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Repair Your Credit Score

Sunday

In today’s world, it’s crucial that you understand how your credit reports and credit scores affect your financial situation. Credit scores determine whether you can obtain credit and what you pay for credit cards, auto loans, mortgages and other kinds of credit. They can also be used in deciding whether you get accepted into an apartment community and whether you get a job.

So, where do you start if you have low credit scores? How can you repair your credit score? First, you need to start by grabbing a copy of all 3 of your credit reports. You need to know exactly what is being reported about you and exactly what your scores are. After you get your reports, you need to find out which items are lowering your scores.

It’s fairly easy to see which items are damaging your reports. Most reports are divided into sections which make it fairly easy to tell which accounts are considered negative, but not all reports are. So, it’s important to go through and highlight all of the account hurting your scores. Once you have this information listed, you can start to make a plan on how to eliminate or improve these accounts.

Some accounts won’t be able to be improved. They will need to be removed. But, other items, like accounts with a late payment history can be updated to make the account positive. You can contact the lenders directly to see what it will take to get them repaired. If the creditors are not willing to work with you (unfortunately most of them aren’t) then you will have to dispute the accounts directly with the credit bureaus.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to dispute any information on your credit report. This is simply done by writing a dispute letter to the credit reporting agencies. Once they have received your letter, they’re required to verify the information with the information provider. They have 30 days to do so. If the information cannot be verified, it must be deleted.

After you’ve cleaned up your credit report, the next step is to get positive information reporting. Acquiring new positive accounts is just as important as deleting negative accounts. One of the best ways to do that is by getting a secured credit card or an unsecured card from a local credit union. The interest rates are usually pretty high on secured cards and the credit limits pretty low, but that’s ok because you are strictly using these cards to build credit. Keep your balances at 30% of your credit limits or below.

Chane Steiner
http://www.articlesbase.com/credit-articles/repair-your-credit-score-343070.html

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  1. James H
    June 7th, 2009 at 11:02 | #1

    What is the best solution to repair your credit score?
    I have a low credit score. do i need to hire someone to reapair it, and who? wanting to try and buy a house in less than a year and i want to have a decent credit score.

  2. SG Elite
    June 7th, 2009 at 16:04 | #2

    Clean-up all monies owed.
    References :

  3. Sweet Eden
    June 7th, 2009 at 16:06 | #3

    Take out a credit card and pay it off on time every month!

    Here is a great site on building credit:

    http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/restore_credt.shtml

    Building a great credit score takes about a year. Some hired companies promise a higher score in 2 weeks… this is not true! Creditors want to see how you handle debt over a period of time. Check the site… it will help you get started!
    References :

  4. tomwill8517
    June 7th, 2009 at 16:08 | #4

    Just follow the 3 easy steps below to improve your credit score.

    1)Pay off all debts in collections
    2)Take out one or two unsecured or secured credit cards
    3)Make your monthly payments on time

    There is nothing a credit repair company can do that you can't. Good Luck
    References :
    http://www.consumerbadcreditguide.com

  5. John T
    June 7th, 2009 at 16:10 | #5

    Many things can be done to improve your credit rating…. especially if you're planning a year in advance!

    Check your credit report first and see what derogatory entries might be there. It can take several months for derogatory items to be removed from your report…

    The Free Credit Report site is a great place to start:
    https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

    (Please note: this is Not the one you see on TV… that one charges for additional services… this is the Federally Mandated FREE Credit report site… I've used it myself, it is Free :) )

    After removing derogatory entries, the only other options are to be sure to pay On Time. Keep your balances low… Pay more than Minimum!

    If you have a big ticket item you wish to purchase, pay it down quickly.

    If you have several active credit cards… consolidate your balances on the lowest interest card(s). The more "open references" in your credit history, the more Risk the creditors perceive.

    If you request a credit line increase on your lowest rate card and tell them it is with the intention of closing your higher rate cards, they should give you a good deal.

    Here's a link to an ABC News report about lowering your credit card interest rates. It should help you understand how to deal with the credit card companies… and you might use it to save some money on your own cards, too :)
    http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=0f86f45a-2ac4-4977-b982-6a68f4027e74

    Be sure to close out accounts that you don't need… an account that is closed at the card holder's request is a plus – shows you're acting responsibly :)

    Your credit rating won't change overnight… but it will change over Time if you work at it.

    Good Luck!
    References :

  6. Vampir V
    June 7th, 2009 at 16:12 | #6

    don't spend more than you have.
    References :

  7. See Saw
    June 7th, 2009 at 16:14 | #7

    Here are some step by step ways to repair your credit score:
    http://www.debt-loan-refinance-mortgage-credit.com/category/Step-by-Step-Credit-Repair-Guide.html
    References :

  8. unluckygoose
    June 7th, 2009 at 16:16 | #8

    when my credit got messed up (thanks to my ex) I opened 3 small (300-500) credit cards with capital one. Capital one reports every month and let me tell you, this REALLY helped me repair it quickly. Of course the obvious, carry no balance and never be late helps too!
    References :

  9. Millionster.com
    June 7th, 2009 at 16:18 | #9

    When you're trying to rebuild your credit score it's important to get a comprehensive view of what is actually affecting it…

    Your Credit Score is calculated with the following breakdown:
    35% – Payment History
    30% – Credit to Debt Ratio
    15% – Credit History
    10% – New Credit
    10% – Credit Types in Use

    If you excel in one area and lack in another, only fixing the areas which you lack are going to improve your score.

    I've got a lot of information on my blog about credit scores, and I get a lot of questions so feel free to check out any of my posts on millionster.com; I believe my articles here address many concerns most people have but if they don't and you still have any specific questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply.

    How Can I Increase My Credit Score
    http://millionster.com/articles/debt/ask-1mil-how-can-i-increase-my-credit-score/

    and

    10-Ways to Boost Your FICO Score
    http://millionster.com/articles/debt/increase-fico-credit-score/

    Also be sure to check out the promotional links I've listed here to help you get a better picture of your creditworthiness:

    MyFico's Full Credit Report
    http://millionster.com/go/myfico

    Suze Orman's Credit Report Repair Kit
    http://millionster.com/go/suzekit

    30-day Trial of Credit Score Tracker with Free MyFico Score
    http://millionster.com/go/fico30
    References :

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