fix credit score online

askdiscovertruh asked:


My husband currently has a horrible credit score while I on the other hand have an Excellent credit score. At the moment I’m not too concerned with how his score will affect us because we are both in graduate school and not looking to buy a house. We’ve been making payment regularly and on time to try and fix his credit but it won’t increase that much. I read on the Wallstreet Journa this week that many people add their child as an authorized user and immediately their credit history with the card is transferred off to that person dramatically increasing their credit score…

But my question is, if I add him, will his history automatically be connected with mine???
How about if I add him as a joint applicant?
Would my history be transferred to his and will his history affect mine?

Sam

Michael Brazier asked:


You as a consumer have rights under the Fair Debt Reporting Act to dispute negative information contained in your credit report. You can dispute negative or falsified information on your credit report by writing a dispute letter to the credit bureau that contains the negative blemish. This can usually be done online as well, while youre reviewing your credit report. Free credit reports are available through sites like annualcreditreport.com and disputes are enabled through a simple click through feature per each entry on the report. Once a dispute letter has been mailed or submitted online the law then requires the credit reporting agencies to take action for the consumer by conducting an investigation of said issue.

With these easy to follow steps you can easily write an effective dispute letter to the credit bureau.

Obtain your credit report: You can obtain a free credit report once a year or if you have been recently declined credit. Annualcreditreport.com provides a truly free credit report that can accelerate the process of sending snail mail. I mean, it is 2009…Order a copy from all three major credit bureaus. Experian, Equifax, TransUnion.

Become Sherlock Holmes: Read through your report with a fine tooth comb…or a slow scrolling mouse…Look for falsified information that may indicate you have been a victim of identity theft. Check the history of revolving accounts for false details, negative statuses, and outdated remarks that may be eligible to be removed.

Specify the items in dispute. Be very specific as to what item youre referencing and as detailed as possible as to what the dispute involves. If you have to use snail mail, send a copy of the credit report along with your dispute, circling which mark is being referenced. Online users can take a screenshot of the online credit report.

Separate the masses: If youre disputing several items youll want to send the disputes individually. As tricky as credit can be you have to imagine the men behind the curtain arent over willing to make that extra effort and sift through pages of email gripes or a manila folder as thick as a bible pointing out mistakes their organization has posted. Make it easy on the credit bureau to review each dispute individually. This is more to your benefit than theirs, trust.

Play nice: CAPPING every word isnt going to come off as cordial. As upset as you may be that you have erroneous marks on youre credit its best not to express yourself as a demanding impatient tyrant. Make your dispute personal and professional. Be polite. They can –read- your smile, lol.

Just the facts maam: Were not writing novels here. These are dispute letters. A definitive, professional, polite, one to two liner dispute per item. You have your goal, stick to it and lay out the facts. Point out the errors and request corrections and confirmations.

This is America! Keep in mind that you have the right to dispute marks on your credit report. Credit bureaus are required to investigate your dispute and can take up to 30 days to research and reply with the outcome of the investigation.

Follow up: Upon completion, you will receive a letter or copy of your credit report that shows their findings from the review. Should you not receive a response after 30 days send another letter reminding them of their obligation to respond and satisfy your submitted dispute. If you do not receive a reply thereafter your next step is to contact the FTC and file a formal complaint against the credit bureau. In the few cases where it escalates to contacting the FTC the disputed items are usually removed immediately for negligence and lack of evidence to support the negative mark.

More Help: If youre credit report looks like gibberish a non-profit credit counseling agency will usually review your report with you for free over the phone, via email, or in person should the service be local. Contact our certified credit counselors at our BBB Rated A+ non-profit credit counseling agency for a free review of your credit report and more helpful information to get your credit back on track. We help people fix credit scores and reduce debt through free financial information and debt elimination programs. Get on the road to financial freedom with Freedom Debt Management, 800-905-1563.



Judy

David Cooke asked:


Every day I meet people who want to buy a home.Some of them are in their twenties but some of them are in their thirties and forties and they know nothing about credit. I decided to put together a simple list of ways to improve your credit. Follow these steps and you can improve your credit score. This will result in lower interest charges for you. You can save thousands of dollars in the future. Are you feeling motivated? Read below and start saving money.

10. Check your credit report every year. Knowing what your credit score is is the first step in improving it. In this age of identity theft you might find someone using your name and credit history and fix it before the police come calling.

9. Don’t apply for new credit cards that you don’t need. This could lower your score.

8. Try to keep your credit balances as low as possible. You can also ask the lender to increase your credit limit which can increase your credit score.

7. Correct any incorrect information on your report. Credit reporting agencies are notorious for the errors they have on credit reports. If you find an error call the credit reporting agency and tell them about it. If it is the bank or store’s fault get them to fix it.

