Need To Repair Credit Scores? Get The Tips Here

You need to repair your credit score, if you have a poor credit rating and a low score on your credit report. Generally, you need to have a high score, somewhere between 575 and 650 for creditors to see you as a good risk for them to loan money to. If your score is in low 500 range or even as low as 400, then you need to start taking steps to repair credit scores.

How can I raise my credit score? The first step to be on the road to repair a credit score is to request a free copy of your credit report. There are many online companies claiming that they will raise your credit rating to a good credit score, but the truth is that no one can do that but you. If you have a lot of bills, getting a consolidation loan to pay off all the outstanding loans is one way you can lower your monthly payments. However, this alone will not raise your credit score immediately or repair your bad credit right away.

When you decide that a consolidation loan is the answer to your question УHow can I raise my credit score?Ф you do have to prove yourself. The fact that you are consolidating debts puts you in a high interest bracket. You do need to be diligent about making the payments on time, because this is what will help repair the credit score.

Looking to borrow money or applying for credit at many places is detrimental to your credit score. In order to have a good credit score or to repair credit score, you should not have a long list of creditors making inquiries about you. Each of these shows up on your credit report and does result in you getting a lower score. If you want to raise or repair your credit score, start pinching pennies and paying your bills on time.

Paying more than the minimum monthly payment is also another way to repair a credit score. Not only will it help to give you a good credit score, but it will also help you to pay off your bills before the actual due date. This is because you are paying more on the actual balance and thus lowering the amount of interest that you are charged each month. When creditors check out your credit report, they see you are conscientious and this looks good for you. It really helps to repair a credit score.

Need to repair a credit score? There are lots of ways.

Need Credit or Insurance? Your Credit Score Helps Determine What You’ll Pay

Ever wonder how a lender decides whether to grant you credit?

For years, creditors have been using credit scoring systems to determine if you’d be a good risk for credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages. These days, many more types of businesses — including insurance companies and phone companies — are using credit scores to decide whether to approve you for a loan or service and on what terms. Auto and homeowners insurance companies are among the businesses that are using credit scores to help decide if you’d be a good risk for insurance. A higher credit score means you are likely less of a risk, and in turn, means you will be more likely to get credit or insurance — or pay less for it.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to know how credit scoring works.

What is credit scoring?

Credit scoring is a system creditors use to help determine whether to give you credit. It also may be used to help decide the terms you are offered or the rate you will pay for the loan.

Information about you and your credit experiences, like your bill-paying history, the number and type of accounts you have, whether you pay your bills by the date they’re due, collection actions, outstanding debt, and the age of your accounts, is collected from your credit report. Using a statistical program, creditors compare this information to the loan repayment history of consumers with similar profiles. For example, a credit scoring system awards points for each factor that helps predict who is most likely to repay a debt.

A total number of points — a credit score — helps predict how creditworthy you are — how likely it is that you will repay a loan and make the payments when they’re due.
Some insurance companies also use credit report information, along with other factors, to help predict your likelihood of filing an insurance claim and the amount of the claim.

They may consider these factors when they decide whether to grant you insurance and the amount of the premium they charge. The credit scores that insurance companies use sometimes are called “insurance scores” or “credit-based insurance scores.”

Credit scores and credit reports

Your credit report is a key part of many credit scoring systems. That’s why it is critical to make sure your credit report is accurate. Federal law gives you the right to get a free copy of your credit reports from each of the three national consumer reporting companies once every 12 months.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) also gives you the right to get your credit score from the national consumer reporting companies. Once per year you can get a copy for free. When you get your score, often you get information on how you can improve it.

Myths And Truth About Credit Score.

Credit score is the key factor determining approval of almost any type of credit. It is based on the information contained in your credit report files. The widely used FICO score was developed by Fair Isaac Corporation, and it is a formula which assesses your potential credit risk.

