Website sponsored by myFICO, Homeownership Preservation Foundation, and Money Management International

FICO Terms of Use

Effective Date: December 2009

This Website (the "Site") is an online source of information about FICO and products provided by FICO for your personal use, subject to your agreement to the provisions set forth below.

Please note that FICO is not a credit repair organization or similarly regulated organization governed by the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act or similar state laws. FICO does not provide so-called "credit repair" services or advice or give advice or assistance regarding "cleaning up" or "improving" your credit record, credit history, or credit rating.

Please read the following provisions carefully before using this Site, including but not limited to the arbitration clause in Section 9 below. If you do not agree with any of these provisions below ("Website Terms of Use"), please do not use this Site. By accessing or using this Site and the associated products and services, you agree to be bound by these Website Terms of Use. FICO reserves the right to change these Website Terms of Use at any time, and by continuing to use the Site after we post a change, you will be deemed to have accepted the new Website Terms of Use. Therefore, you should check these Website Terms of Use for updates from time to time.

These Website Terms of Use apply to FICO, its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, and divisions, including the myFICO® Division, all of which are referred to as "FICO," "we," or "us." These Website Terms of Use apply to all users of this Site, including but not limited to registered users of FICO products or information. Each product also has its own Customer Agreement. These Website Terms of Use are in addition to, and do not override, the specific terms and conditions of the Customer Agreements that apply to the products or services offered by FICO and others through this Site. If there is a conflict between these Website Terms of Use and a Customer Agreement for a specific product, the Customer Agreement will govern.

1. Disclaimer of Warranties and Liability

This Site is for informational purposes only, and is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed. FICO does not provide legal, accounting, investment, financial, or any other kind of professional advice or services. To make sure that information or suggestions on this Site fit your particular circumstances, you should consult with an appropriate professional before taking action based on any suggestions or information on this Site. FICO does not control the content of your credit reports, which are based on your past or historical credit behavior, and we cannot change that information for you. Neither you nor anyone else has the right to have accurate and current information removed from your credit report. However, if information in your report is inaccurate, you have the right to dispute it by contacting the applicable credit bureau. We provide additional information about contacting the credit bureaus elsewhere on the Site.

Information and products offered by FICO and others through this Site are provided "as is" and without any express or implied warranty or representation of any kind, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. FICO makes no representation concerning, nor does it warrant or guaranty the correctness, comprehensiveness, completeness, accuracy, timeliness, merchantability, or fitness for any particular use or purpose of any information, products, or services offered by FICO and others through this Site. In no event will FICO be liable to any party for any damages of any kind, including but not limited to direct, indirect, special or consequential damages, for any use of this Site or any linked site including, without limitation, lost profits, loss of use, business interruption, loss of programs or other data, or failure to achieve any particular result, whether in an action based on contract, negligence, other tort, or strict liability, even if FICO is expressly advised of the possibility of those types of damages. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of warranties or damages in certain types of agreements, so the above exclusions or limitations may not apply to you.

Interactive tools such as letter-writing tools, coaching modules, simulators, and calculators are made available to you as information for your independent, personal use. We make no representations concerning, and do not guarantee, their accuracy or their applicability to your circumstances. Tools that are "personalized" reflect information about you (e.g., your FICO® score and the factors that are helping or hurting your score), but do not necessarily take all relevant information into account or provide results specific to your individual circumstances. The results of the FICO® Score Simulator ("Simulator") are intended to approximate the impact of various actions on your FICO® score - if your situation is reasonably typical and if everything else stayed the same. Your actual score, and the results of any particular action, are the result of a complex interaction of the information stored in your credit report, some of which changes on a daily basis. The Simulator is provided for informational purposes only and should not be expected to provide accurate predictions in all situations. Consequently, we make no promise or guarantee with regard to the Simulator.

2. Loan Products and Services

FICO does not make loans or credit decisions. FICO is not acting as a representative, agent, or correspondent for any third-party service provider ("Service Provider"). FICO does not endorse any particular Service Provider or loan or other product. Since everyone's financial circumstances are different you should make your own determination of which Service Provider, if any, you wish to work with, and which available loan or other product is most appropriate to your particular circumstances. You are under no obligation to use this Site to initiate contact or apply for credit with any of our Service Providers. FICO does not guarantee that you will be matched with a Service Provider, offered a loan or other product with satisfactory rates or terms, or receive a loan from a Service Provider. Any information you submit on this Site is not an application for credit or a request for a loan pre-qualification, but you may be asked to complete an application and/or provide other documentation to a Service Provider in connection with an application for credit. There is no charge to you for using this portion of the Site, but FICO may receive a fee from our Service Providers in exchange for our providing them with your information at your request.