6. If you have damaged credit consider opening new accounts and paying them off promptly. This can add 30 points to your score in a year.

5. If you do not have credit consider getting a secured credit card. This is a credit card where the consumer makes a deposit to the credit card company of $500 . for example. He then has $500. worth of credit on his card. This is a great way to establish or re-establish credit.

4. Pay bills on time, since any payments more than 30 days late will affect the credit score. Note that a bill issued March 15 with a due date of March 31 does not become 30 days late until April 30, but if you have the means, pay earlier rather than later. A single late payment may result in a drop of over 20 points.

3. To minimize the number of inquiries on your credit report don’t apply for multiple credit cards . If your credit rating is important to you, then you also need to consider that when you shop from lender to lender, there is an accumulation of inquires on your credit bureau report, affecting your credit rating and ultimately the rate and terms of your mortgage. This isn’t the case with a mortgage broker who only does one inquiry yet can still get many competing lenders to quote on your business.

2. After you buy a home don’t go out and buy all the furniture to fill it. This will lower your score and pose a problem when the lawyers are closing the deal. Lenders often check your credit 5 days before closing and will refuse funding if the score has dropped too much. Don’t be fooled by “Don’t pay until 2007″ ads. The full cost of the items purchased will be showing on your credit report and lower the score accordingly.

1. And finally the Number 1 way to improve your credit score….

If you fall behind in your payments due to illness, unemployment or family issues TALK TO YOUR CREDITORS Arrange a payment schedule with them.. Talking to them is a lot better than having them call you with threats of foreclosure or bailiffs’ seizures.

David Cooke is a senior mortgage consultant In Calgary Alberta, Canada. You can find more information by calling him at 403-836-1201 or by visiting his website at: www.mortgagealliance.ca/davidcooke



Glenn

Brandi asked:


My husbands ex girlfriend store our SS#’s (from a police report that we filed on her, she got a copy). She then took it apon herself to open up 16 credit cards between the two of us and the bills sent to a PO box that was in her friends name. She maxed the cards out (most of thm were only 200 and 300 bucks) and then tossed them. I have filed another police report but the credit card companys are still holding my accountable. SOOO… we have been placed with a credit consoldation company so that we can actully pay this stuff off (taking this chick to civil court….). And these accounts have been closed. There are a few other things that are on our credit from us and we are working to pay those things off as well. We have been working on this for almost a year now but our credit scores are in the low to mid 400’s ( REALLY BAD )

How can I get this fixed? Or am I on the right track? For the last year everything has been paid on time, and I think that the closed accounts are what is hurting me the most. What can I expect? And when can I expect this to get better?

Carlos

Ryan asked:


Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t realize the importance of having and maintaining a good credit score until it is too late. It’s when they are turned down or a job, denied from renting an apartment, or when they can’t get an auto loan that they wish they had paid a little closer attention to the due dates on their bills.

For some people a bad credit score can actually mean not being able to get approved for a credit card or loan, while for others it could mean the difference in several thousand dollars from higher interest rates.

Luckily, it’s never too late to fix your credit score. There are several strategies you can use to make immediate improvements to your FICO score without the help of a paid professional. Here are the top 5 ways to raise credit score:

1. Know your available credit to debt ratio: One of the quickest ways to fix your credit score (or make it worse) is to improve your credit-to-debt ratio. For example, if you have a credit card with a $10,000 spending limit, and you have a balance of $5,000, you are using 50% of your available credit limit. Ideally you want to be around 25% or lower. There best way to solve that is to pay down your debt. If that’s not an option, there are some tricks you can use to improve that ratio.

2. Keep a credit history: One of the biggest mistakes people do when trying to fix their credit is closing all of their credit cards. This can actually have the reverse affect because creditors and lenders want to see that you have a history of borrowing money or using credit. If you are going to close some accounts, make sure it is the most recent accounts that you have and keep the old ones open indefinitely.

3. Don’t apply for too much new credit: If you keep applying for credit over and over, this raises some red flags and will hurt your credit score. Research has found that typically when someone is desperately trying to get approved for a loan or opening multiple accounts, they generally end up going on a spending spree and end up unable to pay back their debts.

4. Pay off revolving debt: Paying off your revolving debt, or credit cards, will help you get back on track. It will also help you lower your credit to debt ration and improve your credit history. All good things for your credit score.

5. Pay your bills on time: One of the very best things you can do to create a near perfect credit score is to pay your bills. Set up automatic bill pay so you never have to worry about being late again and being stuck with late fees.

Get your credit score.



Walter

Mark W asked:


I would like to sit with someone and have them review my credit reports and give me advice on how to improve my credit score. I went to a credit counseling place and they just wanted money. Would like to buy a home soon. Is there anywhere I can go ?

Patricia