The information used to calculate credit score can be broken down into five major parts. Your payment history with banks and other lenders will account for 35% of the score, the amount of money you owe for 30%, and the length of your credit history for 15%. New credit and a statistical assessment of how healthy your credit mix is will both account for 10%.

Credit score is not based in any way on the following information:

- references to debt management or credit counseling programs.
- person’s marital status.
- current employment status, including how long with the same employer.
- credit report inquiries made by you, employers, insurance companies, or banks if made without your knowledge.
- what interest rates are charged on your credit cards, etc.
- public assistance received.
- person’s age.
- child or family support received.

You can increase your score by:

- always paying bills on time.
- paying off or reducing credit card and other debt.
- keeping old, unused credit cards, departments store cards and other “revolving” credit accounts open, even if you don’t use them.
- not applying for credit very often.
- correcting mistakes on your credit reports.

Banks decisions are made according to their own standards.

While the majority of lenders use credit score as a key factor in approving credit, other facts play their parts as well, among them: your income, employment status and length of time at present address, to name a few. Each bank has its own standards. What score is acceptable for a particular loan or credit product depends solely on a lender. The person’s credit score might not be high enough to get credit with one bank, and perfectly acceptable with another.

More Credit Score Changes Looming

Back in June FICO announced they would be rolling out a new formula for calculating their credit score used by all three major reporting services. This updated product would no longer consider an authorized user account as a valid card holder and any credit information about the authorized user would be dropped. This seemingly minor change is expected to affect over 30 million US cardholders, inducing a small to moderate drop in their credit scores.

Now Capital One has announced they will start, for the first time, reporting the credit limits of their card holder accounts. But how does this affect you?

This recent policy change by Capital One may alter the credit scores of some cardholders. Since FICO bases around 30% of their score on credit-to-debt ratio, having accurate credit limit data available will make their scoring product more accurate. The real impact though will be mostly unknown until the changes are made and have had a chance to work through the FICO system and roll out to the credit reporting agencies.

Currently only Capital One and American Express withhold credit limit information when reporting account data to FICO. The effect of these policies is widely disputed. Some argue that not having the credit limit amount available causes FICO to arbitrarily assign the outstanding balance as the credit limit. This would cause all AMEX and Capital One account holders to appear as though there cards were always "Maxed Out" or at their limits, a condition likely to severely harm one's credit score. They also believe that when Capital One starts reporting the credit limits, their account holders will enjoy a miraculous increase in their FICO score and consequential reduction in interest charges.

This writer believes otherwise.

Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) has been in the business of evaluating consumer credit-worthiness for over 50 years and employs nearly 3000 people. FICO credit information is used by 99 of the top 100 US banks to base the decisions of billions of dollars each year. The method for determining a FICO score is not a clear cut, simple formula. It is a large, dynamic algorithm that FICO stakes their reputation and future on. It is also adaptive, predictive and a closely guarded trade secret. I, personally, am convinced that FICO handles Capital One and American Express data correctly and estimates an accurate credit limit. This is further substantiated by the fact that American Express customers do not suffer undue harm by the AMEX policy of not reporting limits. In fact, having an AMEX card can be a major boost to your credit score.

Let’s look at just one small example of how a credit limit can be estimated. Suppose four months ago you used your Capital One card to purchase a new 60” plasma TV for $3000 dollars. FICO would see this transaction and apply a credit limit of at least $3000 to your account. The actual limit would probably be some percentage higher based on the likelihood that you did not max the card out. This limit would remain on the account, maybe fluctuating with your general credit score and current financial situation. Do not forget that FICO has access to a very large amount of data over a very long period of time.

When the smoke clears from this latest reporting change, the scores of most Capital One customers will likely remain about the same. Some will go up a little and some will drop slightly. Perhaps a more interesting discovery will be to see just how well FICO has been doing in estimating the credit limits of these two companies account holders.

