/ COMMON-LAW, IS MY CREDIT SCORE THE SAME AS MY PARTNER’S?

No. Each of you has your own credit report, score and product rating. This information is based on your credit products and how you’ve handled them. You can increase your credit score by paying off your credit products in full each month or paying down your debt. You can lower your score by being late or missing payments.

3 WHAT IF MY PARTNER AND I HAVE JOINT PRODUCTS OR DEBT?

These debts will report to each of your credit reports individually.

4 WHAT IF MY PARTNER HAS A PRODUCT AND I HAVE A COMPANION PRODUCT, LIKE A CREDIT CARD?

The lender will report to the primary product’s credit report so, in this instance, your partner’s credit is being reported on, not yours.