Archive for June, 2009

7 Tips to Repair Your Credit Score Fast

Xylene Belita asked:


Do you think you need to repair your credit score fast? Does your credit report have some negatives on it? Do you have poor credit record? Have you ever made a lot of loan applications and missed some payments in the past? Then these tips on how to repair your credit score fast will show you how to deal with your problem permanently.

1. Correct Any Mistakes on Your Credit Report

One of the first things you should do if you want to repair your credit score fast is to correct any wrong info from your credit report.

Write to the credit bureau and request to correct the mistakes on your credit report. If in cases that they do not agree with you that it was a mistake, you can add a comment onto your credit report to explain. But, be sure to keep your comments neutral, and there is no accussation to anybody.

2. Create A Financial Plan

After taking care of any mistakes on your credit report, then you must start to manage your finances in a much better way. You should set a budget and stick to it. Only buy what is truly necessary for your needs.

3. Keep Your Credit Cards

If you want to to raise your credit score fast, you should maintain a good payment history on your credit cards. Use your credit cards only for necessary purchases. 

About two to four credit cards is a good number to have. You will not be able to repair your credit score fast if you only have one credit card. Also, if you have more than four credit cards, you would have a bad credit report. Having too many cards with large balances on them would not help your credit score. You would probably be better off financially and for your credit score if you consolidate some of your debts into a lower interest loan. However, you should not really overdo it.

If you need to reduce your number of cards, drop the newest credit cards first. An older credit card will count for more points as you start to improve your credit score.

4. Always Send Payments on Time

Of all the ways to repair credits, it is very important to always pay on time. You should never miss a payment on any loan or bill that will show on your credit report. Even if a loan company or credit card company offers you a month or two grace periods as extension to make payments, it is better if you do not accept this offer. Missing the due date may still show as a missed payment on your credit report. So, it is better for you to make your payments on time, if you really want to repair your credits. Also, be sure that your payments are received on or before the due date.

5. Pay More Than The Minimum

When it is possible, send credit card payments that are more than the minimum amount due at any time that you can. It will help your credit rating, save you on interest, and would bring you closer to debt relief.

Take note not to max out your credit cards. Ensure that the balance amount is way below your credit limit. This will help improve your credit report.

6. Don’t Make Too Many Loan Applications

Applying for too many loan applications will quickly flag you as a possible bad payer, so do not ever do it. Also, do not switch credit cards several times to take advantage of offers, or get new loans to pay off old loans.

To consolidate all your debts, just do it once. If you are shopping around for the best terms, try not to give out your name and address.

7. Make That Phone Call

If you are in a situation where you will have a difficult time meeting the deadline for a payment, do make that phone call. It is much better for you to call them, than waiting for them to contact you. If you are going to miss payments, they might start with the collection agencies, and that is really the worst thing that can happen for your credit score.

Talk to them briefly and explain your situation truthfully. Be prepared to make them an offer and negotiate. Create a payment plan that is realistic for you. If they will offer you two payment-free months, say something like: “No thank you, I would prefer to keep paying a little each month”. This will help you avoid missed payments showing on your credit record and proves that you are really serious to have debt relief.

When you have a new payment plan worked out together with them, do try to ask them if they would agree to stop reporting on you, so that you have a chance to repair your credit score fast. Many companies will agree to this request, as long as you commit to send payments on time and not miss any payments on your new plan.

Once you follow these tips, you will be able to improve your credit score quick. It will also help you to manage your finances and achieve debt relief in the future.



Gertrude
 

I just started fixing up my credit report, my score is around 605 which i thought was good but i was mistaken,

Marsham asked:


I just started fixing up my credit report, my score is around 605 which i thought was good but i was mistaken,what i am trying to figure out is how come when i finished paying off one collection account and it now shows paid in full my score went from 612 to 605, i thought paying off collection accounts was a good thing or am i wrong? Also i would like some advice on what i should or should not pay, i will provide the details if anyone is interested in helping me out.

