Most Americans do not understand how credit scores work, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Consumers Federation of America.
The majority of Americans – 52% – don’t understand that the purpose of a credit score is to estimate the risk that they will not repay a loan, the survey found.
“Americans only scored a 60, which if you’re in school is a low passing grade,” Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the federation, said at a press conference.
[Related: Starting From Scratch]
Sixty percent of Americans believed that marital status is factored into a credit score, and 67% believed that their age plays a role (neither is true). Only 30% of survey respondents could correctly figure how much a bad credit score would cost them in higher interest payments.
Not all the findings contain bad news. Nearly two-thirds of respondents knew that their scores are based on data gathered largely by the big three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Most Americans – 69% – understand that making all loan payments on time, keeping their credit card balances below 25% of the card’s limit, and not opening multiple credit card accounts at the same time are all ways to get or keep a high credit score.
[Resource: Where Can I Get My Credit Scores for Free?]
“The good news is that a large majority of consumers know the key factors used to calculate scores and the creditors who use these scores,” Brobeck said in a press release.
The survey was co-released by VantageScore, a joint venture of major credit bureaus Equiax, Experian and TransUnion. It involved phone surveys with more than 1,000 people.
Image: Luis Argerich, via Flickr.com
Christopher Maag Contributing writer for Credit.com, Chris graduated with honors from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and has reported for a number of publications including The New York Times, TIME magazine and Popular Mechanics. Have a question for our experts? Email them at CreditExperts@Credit.com.
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