The best-known credit score in the United States is the FICO scoreeBeacon scoree and the Emperica score.
-
punctuality of payment in the past,
-
current ongoing debt,
-
length of credit history,
-
types of credits used,
-
amounts of credits applied for in the recent past.
Current income and employment history do not influence the FICO score.
In September 2004, a Texas utility company began setting individualized electricity prices based on credit score. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2004-09-09-txu_x.htm)
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), people can access their credit scores if they wish, and many online services exist whereby people can check their scores over the Internet.
Recently, some of the agencies which generate credit scores have also been generating insurance scores, which insurance companies then use to rate the quality of potential customers.