Thanks
MM
I do have like 1 or 2 more collection account. For the one i just paid off i did get a letter stating that it was paid in full is this the same as a pay to delete letter and if not is it too late for me to get a pay to delete letter. Also if the CA does not offer a pay to delete letter should i not agree to pay it? I now have good new credit, i have a new car loan its been over a year and never missed a payment and my girl also added me as a user on her credit cards and she has a score over 700

Edwin

 

Improve Your Credit Score – 5 Myths Put to Rest

Daniel Lynch asked:


Most of us have a moment where we stop and wonder, “What can I do to improve my credit score?” It’s an excellent question, but it’s only half the issue. There are two parts to maintaining a good credit rating. They are the things you need to do and the things you should never do.

 

Most consumers don’t have a clear base of knowledge about their credit. They take advice from the self proclaimed financial expert who pontificates around the water cooler at work or from the brother-in-law that knows a guy who knows another guy whose brother knows everything about money matters. Folks, this is a recipe for disaster.

 

Let’s examine some of the most common misconceptions people have regarding their credit scores.

 



Getting My Credit Score Will Hurt My Credit – This is simply not true. There are two types of inquiries to a person’s credit score, known as the FICO score. They are called soft inquiries and hard inquiries. Soft inquiries will never adversely affect your credit score. Hard Inquiries may or may not. Checking your own credit score is considered a soft inquiry and will not affect your credit score.  A lender making an inquiry before issuing you credit constitutes a hard inquiry. If the lender disapproves your application for credit it will count against you.



 



Paying Off All My Debts Will Instantly Improve My Credit Score – Not only is this untrue, the exact opposite can occur. A large factor in your credit score is the difference between your available credit and how much you are actually using. Eliminating accounts reduces the amount of your total available credit. This gives more weight to your outstanding balances, which can negatively affect your credit score.



 

 



All Credit Reports Are Alike –Not true. The three main credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) do not share all the same databases. It is not unusual to find one listing an entry the other two don’t have. Many people think as long as they get a clean bill of health from one of the three, everything is fine. Not so. A word to the wise; if you are checking your credit score because of something important like applying for your first mortgage, get your report from all three. This gives you a chance to fix errors before a lender sees them.



 

 



High Credit Card Limits Will Hurt My Credit Score – Not true. Having a lot of available credit can be a good thing. As I mentioned in number 2, the important thing is the balance between your available credit and what percentage of it you are using. If you have $100,000 of available credit and are $95,000 in debt you are in bad shape. On the other hand, if you have $100,000 of available credit and are carrying only $5000 of debt you are in an enviable position.



 

 



The Information on My Credit Report Cannot Be Changed. It Is Carved In Stone And I’m Totally Screwed – Again, not true and I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard this one. You have a legal right to have inaccurate information removed from your credit report. This is the main reason to get your credit report from each of the big three credit bureaus. It is amazing how many things are wrong on these reports. Always correct errors on your credit report, unless of course, the error is in your favor.



 

 

Remember, there are two aspects to maintaining a good clean credit rating. You need to do things that will be good for your credit and not do things that will harm it.

 

I hope this myth busting helps.



Rachel
 

how long to Fix my wife’s credit?

jonchorizo asked:


I just found out my wife’s credit score is in the mid 400’s, if we pay off all of her debt and continue paying her credit card on time and her car payment. How long before it is in the 600’s or what can i do to get it there?

Corey
 

Credit Score/FICO Report – 5 Steps To Improvement

Jed Jones asked:


Your credit score/FICO report can determine your eligibility for loans, what interest rate you pay for loans, and even whether you get a job to which you are applying. With every incentive to improve your score and nothing to lose, it should be a priority step in getting your financial life on track.

Here are 5 steps to improve your credit score.

Tip #1: Pull your report for free:

The first step in fixing your credit is to get a handle on your current score. The Federal Trade Commission has an agreement with the Big Three credit reporting agencies to provide every U.S. citizen with a free credit report every 12 months. To get your free copy, go to the official Annual Credit Report Request Service Web site and follow instructions for requesting your report.

