Bring Your Credit Ratings Up With These Tips
Posted at by CreditWiz on category CreditNo matter what your current situation, you have probably damaged your credit by opening one too many credit cards or being affected by the economic downturn. This article will give you some tips on how you can improve your situation.
Creating a payment plan and sticking with it is just the first step to getting your credit on the road to repair. You have to stay focused and committed if you want to make concrete changes to your financial situation. Limit your purchases only to things that are absolutely necessary. Consider if a purchase is both essential and affordable, and only purchase it if you can answer “yes” on both counts.
If you are unable to get an unsecured credit card due to your low credit rating, consider a secured card to help reestablish your rating. These accounts are much easier to get as you will have to fund the new account ahead of time with a deposit to cover any purchases. By using a new card responsibly, your credit rating will start to increase.
Make sure that you are never using more than 50% of your credit card’s limit. If you have a balance that is more than 50 percent, your credit score will drop. If you can, pay the balances on your cards; if not, do your best to pay as much as possible each month.
Try opening an installment account. Choose an installment account you can afford, since you will have to leave a certain amount of money on it at all times. If you use these accounts, your score will go up rapidly.
Negative-but-correct information cannot be removed from your credit report, so be wary of promises from unscrupulous companies who promise to remove it from the credit reporting agencies. Negative entries that are otherwise accurate will stay on your credit report for a minimum of seven years. If the information is an error, the credit report can be corrected.
If you are looking into a credit counselor, be sure to find out information about them before you choose to use them. Although some credit counselors are truthful and legitimately helpful, other credit counselors are not honest and upfront with their motives. Other options are clearly scams. A savvy consumer will always do his or her research on any credit counseling service to ensure that the agency is legitimate.
Contact the credit card company and ask to get your card limit lowered. By doing this it will stabilize you in your financial boundaries instead of letting you extend beyond what you really should.
When you want to rebuild your credit, take a close look at any negative reports that are harming your credit. While the credit item itself may not be in error, if you can find a mistake in the date, amount, or any other factor, you may be able to have the whole item removed from your report.
Officially dispute any errors you find on your credit reports. Compose a letter of dispute to every agency that reported errors, and include as much documentation as you can. Your letter should be sent with a request for return receipt, so you can have a record that it was received by the reporting agency.
When you get your monthly credit card bill, check it over to see if there are any mistakes. If there are late fees, you have to make sure that you take care of them immediately with the company so that they don’t send that information to the credit bureaus.
If credit repair is something you have been considering, the first step would be to pay down your credit card balances. Pay down the cards with the largest balances and interest rates first. It is your job to turn it around and prove your responsible with credit.
Restoring your credit rating looks at first like an uphill battle, but with sound effort and the right advice, that battle can be won. The advice offered in this article can help to get you back on track to repairing your credit.