How to fix your credit score? A Simple Method to repair your Credit Score.
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How to fix your credit score? A Simple Method to repair your Credit Score.
If you have a bad credit score, you will end up paying more for your car loans,
credit cards and mortgages. And of course, nobody wants to do that or to be in such
a situation. If you want to know how you can turn around your credit score by taking
some simple steps, then read on..
First of all, you are not alone. According to recent estimates, around 110 million
American people are impacted by low credit scores. Therefore, it is not something
new that you are afflicted with. If you walked your way into having bad credit,
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First of all, you are not alone. According to recent estimates, around 110 million
American people are impacted by low credit scores. Therefore, it is not something
new that you are afflicted with. If you walked your way into having bad credit,
you can walk yourself out of it too. Credit score under 620 is generally considered
severely bad enough to make obtaining loans and credit cards on reasonable terms
difficult. Maybe you do not have a bad credit score at all and just want to improve
it because a better credit score directly translates into lower interest rates while
securing a loan or a credit card, it also helps in the endeavor for home ownership.
Please bear in mind that these are only general guidelines written to give you an
idea of what does and does not constitute a good credit score. If you need help
on how to raise your credit score fast, you should consider contacting our credit
repair specialists.
Check your score
The first step to improving your credit score is knowing where you stand currently.
The credit score (as you probably already know) ranges from 300 to 850, 300 being
extremely poor and 850 being excellent. These days, every American is entitled to
free credit reports every year from each of the three major credit bureaus, i.e.
Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Once you have your credit report with you, it’s
time for the next step.
Don’t hit the credit limit
Here’s the thing – lenders like to see a big gap between the amount of credit you’re
using and your credit limit. As a yardstick, always strive to keep your balances
below 30% of your credit limit. Start by paying off the credit cards that are closest
to their credit limit.
Track your spending
Irrespective of whether you pay your credit card bill each month in full or not,
raking up your balance close to the credit limit will hurt your score. As such,
it becomes essential to track and reduce your expenses even if you know that you
can pay them off. You can use a check register to track you’re your spending or
can use money management software like Microsoft Money or Quicken.
Be aware of your limits
Some lenders (like American Express) have a policy of not informing the customers
about the limit, in this case the bureau will treat your highest balance as your
credit limit. The problem here is that if you use a similar amount of credit each
month (let’s say $3000 to $3500), it may reflect in the report that you are regularly
maxing out your cards. A simple solution here is to pay off your balance on or before
your statement period closes.
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Don’t just build credit, build credibility
If you’ve been paying your credit card bills on time and have been a good customer,
the lender might just agree to erase that one late payment from your credit history
as a gesture of good faith. Such a request usually has to be made in writing and
the better your record with the company, the higher the chances of your request
being approved. It never hurts to ask though. If you’ve defaulted on your payments
more than once, a more viable solution is to ask the lender to “re-age” your account.
Under this provision, the lender might erase previous delinquencies if you make
a series of 12 or so on-time payments.
Mind the minor errors
Your credit score depends on a lot of factors, some more than the others. Certain
things that are worth correcting with your bureau are:
1) Late payments, charge-offs, collections or other negative items that aren't yours.
2) Credit limits reported as lower than they actually are.
3) Accounts listed as "settled," "paid derogatory," "paid charge-off" or anything
other than "current" or "paid as agreed" if you paid on time and in full.
4) Accounts that are still listed as unpaid that were included in a bankruptcy.
5) Accounts you closed listed as being open.
6) Accounts you closed that don't say "closed by consumer.
Put your old cards to use
Sometimes when you stop using your oldest cards, the issuer may stop updating those
accounts at the credit bureau. And even if the accounts still appear, they will
be given lesser weight in the credit-scoring formula than your other active accounts.
What you can do in this case is use your oldest credit cards once in a while to
charge a small amount, paying it down in full when the statement arrives.
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