FICO credit-scoring
system is being revised to reduce the negative effect of overdue medical bills
and to quit penalizing consumers who pay off debts that had been assigned to
collection agencies. The changes to the hugely influential FICO scoring system
could make it easier for millions of Americans to get loans at lower rates and
eventually save consumers billions of dollars.
For
consumers whose only major delinquency is an unpaid medical bill, the changes
would increase a credit score by 25 points, according to Fair Isaacs Corp.,
whose FICO credit ratings are the basis for scores published by the three big
credit-rating agencies.
