FICO Scores in Canada
A fico score is an overview of your credit rating at a certain particular time, and the number can range from 300 to 850. The higher your FICO rating, the more likely you will be approved for credit, and/or receive better interest rates.
Your FICO score can be broken down using the following.
- Payment History (35%)
- Based on Outstanding Debt (30%)
- How long you have been a Credit User (15%)
- Recent History (10%)
- Current Credit (10%)
To increase your FICO or R Score, look at paying your debts on time each month, and to establish credit, you need to have debt that you have to repay. Outstanding debt takes up 30% of the total FICO score, and your payment history takes up 35%. These two in itself takes up a good portion of the total.
TransUnion mentions a person with a credit score below 650 could have difficulties receiving new credit. Mortgage lenders may want to see at least a score of 680 to get the best interest rate. Everyone has the right to place a note to go along with their credit file. You can have up to 100 words for the file. This note can help explain your side of any credit issues that have arose. You only need to place that note with one of the credit bureaus, but it would be a good idea to credit reports from all sources to make sure that your note is included along with the file.