Credit scores are used when lenders decide what interest rate to charge for auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, and just about every other type of consumer credit, but consumers are left in the dark about exactly how the credit score is calculated by Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. The credit reporting agencies claim they provide consumers with the basics of what goes into a credit score, but the exact calculations are unavailable to consumers, the ones who are most affected by the number.

The Environment of Secrecy

Does this environment of secrecy seem fair? In recent months, banking secrecy has proven to be very costly to American taxpayers, so how is it that no one has started paying attention to credit score secrecy? Full disclosure or credit score calculations seems to be the best option for consumers.

The secrecy surrounding the calculations of these numbers leaves plenty of room for abuse. Secrecy in banking has never been good for consumers and the people with the power to create the credit score calculations have the potential to abuse the system without anyone know. How can any consumer know that credit scores are not artificially lowered to benefit big banks? The lower a credit score, the higher the interest rates charged, leading to more profits for banks. Secrecy in this situation has the appearance of potential disaster for consumers.

Charging to Know Your Credit Score

Not only are credit score calculations kept a tightly guarded industry secret, but the industry also charges consumers to know their credit score. Whether it is Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax, you will be charged to know your credit score. Since each person's credit score affects how much a consumer will pay for borrowing money, which can add up to many thousands of dollars, how has it become normal for consumers to accept that they must pay to know their credit score?

Consumers Can Change The Status Quo

With the current political pro-consumer environment, maybe it is finally time for politicians to take up this issue. Consumers should know exactly how their credit scores are calculated and consumers should also be able to know their credit score anytime they apply for credit. Only when the elected politicians know that consumers want a change will anything occur.

Write, call, and/or email your congressional representatives in your state and ask them why you have to pay to know your credit score and why the calculation of the score is kept secret. You can contact your state's Representatives online as well as your state's Senators.

At Credit Unions Online, we are always pro-consumer. We urge all consumers to take up this issue and finally end the environment of secrecy surrounding consumer credit. The time is here for consumers to no longer be left in the dark about their credit scores and how they are calculated.