FICO Credit Scores are calculated from a lot of different credit data in your credit report. This data can be grouped into five categories as outlined below. The percentages in the chart reflect how important each of the categories is in determining your credit score.

These percentages are based on the importance of the five categories for the general population. For particular groups - for example, people who have not been using credit long - the importance of these categories may be somewhat different.

Rising interest in credit scores
Today, a credit record is more than just a dry report on how many credit cards you have and whether you made every auto payment on time. Credit recording agencies often distill consumers' reports into a three-digit number called a credit score -- and that number alone can determine whether you get easy monthly payments or loan-shark rates. It's not surprising that as credit scores become more important, consumers are taking more interest in these three-digit numbers. A high score saves you money, a low score costs you. This fascination with credit scores has led to more interest in repairing credit to increase scores.

The need for such a service is obvious. Practically every consumer has inaccurate or outdated information on a credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus.

These errors can be costly, and it's up to the consumer to get them corrected. The credit bureaus are not obligated to root out errors and provide accurate information. Their job is to record the information presented to them by creditors.

When struggling to get out of debt, it's likely that you may cross paths with a collection agency at some point - a third party agency hired by your creditor to collect on your debt. Some collectors are more aggressive than others. It's important to know your rights as a consumer so that you don't fall victim to an aggressive collector employing unscrupulous methods. If you have past due accounts, it's important to know how to effectively deal with collectors and what recourse you have when confronted with overly aggressive tactics.