Thursday, January 23rd
Improving Your Credit Score
Improving your credit score is imperative to your financial future. Not only do home loan, car loans and credit card companies use your credit score to determine your worthiness but employers, insurance providers and apartment building owners so as well. If you have a low credit score - improving your credit is imperative.
There are a variety of ways to improve your credit score. Some of these include:
- Order a credit report from all three credit reporting agencies, or preferably a combined report. You'll be surprised that not all three reports will match identically and you might even find bad information. Pulling your credit reports should be done at least quarterly to continuously keep an eye on your credit and any potential problems that might creep up.
- Consider hiring a credit repair company to help resolve credit reporting issues. These are professionals who are experts at working with credit agencies to improve your credit score. They will manage all efforts to identify reporting issues, file effective disputes with agencies, and follow through to completion. They are also experienced with credit legalities and the Fair Credit Reporting Act which takes the stress and burden off of you. Before you decide to hire a credit repair company do your research.
- Start paying your bills on time. Even if you're only a few days late creditors don't hesitate to report these events to credit agencies which can have a major impact on your score. If you're simply in a place where you can't make your payments on time and there's not enough incoming cash flow to cover your payments it's time to contact your creditors and ask for help.
- Be careful when you close credit cards. Generally speaking an unused card is not a negative factor to your credit unless you have too much open credit. If you do decide to close a few cards make sure you choose those that have been open the shortest period of time so that you don't impact your credit history. Also make sure you request that they are closed with the indicator "closed at consumers request". Credit agencies don't take kindly to credit cards that are closed by a lender.
- If you're just now getting back on your feet with creditors attempt to re-establish new credit cards slowly yet responsibly. Pay them off on time each month and watch your credit score rise.
If you're troubled with a low credit score it's important to take immediate action to avoid issues with employers, landlords, banks and more. A credit score will not magically improve overnight but will make slow steady progress with your positive efforts.
Credit Repair Company FAQ
Credit repair is just like it sounds: a process by which your credit history and score are improved. This happens through negotiations with creditors, removing negative information reported to credit bureaus, and other strategies.
That will depend on several factors: your state of residence, the type(s) of issues you're looking to resolve, and so on. Most credit repair services offer a free consultation, to determine if you're eligible for their help and which approach to take in your specific case.
Credit repair services typically charge a one-time setup fee and monthly service fees. One-time fees range from $19 to $195, and monthly fees from $29 to $159.95. You might get a discount if you sign up as a couple, or if you're a current or former member of the military.
Most of the actions taken on your behalf by a credit repair service can be done on your own. But, how much time do you have? Are you typically available to make calls during business hours? Hiring a credit repair provider can save you a significant amount of time and hassle. And, there's something to be said for letting the experts do the work, using their knowledge and connections to ensure that your credit repair process is done effectively.
The first step with any credit repair service will likely involve a thorough review of your credit report. Your representative will discuss your credit history in detail, help you identify actionable items, and give you a recommendation for which services are best suited to your needs. From there, credit repair providers work diligently to address the issues and resolve them, for as long as you maintain your subscription to their services.
Most services state that you'll see negative items removed from your credit history within the first 90 days. The amount of time it will take to see an improvement in your credit score will depend on your particular circumstances.
Sometimes. A few credit repair services guarantee that you'll see those deletions within the first three months, and you'll get a refund of any fees paid if that doesn't happen. Other providers actually specify a minimum credit score improvement. It's a good idea to know exactly what you'll get from the service you select, before you sign up as a member.
Credit repair is legitimate: working with a reputable service, you can absolutely see big changes in your credit report. On the other hand, there are companies that don't deliver what they promise. Be sure to check out the reputation of any credit repair service you're considering: customer feedback, number of years in business, and the service's BBB rating are all helpful indicators of a provider's trustworthiness.
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