What is a credit score? What is a good credit rating?

You may have heard the terms credit score or credit report, but what do they actually mean and how will they affect you? It's important to understand your credit score, it can help you when applying for a home loan or credit card.

What's a credit score?

A credit score is a numerical assessment which shows your credit trustworthiness. Essentially, it is a sum of all the information on your credit report, which includes your credit history, total amount owing, payment history, types of credit, and current/new credit.

The higher the score, the more credit-worthy you are. A lower score means you have a bad credit rating, meaning you are less credit-worthy. A scoring model with the range 300-850 is used to determine your credit score.

Here is a break down of the average score range:

Excellent: 750 and above
Good: 700 to 749
Fair: 650 to 699
Poor: 550 to 649
Bad: 550 and below

According to research from GetCreditScore.com.au, only 15% of consumers are actually aware of positive credit reporting. This is a worryingly large number as it will affect the majority of us at one time or another in our lives. Your credit score will directly affect the amount of credit, interest rate and particular terms and conditions that a lender will offer you as a borrower. Lenders have a very transparent view of your spending habits, they can attain a comprehensive report of your risk profile by including aspects such as paying your bills on time and keeping up to date with credit card repayments. They use this to form a wholesome view of your financial behaviour and make informed decisions on how much money they will lend you based on the probability that you will repay your debts.

Although a higher credit score is regarded more highly by lenders, a specific score does not guarantee that a lender will approve you for credit or give you the lowest interest rate. It help you to figure out what you may be eligible to lend and what areas you may need to improve on before applying.

Where can I find my credit score?

You can contact a credit reporting body (CRB) to obtain a copy of your credit report. You should be eligible to get a free copy but no more than once a year unless you have applied for and been refused credit within the past 90 days.

Under other circumstances you may have to pay a fee to get the report and will be required to provide some personal details to enable them to properly identify you. This could include: