The credit bureaus are more than happy to charge you for your credit score, but you don’t need to pay if you know where to look. There are two major online companies right now which offer consumers a free credit score based on the information found in their credit reports. To be clear, these are not the FICO credit score, which is the industry standard. But the scores are based on the same data and should be a good representation of your FICO score.

The minimum credit score needed for approval varies by store credit card, but it’s not the only criteria used. For example, someone with a low credit score simply because they are new to credit will probably be looked upon more favorably than someone with a low score due to late payments or a charge off.

When a woman received a letter from a debt collecting agency for an $8.97 debt, she began to wonder if it would hurt her credit score. She explains, “Today I received a letter in the mail from a collection agency stating that a DVD I rented from Family Video (probably 5 years ago) has gone to collections. The total that I owe is $8.97. Am I going to get a bad credit score for an unpaid bill of $8.97?! Help would be greatly appreciated — Jillian”

Citigroup, the fourth-largest credit-card lender by purchase volume in the U.S., is partnering with Fair Isaac Co., the provider of the credit score most widely used by lenders, to provide its customers with their FICO Score beginning in January.

Did you get a parking ticket in another state or what about a speeding ticket or other citation?