PR - Experian Finds 30% of Consumers Improved Credit Score in Six Months

Three out of every 10 U.S. consumers improved their credit score by up to 50 points in a six-month period from January to June 2007, according to the latest National Score Index study by Experian Consumer Direct, the leading provider of online direct-to-consumer credit reports, scores and monitoring products.

"Consumers are faced with financial decisions on a regular basis that can impact their credit score, and this study provides insight on how those decisions can change their credit score over a short period of time," said Ty Taylor, president of Experian Consumer Direct. "The current conditions in the real estate market are an example of why it is important for consumers to understand how practices such as maintaining low credit card balances, paying bills on time and opening new credit accounts only as needed can affect their credit score."

The Experian study also examined the movement of credit scores among different score groups. The groups were based on 50-point increments from a minimum of 400 to 449 to a maximum of 800 to 849. Twenty percent of consumers with a credit score between 650 and 699 in January improved their score to between 700 and 749 in June. Fourteen percent of consumers with a credit score between 700 and 749 in January improved their score to between 750 and 799 in June.

Statewide, 33 percent of consumers in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont improved their credit score by up to 50 points from January to June, leading the nation. The average credit score for consumers in North Dakota is 716, in South Dakota it is 718, and in Vermont it is 713. For additional survey results, visit Experian’s National Score Index Web site at http://www.NationalScoreIndex.com.

The study also found that:

41 percent of the U.S. population showed no change in their credit score from January to June 2007
2 percent of the U.S. population had their credit score improve by 51 to 100 points from January to June 2007, whereas 3 percent of U.S. consumers saw their score drop 51 to 100 points during the same time period
Nationwide, 23 percent of consumers had their credit score drop up to 50 points from January to June 2007

Experian’s National Score Index study is based on a nationwide sampling of 2 million consumer credit files. Using the PLUS Score model, the national average credit score for April to August 2007 was 692. Experian’s National Score Index Web site is updated monthly with the most recent Experian data on U.S. consumers’ credit.

PR - Experian Finds 30% of Consumers Improved Credit Score in Six Months

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