It can be very stressful having to manage all the problems a poor credit rating brings. When your past unwise decisions haunt you, it can be very frustrating. It can be difficult to get a good credit score, but it’s doable. The following tips will assist you in the process.
The first step in credit restoration is to build a plan. You have to stay focused and committed if you want to make concrete changes to your financial situation. You should only purchase the necessities, and skip the impulse buying. See if each purchase is necessary and affordable and only purchase something if the answers are “yes”.
If you have credit cards with a utilization level over 50%, then pay them down until they are below 50% utilization. If you let your balances get too high, your credit rating will drop significantly. You can either spread your debt out by transferring some of the balance to low interest cards, or better yet, pay off as much as you can.
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. If the information is correct, it will remain as part of your report, in most cases, for seven years. But, you should remain mindful of the fact that errors can be deleted from your report.
Before you choose a credit counseling agency, find out more about them. There are a lot of unscrupulous agencies scattered in among the few legitimate credit counselors that are really there to help you. Others are just plain fraudulent. Be a wise consumer by checking whether or not the credit counselor you are going to deal with is legitimate.
Do not involve yourself in illegal activities. You should steer clear of internet programs that show you how to clear your credit. This is illegal and you’ll get caught. You could go to jail if you have a lot of legal issues.
Make sure to check all three of your credit reports, and pay extra attention to the negative reports when you are working on repairing bad credit. The debt itself may be legitimate, but if you find errors in its metadata (e.g. the date, amount, creditor name), you might be able to get the whole entry deleted.
Find and challenge errors on your credit report using the dispute process offered by each credit reporting agency. Draft a dispute letter that will go to each credit rating agency that shows an error, and prepare any supporting documents. Make sure that you ask for a return receipt so that you know your letter makes it to its intended destination.
Do not spend beyond your means any longer. You you need to rewire your thought process. Unfortunately, credit has been easier to get than ever. Many people are buying things that are unaffordable and end up paying more than they should for any item. Examine your budget, and figure out how much extra money you have to shop with.
Shut off all but one credit card if you want to fix your credit. Transferring multiple balances to one single card is a way to gain control of your finances. This will let you focus on paying off a single account rather than many small ones.
Try not to file for bankruptcy. This will have damaging consequences to your credit score for ten years. It can be tempting to just go ahead and file bankruptcy to get out from under the debt, but the detrimental effects can be long lasting. Once you have filed for bankruptcy, it may become very difficult to secure a loan or open a new credit account.
Carefully read all of your credit statements. You should make sure that the charges that you get are right, and that you’re not paying for items you did not buy. You bear the responsibility for looking after your own best interests, and you are the only person who will know if your statement is accurate.
Credit Score Improvement
Make sure that the credit score improvement agency you choose to work with is reputable. There are many scams that happen in the industry of credit improvement. A fair number of people have been scammed by these unethical credit score improvement companies. If you read enough reviews, you can find out which ones are good and which are bad.
Using the tips from this article will make a dramatic improvement towards your credit score. The most important thing is to be consistent with the process and make sure that you stay on top of your obligations. There’s no better time than now to start tackling your credit issues!
