Worried About Your Credit? Here’s Some Advice
If your credit is bad, you can find it difficult to make some of the more basic financial decisions in life, like taking out a loan or leasing an automobile. Credit scores can drop due to neglecting bills or paying fees too late. The advice in this article can help you get on track with repairing your credit score.
Pay down any credit cards with a balance in excess of 50%, preferably getting them down to 30%. Creditors like to see you using your accounts, but still keeping your balances under 50% of your allotted credit.
Credit Score
Your interest rate will be lower if you have a good credit score. By doing this your monthly payments will be easier to afford and your bill will be paid off faster. The key to paid off credit is to find a great offer and a competitive rate so that you can pay off your debt and get a better credit score.
Before consulting a credit counseling agency, be sure to check out their background and history. While some counselors are legitimate, offering genuinely helpful services, others have ulterior motives. Others are outright scams. A savvy consumer will always do his or her research on any credit counseling service to ensure that the agency is legitimate.
When attempting to improve your credit, you should go over any negative marks with a fine tooth comb. You could find mistakes in dates and other factors which can cause the whole item to be removed from the report.
If you see errors on your credit reports, dispute them with the credit agency. Compose a letter of dispute to every agency that reported errors, and include as much documentation as you can. Always send your dispute letters certified mail, so that you can get return confirmation. This will give you proof that the agency received your dispute paperwork.
Look for a trusted credit improvement agency to help you. The credit restoration industry does have its fair share of agencies that do not live up to their promises. Many people fall victim to these scams every day. Always read reviews online first to find a good agency.
Try not to use your cards at all. Cash payments are preferable. If you have no choice but to use a credit card, always pay the balance in full each month.
Collection Agencies
One of the biggest stressors can be bad dealings with debt collection agencies. A consumer had the option of making use of cease and desist statements to persuade collection agencies, but remember that C&D statements only prevent them from harassing you. A letter like this may stop a collection agency from harassing you, but you are still on the hook to pay your debts.
Opening additional lines of credit will negatively affect your credit score. When offered large discounts or incentives for opening a new credit card, politely reject the offer. If you open a line of credit, your credit score will be greatly reduced.
Put together a plan to pay off the collection account and past due accounts. These will show on your report but you will have a better standing than you did before.
Make sure to record any threats by debt collectors. This is an illegal form of intimidation and should be reported. It is important that you are knowledgeable of the laws designed to protect the consumer.
Give your creditors a call and negotiate payment plans for bills that you can’t pay in full. Many times, a creditor will let you pay in installments and not report the debt to credit reporting agencies if you just ask. This can help you get some breathing room. It can also help you pay the bills where you aren’t able to negotiate a different payment plan.
Pay down your debt. The first thing a creditor will consider is how much you owe to how much you make. If you owe too much in comparison to your income, you will be seen as a bad credit risk. It’s hard to pay off debt right away, so you need to come up with a plan and not deviate from it.
Thoroughly examine your credit report to avoid accepting any errors as being valid. No one is perfect, not even your bill collectors. Mistakes can be made and it is your responsibility to make sure they don’t negatively affect you. You can deal with these through credit disputes that can take a while to remove invalid discrepancies.
Credit Score
Anyone who hopes to get a loan or may one day be involved with their children’s college loans, should pay attention to their credit score. Even if you are in debt and have a low credit score, you can rectify your situation by remembering these all of these tips.