Friday 11 October 2013

Credit Health: How To Improve My Credit Score Fast

By Brendon G. Burwell


If you have poor credit and want to do something about it, it's usually just a simple matter of following a specific step-by-step procedure that will ensure a relatively quick and hassle-free improvement in your credit score (also known as your FICO score). But it is important to have a plan in place and not just get your current credit report and start making phone calls to the companies that have reported derogatory entries on your report. Here's a simple checklist for how to improve credit score:

Get and Review Your Credit Report.Everyone living in the United States is entitled to a free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. These bureaus are Experian, Transunion, and Equifax. You can get free credit reports from them annually. Any additional reports come at an extra charge. There are several free credit report websites where you can get these reports from one centralized location.

Sit down and look at your credit report and take note of anything that looks odd or incorrect. Once you have these identified, try to find any supporting documentation to back up the allegations of your findings. Then, you will want to sit down and draft a letter asking the credit reporting bureau to verify the items you found. The credit bureau must investigate the questionable areas that you found. They may have to contact the creditor and if the creditor cannot back up the finding then it must be removed.

Pay Down High Balances.Just because you have a credit limit in the thousands of dollars doesn't mean that you should run it up to the max. If you are carrying credit cards with balances approaching the credit limit you need to start making higher-than-minimum payments in order to get those balances down. High credit card balances are a detriment to your credit rating and the reason is obvious. If you have too many high balances you are at risk of defaulting should some negative event such as a job loss happen to you.

Don't Be Late.Improve credit rating by always paying your obligations on time and it is even better to pay them early. This shows responsibility on your part and it will reflect positively in your credit report. The importance of this step cannot be understated. Find a way to get organized using a calendar and keep track of when bills are due. Another reason for paying off some of your credit cards results in fewer bills and less to keep track of. If you do pay off a card to a zero balance, do not close the account as doing so will also reflect negatively.

If you are looking to improve your credit one of the first things you need to do is get a copy of your personal credit report from all the major credit reporting agencies. You are entitled to a free copy of your report from any agency who gathers and reports such information. Once you have a copy of this credit report you can check to see if any of the accounts are reporting late payments erroneously. If you feel that there are any errors at all on your credit report you can dispute them with the credit bureau that reports it. Keep in mind that you will need proof of any differences so be prepared to show documented proof of payments made. this usually means a signed document or printed report of on time status with the account.

How to improve credit score fast: Experts know the ways for how to improve credit score fast. But by simply answering the following fundamental questions, you already have a guide on how to go about it. Do you keep your accounts at their minimum balance? Are you paying before or on your due date? Do you overspend? Do you check your consumer report every so often? If you answered "no" to any, most or all of these questions, then you need information on how to improve credit score fast.

First, let's briefly discuss what 'credit score' is; basically, it is a piece of numerical information that represents your creditworthiness and capability to pay credit. Keeping your current loans, cards, and their outstanding balances at the minimum is an indication of how well you handle your financial obligation. Your consistency in paying your debts will positively impact your score. High outstanding debt and delinquency in paying them, on the other hand, can be destructive. If you have an existing high outstanding debt and have been inconsistent with your payments, then you have a slimmer chance of getting an approval for another bank loan. How can a lender trust you if you still owe a lot from another financial institution, or several of them? Paying your bills on time is the best way to show financial stability and ability to pay. Delinquency in payments of bills or loans will negatively impact your score, even if the amount to be paid is small. Ignoring small bills is not the best way on how to improve credit score fast. We must remember that creditor reports contain the specific payment history of a borrower.

Dispute: This is the step when you dispute the inaccurate information your credit report has. Find out all the inaccurate items a particular report contains and contact the agency which has given it out. Inform them of the inaccuracies and demand that the items be removed from your report. It may take sometime for the credit agencies to contact you but they will no matter what. Make sure that such inaccurate items are removed from the next set of reports the credit agencies bring out. This is a very important step of correcting bad credit.

Set Payment Reminders - Many banking institutions will have a system that will allow you to create payment reminders that can be sent to you via phone, text or email to help remind you to make your payments when they are due. Take advantage of this and remember the personal discipline part of your new life as well. Make sure you make all payments on time and this often means you make them early. This will help you restructure your life to see great changes.




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