A study conducted by OnePoll revealed that one in eight Americans don’t have an idea of their credit score.
OnePoll’s study examined the credit score awareness and lending habits of Americans.
About 13 percent of the 2,000 respondents claimed they have ‘literally no idea’ what their credit score is. Almost 46 percent of the respondents said they haven’t checked their scores for over two months. Meanwhile, a whopping 76 percent of the respondents said they aren’t aware of the ramifications of having a bad credit score.
Lack of Credit Score Knowledge
The diverse profile of the respondents revealed how a lot of Americans have limited knowledge of credit score and financial products. About 54 percent said a low credit score can make getting approved for loans difficult as compared to having a higher credit score.
When it comes to getting a security clearance, 48 percent said lower credit score caused them trouble getting a job. Almost seven in ten Americans feel poor ratings hold them back in life. This has to do with renting a place to stay because credit rating becomes a factor for landlords.
“These findings are sobering. There is no doubt, access to credit creates upward mobility and traditional lending relies almost exclusively on credit scores. People can’t solve access if they don’t know what is holding them back,” said the spokesperson.
The study concluded that more Americans continue to loop on bad credit because they are unaware of the various factors that play a key role in increasing or decreasing their credit rating.
LendingPoint spokesperson said, “In order to tell proper credit stories, you need more data from resources. Creditworthiness is not a single number—it is the product of hundreds if not thousands of decisions and behaviors that we now have to tech the decipher.”
