Itsme: you have provided useful info before, so I assume you got out of bed on the wrong side (metaphorically speaking) and are just a little testy right now.

As far as Coke goes, you can buy essentially the same product (with perhaps less effective ads) from Pepsi, Sam's Club etc. Folks tell me Sam's is just about the same as Coke. I guess Wal-Mart figured out the "secret."

As to FICO, it is true that Fair I. claims its formula is top secret, but that's how they make their money, selling the "secret." There are lots of places on the web to get quasi FICO scores which are close enough. Check out the three bureau sites for starters. I think we all, just from looking at FT and Fat Wallet have a pretty good idea of what goes into a credit score. Pay bills on time, keep old accts open, keep credit line use down, etc. Credit scoring is no mystery, but, like a lot of the rest of the financial services, there is a lot of effort put into cloaking it in a heavy haze.