Tip #2: Pay your bills on time:

A full 35% of your FICO score is determined by how timely you pay your bills. If you have missed any payments in the past few years, it will likely help your score significantly to go back and fix your past-due status with the creditors involved. By paying your overdue bill, your creditors will remove these glitches from your report from each reporting agency. Hint: go back and pull your report again later to make sure that all three of the agencies have actually removed the problem from your records as promised.

Tip #3: Get the balance (of credit types) right:

10% of your credit score reflects the specific diversity of types of debt you have and the credit lines you have available to you. Make sure you have the right balance of auto or home loan, department store cards, charge cards, and credit cards. This healthy mix shows potential creditors that you know how to handle different types of debt.

Tip #4: Reduce your debt:

Your debt-to-credit ratio is the ratio of the amount you owe versus the amount of credit extended to you. It determines a full 30% of your credit score. There are three ways to reduce your debt: 1. Make more money; 2. Put more of your current income toward paying off your debt; 3. Reduce the cost of your debt. One great way to reduce the cost of your debt is to transfer your current credit card balances to credit cards with lower interest rates. Doing this can save you $100s per month in debt payments if you have large credit card balances.

Tip #5: Open more lines of credit:

You can also improve your debt-to-credit ratio by actually increasing the amount of credit extended to you. The key here is to do so while avoiding actually using these new credit cards. To avoid using the cards extensively, make a purchase or two with them each month and then hide them so they are not readily accessible. Also: if you do open more lines of credit, do so over a period of a few months since having too much new credit can actually hurt your score.

There are many straightforward ways to improve your credit score. So, pull your free report, assess your situation, and start taking steps toward a healthier financial life.



Dan
 

I need to know when my credit score will improve after aying off 3 bad items on my credit?

Mark asked:


I curently have a Transunion score of 596 experian score of 530 and a equifax score of 579. i’m looking o get a loan for 24,000. and i’m trading my 2005 dodge stratus in and i’m 3500.00 upside down in it. my bank has told me my score needs to be a 670 in order to pull this loan off. how long will it take my credit scores to update if i just recently paid off a charged off credit card for 452.00 one medical bill for 225.00 and a collections account for 121.00. i have never been late on my dodge stratus payment and i have a 2 revolving accounts one with less than 50% used and ine that is 75% used. when can i expect for my score to go up if on june first i paid all of the above mentioned negative debt? would it be possible for my score to be fixed by august for me to get the car for 24,000? serious answer’s only. i’m only looking for advise and answer’s not crtiszm

Irene
 

I am 23 with a credit score of 450 I am so depress ?

CatSoCool asked:


I got my first credit card at 17 then another one after that…I was young and reckless with money and didn’t understand back then…that was back in 2003/04 then in 2006 I got another credit card I tryed to start back to build credit but I lost my job and started school and that got messed up really bad I tryed many places to open accounts and I couldn’t get anything but multiple inquiry on my credit. I got a First Premier card that I just didn’t understand I used only like $30 now I owe over $500 dollars on that card I had a sprint account that got messed up and a credit card that a former employer gave employee to shop in the store that I had no clue would be on my credit….I just don’t know what to do anymore…I am looking into paying them off or leave it and wait for time. Starting nursing school and taking pre-pharmacy classes forced me to stop working and concentrate on school I need to fix my credit before applying to pharmacy school because I am gonna have to take out loans once im in.. ..I feel terrible and stressed I am working part-time and I find myself constantly crying..I dont have much help….any advice ?

Norma
 

My credit score is 631.is that?

FromTheTop asked:


bad? Can you tell me a little about where I’m standing? Also, there were 1 or 2 things on my credit report that were incorrect. There is a bad mark on my Mortgage payment that is/was a mistake. Once that is fixed, how much will that change my credit score? Last question, my income has doubled in the last 3 months, does the credit report know that, and if it does/doesn’t, would that make a difference in my credit score?

Gina
 

I’d like to start a business and have low credit what can i do?

kerenandnaudia asked:


i’m trying to start a business i have no credit thanks to getting n2 real estate and losing a house and not paying cc in time ne suggestions on how to fix it where to get all 3 credit scores free or where and how to get a loan to start a new business? one more ? what is business credit how is it established?

Gertrude