There is no minimum credit requirement to use FICO's loan services. Although we work with Service Providers experienced in working with consumers who have a variety of credit histories, if you have credit problems it is less likely that you will be offered any particular product, or if you are, that it will be offered with rates or terms you will find satisfactory. Rates and terms offered by our Service Providers are determined solely by each individual Service Provider and will likely vary depending on your particular credit history and other circumstances.

3. Confidentiality

FICO's policy with respect to the privacy of individuals' personally identifiable and other information is set forth in our Privacy Policy, which you should review carefully. However, information posted in FICO® Forums is public information and is not protected under our Privacy Policy. Comments, suggestions, ideas, or materials (including without limitation original or creative materials) sent or transmitted to FICO or posted in FICO® Forums (collectively "Feedback") will be considered non-confidential (even if they are marked confidential) and will become the sole property of FICO. Subject to the conditions described in the Privacy Policy with respect to personally identifiable information, FICO has no obligation of any kind with respect to your Feedback and will be free to use, copy, modify and/or distribute the Feedback to others without limitation for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without compensation or acknowledgement to you, including, but not limited to, developing and marketing products and services incorporating your Feedback.

4. Recurring Payments

If you purchase a product on a subscription or recurring basis, we will attempt to send an email notice prior to the renewal date to the email address we have on file for you. To ensure that our emails can reach you, please make sure we have a current email address on file for you and add mail@email.myfico.com and mail@freeficoscore.com, to your approved senders lists in any spam filters you use. Even if you do not receive the notice, if you do not give us a notice of cancellation prior to the renewal date, you authorize us to charge your credit or debit card we have on file for the appropriate amount at the time of renewal. Note that your card may be charged even if the expiration date has passed, so it is important that you notify us if you wish to cancel a subscription or recurring charge.

5. Trademark Rights

The FICO product and service names referenced in this Site, including without limitation FICO, myFICO and FICO-the score lenders use™ (collectively, "FICO Marks") are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in other countries. Your use of the FICO Marks is governed by the FICO Third-Party Trademark and Logo Usage Requirements. Other products and company names mentioned on the Site may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

6. Copyright Notice

Copyright Notice: © 2002-2009 FICO, All Rights Reserved. Except as otherwise provided, FICO owns all content contained in this Site, including without limitation computer code and the information, materials, text, graphics, Site design, and the selection, assembly and arrangement of those items ("Content"). The Content is protected by copyright laws of the U.S. and other countries, and you may not use it for any commercial purpose or copy, distribute, display, modify, reproduce, perform, publish, post, or reverse engineer any Content, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of FICO. Please refer to the FICO Copyright Usage Requirements for additional information concerning copyrights. Affiliate Partners of myFICO.com may obtain consent to use portions of our Content. For more information please email your request to Contact Us or send regular mail to Internet Manager; FICO; 200 Smith Ranch Road; San Rafael, CA 94903; USA.

7. Linking Policies

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive right to create a hypertext link to this Site provided that the link (i) does not portray FICO and/or its affiliates or any of their respective products in a false, misleading, derogatory, or otherwise defamatory manner; and (ii) does not imply any sponsorship, approval, endorsement, or affiliation of your web site or products by FICO. Further, you may not create a hypertext link to this Site if you are a credit repair organization as defined in the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act or similar state laws. This limited linking right may be revoked by FICO at any time. You may not modify or alter the appearance or Content of the Site, nor use framing techniques to enclose any FICO web page, nor use or copy any trademark, logo, or other proprietary information, including the images found at this Site, the content of any text or the layout/design of any page or form contained on a page without FICO's express written consent. To obtain consent, please email your request to Contact Us or send regular mail to Internet Manager; FICO; 200 Smith Ranch Road; San Rafael, CA 94903; USA.

You are granted only a limited license to link to this Site and nothing in these Website Terms of Use grants you any rights in (i) any FICO Marks; (ii) the Content; (iii) any computer code; or (iv) any other intellectual property or proprietary rights of FICO.

FICO makes no representations, warranties, or endorsements with respect to any non-FICO web site which may be accessed through a link on this Site. When you access a non-FICO web site, please understand that FICO has no control over the content or information or any products or services offered at that site or the privacy policies relating to that site.

8. International Use

Unless otherwise specified, the materials on this Site are intended for use by US residents only. Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local laws including, without limitation, laws about the Internet, data, email, export, or privacy. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States and the country in which you reside.

9. Resolution of Claims and Disputes; Arbitration

This Site is controlled and operated by FICO through its corporate headquarters in the State of Minnesota and this Agreement will be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota, as it is applied to agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within that State.

