Posts Tagged ‘Score’

What happens to credit score if you close a store credit card?

I have some store credit cards (Macy’s, the Republic of banana, etc) next to a major credit card. I want a part of the store credit card blocking, but I do not know how that effects my credit rating. I think that closing credit generally lowers the credit score, but how those store cards?

I need to increase my credit score ASAP?

I just took look at my credit report and i have a low score, a hospital bill from a car accident i was in 2 years ago went to collections and my lawyer is still fighting it but it brought my score down significantly and i need a decent score to rent an apartment. Also, i noticed there are tons of old accounts that are all listed that have since closed or been merged together (student loans) so it should be one and even though they don’t have an amount there it looks like i have all this outstanding dept. Will having the credit companies take these off bring my score up? Some were since 1994 and thats over the 7 year mark. My bills are paid on time, most of my cards ARE charged over 50% of the balance, so should i concentrate on paying off the collection and lower my credit card balances to increase my score then contact the Credit Report companies to update information because none of the current balances they have posted reflect my true balances on my cards. how often do they update?

is the new vantage credit scoring method better than the regular 3 credit score method?

who relies on using the vantage over the regular tri-merge? how long have they been using the vantage scoring method?

Car loan financing with Experian credit score?

My experian score is way higher than my other 2 scores. Does anyone know of a lender or finance company that uses Experian……not Trans Union, Exquifax, Vantage or any other tri-merged report? Thanks to all.

How do I keep my credit score from going down when paying off a charged off credit card.?

I no longer have a card for this account. This debt has changed hands many times due to companies merging and/or going out of business. I thought paying this off would be a good thing but i have heard it will make it worse unless i get a pay for delete, but even thought i have researched this i can’t figure out if it is legal to ask for a pfd.

How to improve my credit score for free?

I have a debt of 897.00 on my credit score that has been paid already, I need to build my credit to buy a car my credit score is 550 and I’m not planning on getting a credit card to build my credit. How can I build my credit?

How fast is your credit score affected by changes in credit utilization?

Basically, how current is the credit agencies records?

Under normal conditions, my credit utilizaiton varies wildly.

When applying for credit, I generally want 10-20% credit utilization. I can make that happen, but I wanted to know:

How long after I make it 10-20% should I apply for credit?
How long do I need to hold my credit utilization at 10-20%?

How do I switch credit cards and not affect my credit score?

I want to get a frequent flyer credit card but I already have 3 credit cards with generous limits. I don’t need these credit cards and I would like to cancel them and have this “possible credit” to go towards the new card. I heard once that canceling a credit card has a negitive effect on your credit score. Is this true? If so, how do I switch credit cards and avoid affecting my credit score in a bad way?

More Credit Score Myths

Most of us don’t understand or know what makes up our credit score. Your credit score is the most important piece of information in your financial life. Landlords, lenders, insurance companies, electric companies and potential employers all have your credit score under the microscope. With that being said, you should probably check your credit scores on a regular basis. Check it for errors, potential identity theft and improve your scores over time. The secret to a better credit score is to pay your bills on time and keep your available lines of credit as low as possible. Do not fall for any of these common credit score myths: Myth 1. Checking my own credit will lower my score. You can check your own credit report as many times as you want. These are considered soft pulls and do not have any impact on your score. Myth 2. Shopping lenders will lower my score. No doubt each lender you make application with will have to check your credit to accurately make a decision. The credit bureaus realize and understand that most people are going to get multiple quotes when buying big ticket items like homes and automobiles. As a result all of these type inquiries made within a 14 day period are counted as one inquiry. Myth 3. There’s only one credit score. There are three credit bureaus. Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. Each bureau generates a score therefore you will have three credit scores. Each score will vary so its good to know all three scores. Myth 4. Age, income, sex and race will affect your score. None of this information has any impact on your credit scores. Your age and employer may be listed on your credit report, however it has no impact on the score itself. Myth 5. A simple dispute letter will remove bad credit. Sorry, but this one cracks me up. If it’s a legitimate account, being reported accurately it will not be removed regardless of how many letters you submit disputing it. If you do see errors on your credit report you should by all means dispute it. The credit bureaus have 30 days to reply and are quick to remove inaccurate data. Myth 6. Marriage will merge both reports. Credit information never gets mixed. Accounts are either opened individually or jointly. Don’t think marrying someone with good credit is going to raise your credit score. We recommend checking your credit quarterly. Refer to myth number one, a soft pull will not lower your score. It is to your benefit to keep an eye on your credit, protect it and constantly improve it.

Don’t Be Afraid To Question Your Credit Score

Your credit plays a much bigger role in your life than most people realize and you should not be afraid to question your credit score.
To begin with, the credit bureaus do make mistake, while it doesn’t happen often, it does happen.
Also a bill that you paid to a big department store or local appliance store may still be reported by that store as ‘unpaid’. You’ve heard it said ‘the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing’, and as you may already know, sometimes it doesn’t.
By looking at your credit and questioning the problems, or presenting the ‘paid’ receipts, you can quickly, sometimes even in a week or less, get those ‘black marks’ on your credit cleaned up.
I am sure you have heard about identity theft and maybe a friend of yours, a relative or you have been a victim.  
Identity theft has been going on for years, however it is becoming a much more common occurrence today and will continue to increase in occurrence.
While you probably can’t stop it from occurring, you can decrease the risk by reviewing and question your credit score rating at least annually.
There are services that you can pay for to monitor your credit and if or when a new credit card is applied for, or a major purchase is made with your credit you are notified. These services are not cheap, but they come as close as possible from preventing it.
So you’ve used one of those ‘free credit’ places and you see some ‘funny’ things that shouldn’t be on you credit. How do you go about questioning your credit score and taking care of those ‘funny’ things on your credit?
There are ways that you can get a copy of your credit report.
If you have recently applied for credit and have been denied for any reason, you will receive a letter providing you with a reason for the denial and instructions on how to get your credit report information.
You can also get a tri-merged credit report from the three main credit bureaus: Experian, Transunion and Equifax from a ‘paid’ online service. The ‘free’ ones just show one of the credit bureaus and is usually less readable than the ones you pay for.
In reviewing your credit you see that somebody has stolen your identity and has taken out new credit in your name or has made purchases in your name you need to contact the credit reporting agencies to dispute the reports also contact the creditor responsible regarding the inaccuracy.
To dispute inaccurate information directly with the credit reporting agencies, you must explain the inaccuracies in writing. Include copies of documents that support your position and you should also include a copy of your credit report, and mark the items in question.
In your letter, be sure to include:
1. Your full name
2. Your complete mailing address
3. Your date of birth
4. Your Social Security number
5. The name and account number of the creditor and item in question (Partial account numbers as listed on your credit report are accepted)
6. The reason for your disagreement with the disputed item – be specific
7. Your signature