FICO 08 Arrives in '09

DENVER, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- More than a year and a half after it was first
announced, FICO(R) 08 -- an updated version of the FICO(R) credit score system
-- is finally making its debut in '09.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090224/LA73054LOGO)

Initially proposed in June 2007, the original intent of FICO 08 was to stop
the use of credit piggybacking as a method of improving credit scores. Credit
piggybacking is a legal method of improving a personal credit rating by adding
an individual as an "authorized user" onto an account of a person who already
has good credit. This quickly and dramatically raises the authorized user's
FICO credit score.

A Failed Attempt
This matter gained notoriety in January of 2008 when Fair Isaac's attempt to
halt the practice of credit piggybacking was challenged as illegal by
BoostMyScore.NET, a Denver, Colorado-based company.

BoostMyScore.NET, which utilizes credit piggybacking to improve clients' FICO
credit scores, was of the opinion that ignoring authorized user accounts in an
individual's credit report was illegal -- and Congress, the Attorney General,
and the FTC agreed.

In July of 2008 Fair Isaac, following the counsel of the FTC, conceded before
a Congressional subcommittee that BoostMyScore.NET was correct in its finding
that it would be illegal to ignore authorized user credit histories in
calculating FICO credit scores.

About Credit Piggybacking
"By using the practice of credit piggybacking, those who deserve a good FICO
credit score end up with one," explains Bill Airy, BoostMyScore.NET's founder
and President. "Sometimes it's the only way to help people out of the Catch-22
that if they don't have credit they can't get credit."

"We're not getting good scores for deadbeats with bad credit," Airy clarifies.
"Credit piggybacking doesn't change or erase a bad credit history or make a
bad credit risk suddenly look good. It just helps those who need to establish
credit and/or raise their credit score to qualify for a loan and optimal
financing terms. It's an important service for legitimate borrowers,
especially as the credit markets continue to tighten."

"We're not gaming the system in any way," Airy asserts. "Fair Isaac created
the system and we just play by their rules. But oversights and failures in
those rules frequently work against responsible, credit-worthy people. Credit
piggybacking is the fastest way of correcting and counterbalancing the flaws
in their own system."

FICO 08
Airy's July 2008 victory required Fair Isaac to significantly revise FICO 08,
which accounts for the delay in its release.

FICO 08 also includes provisions that will -- among other things -- reduce the
negative impact of collections under $100 on an individual's FICO credit score
and increase the negative impact of multiple late payments.

Industry experts predict that it will take well over a year for the lending
industry to fully adopt the revised credit scoring model and that it will be
quite some time before consumers actually experience the effects of these
changes.

http://www.BoostMyScore.NET

SOURCE BoostMyScore.NET

Bill Airy of BoostMyScore.NET, 1-800-531-1472, ext. 737,
bill@boostmyscore.net