We will try work in good faith to resolve any issue you have with our products or the Site if you bring that issue to the attention of our customer service department. However, we realize that there may be rare cases where we may not be able to resolve an issue to a customer's satisfaction. You agree that any dispute or claim arising out of or relating in any way to your use of this Site must be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration. The only exception would be if you have violated or threatened to violate the intellectual property rights of FICO or any third party, in which case FICO or that third party may go to court to seek an injunction or other appropriate relief. Unless a different procedure is required by applicable law, the arbitration will be conducted before a single arbitrator in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), including the AAA's Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes (see http://www.adr.org/sp.asp?id=22014#SUPP). Unless a different result is required by applicable law, no claims of any other parties may be joined or otherwise combined in the arbitration proceeding. In other words, you agree that you will not be allowed to file a class action or any kind of class or joint arbitration. Unless otherwise expressly required by applicable law, each party is responsible for its own attorneys' fees without regard to which party is deemed the prevailing party in the arbitration proceeding. Except for punitive and consequential damages (which the arbitrator is not authorized to award), and subject to these Website Terms of Use, the arbitrator is authorized to award either party any money damages or any provisional or equitable remedy permitted by applicable law.

The award of the arbitrators may be enforced by the prevailing party in any court having jurisdiction. Each party consents to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Minnesota or to any Federal Court located within the State of Minnesota for any action (i) to compel arbitration, (ii) to enforce any award of the arbitrators, or (iii) at any time prior to the qualification and appointment of the arbitrator, for temporary, interim, or provisional equitable remedies.

If this arbitration agreement is held to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable for any reason, it will be severed from these Website Terms of Use and the parties agree that exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any claims will be in state or federal courts in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

You agree that, even if a statute of limitations or other law provides for a longer time period, any action against FICO, its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, suppliers and any third party providers of information, products, or services relating to this Site or any information, products, or services available on or from this Site must be brought within 12 months after the event that gave rise to the cause of action or it is forever barred.

BECAUSE YOUR USE OF THIS SITE REQUIRES THAT YOU CONSENT TO ARBITRATION OF YOUR CLAIMS OR DISPUTES, YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO PURSUE YOUR CLAIM IN COURT OR BEFORE A JUDGE OR JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION OR ANY OTHER COLLECTIVE OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. THE ARBITRATOR'S DECISION WILL BE FINAL AND BINDING. OTHER RIGHTS THAT EITHER PARTY WOULD HAVE IF THAT PARTY WENT TO COURT, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE RIGHT TO CONDUCT DISCOVERY OR TO APPEAL, MAY BE LIMITED OR UNAVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION. IF ANY COURT WERE TO FIND THAT THE ARBITRATION CLAUSE WERE UNENFORCEABLE FOR ANY REASON, THEN YOU AGREE TO PURSUE YOUR CLAIM EXCLUSIVELY IN A STATE OR FEDERAL COURT IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, AND AGREE THAT A JUDGE RATHER THAN A JURY IS TO ADJUDICATE YOUR CLAIM.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless FICO and its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors and suppliers, and any third party providers of information or services to the Site, from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, resulting from your violation of these Website Terms of Use or any Customer Agreement applicable to products you have purchased, or your violation of the intellectual property rights of FICO or any of those other parties.

11. Miscellaneous

No waiver by FICO of any breach of these Website Terms of Use or of any Customer Agreement will constitute a waiver of any other breach of the same or other provisions. Any waiver must be in writing. If any provision in these Terms is found by a court or arbitrator to be invalid or unenforceable, the parties agree that the court or arbitrator should give effect to these Website Terms of Use to the extent possible, and the other provisions of these Website Terms of Use will remain in full force.

NOTICE TO ILLINOIS RESIDENTS: MANY GOVERNMENT RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE FREE OR AT A NOMINAL COST FROM GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO GIVE YOU A COPY OF YOUR CREDIT RECORD UPON REQUEST, AT NO CHARGE OR FOR A NOMINAL FEE.

Under federal law you have a right to receive a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year, and we encourage all consumers to take advantage of this law. However, you should know that the free credit reports do not include your FICO® score. You should also know that "credit scores" offered by others may not be FICO® scores and may not be scores that are used by lenders in making credit decisions.

FICO is not responsible for delays or failure to perform due to causes beyond its reasonable control.

It is your responsibility to protect your system from such items as viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other destructive items, and to keep any logon ID and passwords you use to access the Site secret.

If we have not specifically granted you a right under these Website Terms of Use or a Customer Agreement, that right is reserved to FICO.

These Website Terms of Use, together with the Customer Agreement, Privacy Policy and other documents referred to herein and therein, constitute the entire agreement between you and FICO with respect to your use of this Site and the products and services you obtain from this Site.