Is 428 Credit Score Good or Bad? Your score falls within the range of scores, from 300 to 579, which is considered very bad. A 428 FICO® score is significantly lower than the average credit score.
Many lenders consider consumers with a score in the Very Bad range to be unfavourable credit and may reject their credit application. Applicants with scores in this range may be asked to pay additional fees or make credit card deposits. Utilities may also require down payments on equipment or service contracts.
16% of all consumers have FICO® scores in the Very Poor range (300-579).
About 62% of consumers with a credit score of less than 579 are likely to become serious delinquents in the future.
Table of Contents
Is 428 Credit Score Good or Bad?
Is 428 Credit Score Good or Bad? 428 credit score is a bad credit score. The bad news about your FICO® score of 428 is that it is well below the average credit score of 714. The good news is that there are plenty of opportunities to increase your score. Continue reading our guide on Is 428 Credit Score Good or Bad for a better understanding of how to improve your credit score.
How to improve your credit score of 428?
A smart way to build a credit score is to get your FICO® score. Along with the score itself, you get a report detailing the most significant events in your credit history that lower your score. Because that information is pulled directly from your credit history, it can identify issues that you can address to boost your credit score.
Building on a very bad credit score
FICO® scores in the Very Bad range often reflect a history of credit missteps or errors, such as multiple missed or late payments, loan defaults or foreclosures, and even bankruptcy.
Of consumers with a FICO® score of 428, 27% have a credit history indicating they have been 30 or more days past due on a payment in the past 10 years.
Once you are familiar with your credit report, its contents, and its impact on your credit scores, you can take steps to build your credit. As your credit behaviour improves, your credit scores will usually follow suit.
What Affects Your Credit Score?
If you want to work on better credit scores, watch out for behaviours that can lower your credit score:
• Late or missed payments
One of the major influences on your credit score is its proven ability to pay bills consistently and on time. Late and missed payments and bills that are considered overdue will hurt your credit score. A steady history of on-time payments will help your credit score. This can make up to 35% of your FICO® score.
• Credit usage
Lenders and credit scorers have a technical term for “maximizing” your credit cards by spending your entire credit limit. They call it pushing your credit utilization ratio to 100%. They consider it a very bad idea, which is why it can significantly lower your credit score. Most experts recommend keeping your usage below 30% to avoid hurting your credit score. To calculate your credit utilization ratio, add up the balances on your credit cards and divide them by the sum of their credit limits. Usage percentage is responsible for a whopping 30% of your FICO® score.
• Credit history
The number of years you have been a credit user can affect up to 15% of your FICO® score. All other things being equal, a longer credit history will typically yield a higher credit score than a shorter history. This reflects lenders’ interest in borrowers with a proven track record of debt repayment. If you’re relatively new to the credit market, there’s not much you can do about this factor except be patient and avoid missteps along the way.
• Recent credit applications
Constantly applying for new loans or credit cards can hurt your credit score. Requests for credit trigger events, also known as hard investigations, are recorded in your credit report and reflected in your credit score. In a hard investigation, a lender obtains your credit score (and often your credit report) to decide whether to do business with you.
Hard investigations will temporarily lower your credit scores, but scores usually come back in a few months as long as you keep your accounts up to date — and don’t make additional loan applications until then. (Checking your own creditworthiness is a soft examination and will not affect your credit score.) Hard examinations can make up to 10% of your FICO® score.
• Total debt and credit mix
It may sound strange, but taking out a new loan – if it’s the right kind of loan – can boost your credit score. Credit scores reflect your total outstanding debt and the types of credit you have. Credit scoring systems like FICO® tend to respond well to a variety of credit types. In particular, they prefer a mix of revolving credit (bills such as credit cards, which borrow within a certain credit limit) and instalment credit (loans such as mortgages and car loans, with a certain number of fixed monthly payments).
Public Information: If bankruptcies or other public records appear on your credit report, they can have a serious negative impact on your credit score.
The average credit card debt for consumers with FICO® scores of 428 is $1,517.
Improve your credit score
Is 428 Credit Score Good or Bad? Converting a very bad credit score to a fair (580-669) or a (670-739) good one is a gradual process. It can’t be done quickly (and you should avoid any company or consultant who tells you otherwise). But you can see some steady improvement in scores within a few months if you immediately start developing habits that promote good credit scores.
Here are some good starting points:
1. Pay your bills on time
Yes, you’ve heard it before. But there is no better way to improve your credit score. If you have overdue accounts or collections.
Avoid high credit utilization rates. Try to keep your usage below 30% for all your accounts to avoid dropping your score.
2. Consider a debt management plan
If you are having trouble paying back your loans and credit cards, a debt management plan can provide some relief. You’ll work with a nonprofit credit consulting firm to work out a manageable repayment schedule. Entering into a DMP will effectively close all your credit card accounts. This can significantly lower your credit scores, but your scores can recover faster than bankruptcy. If this sounds too extreme to you, you may still want to consult a credit advisor (not a credit repair company) to come up with a game plan to improve your creditworthiness.
3. Think of a credit-building loan
Many credit unions offer these small loans, which are intended to help their members rebuild or rebuild their credit. There are different types of credit-building loans, but in one of the more popular ones, the credit union gives you a loan, but instead of giving you cash, they place it in an interest-bearing savings account.
Once you have paid off the loan, you will have access to the money plus the accrued interest. It’s partly a savings tool, but the real benefit comes when the credit union reports your payments to the national credit bureaus. As long as you regularly pay on time, the loan can lead to improvements in your credit score. (Make sure the credit union reports payments to all three national credit bureaus before taking out a lender loan.)
4. Apply for a secured credit card
A secured credit card usually has a small borrowing limit – often just a few hundred dollars – and you deposit the full amount of that limit. As you use the card and make regular payments, the lender reports these activities to the national credit bureaus, where they are recorded in your credit files and reflected in your FICO® scores. By making timely payments and avoiding using the card “to the max,” using a secured credit card can promote improvements in your credit score.
5. Try to establish a solid credit mix
The FICO® credit scoring model favours users with multiple credit accounts and a mix of different loan types, including instalment loans such as mortgages or auto loans and revolving credit such as credit cards and some equity loans.
Conclusion – Is 428 Credit Score Good or Bad?
Is 428 Credit Score Good or Bad? The bad news about your 428 Credit Score is that it is well below the average credit score of 714. The good news is that there are plenty of opportunities to increase your score.
It’s never too late to learn more about your credit score and start working on a better FICO® score, and your 428 FICO® score is as good a starting point as any.
Bringing your score within the reasonable range (580-669) can give you access to more credit options, lower interest rates, and lower fees. You can get started right away with your free credit report from Experian and check your credit score to see what it takes to grow your score. Read more about score ranges and what a good credit score is.