Information about credit rating and credit score

When you take credit, you borrow some amount of money which you are obliged to pay after a certain period of time. A credit score is a statistical way to determine the likelihood of an individual who has to pay back the money he has borrowed. Many credit bureaus issue such scores based on different evaluation systems and factors.

Common factors that are used to calculate credit score of a person includes his credit payment history, current debts he is liable to, time length of his credit history, credit type mix and frequency of his applications for new credit.

What defines your credit score?
When you borrow money, your lender sends this credit information to a credit bureau which in turn prepares a credit report defining how well you have managed your debts. From the credit report prepared, the bureau determines your credit score based on factors such as a) previous credit performance, b) current level of indebt ness, c) the time credit has been used, d) types of credit available and e) pursuit of new credit. Thus, your credit score is much affected by your credit history of paying off debts. This factor can also boost your credit rating whereby the past shows that you can pay off your debts quickly and quite fairly.

Importance of your credit rating
While you apply for a credit card, loan or mortgage your credit rating is checked. Thus, credit reporting makes it possible for banks to issue credit or debit cards, stores to accept checks because depending upon your credit score, they can easily determine the level of risk pose them.
Mostly lenders ask for a higher interest rate to one who has a bad credit score as compared to a person having high credit score.

Tips to improve your credit score:
1. You should make your loan payments on the stipulated time with the correct amount.

2. Try avoiding overextending your credit. In case you are getting different credit cards issued by banks via mail, you might tempt to use them but is would never help you out.

3. You should not ignore overdue bills and if you face any problem while repaying your debt, you can call your creditor to make repayment arrangements.

4. Always be aware of the type of credit you hold because credit from financing companies can affect your credit score.

5. Try to keep your outstanding bills as low as possible and don’t extend your credit continuously to your limit.

6. You should limit your number of credit applications.

7. Since credit is not built overnight try to provide your creditors with longer time frame to review and longer history of good credit that builds up your credit performance.

Increase Credit Score – How Do Credit Scores Work?

Although many mortgage companies and finance experts have been warning consumers about the importance of maintaining a good credit score, many people fail to recognize the value. When applying for any type of credit, potential lenders review our credit history and base loan approvals on its contents. If applying for instant credit, lenders simply use credit scores. Here are a few tips to help you understand how credit works, and tips for boosting your personal rating.

The Value of Credit Scores

Credit scores are a valuable tool for lenders. Because banks and other lending institutions receive numerous loan requests on a daily basis, it is challenging determining which applicants should get approved.

Lenders have many methods for judging a person's credit worthiness. To speed up the process, several lenders begin by reviewing a credit score. To separate the good applicants from the bad, they establish a minimum credit score requirement. If your score falls below this requirement, it's an immediate credit denial.

Calculating Credit Score

Many factors play a role in credit scoring. Scores are between 300 and 850. The higher the score, the better the credit. Although having perfect credit is very hard, it is possible to maintain a good credit rating. This typically consists of scores above 680. Those who fall into this category usually qualify for prime rates on home loans, auto loans, and credit cards.

When calculating credit scores, several factors are taken into account. For example, payment history, outstanding debt, length of credit, and inquiries. Payment history and outstanding debts contributes largely to credit scoring.

Payment history with creditors is important because future lenders are curious as to whether you submit payments on time, or have a habit of being late. Moreover, having too much debt will have a negative effect on your score.

Raising Credit Scores

Little things can quickly boost your credit score. For starters, begin establishing a good payment history with creditors. Because payment history contributes to 35% of credit scoring, paying creditors on time is a great way to increase your score. Furthermore, reduce your outstanding debts. Debt contributes to 30% of scoring. Thus, the more debt you have, the lower your score. Keeping credit cards at their maximum limit is damaging. If possible, keep cards at about 25% of their maximum limit.

Improve Your Credit Score Before Buying a Home

Several months before you begin to look for a home, you should take steps to get "credit approved" for your loan. Start by making a list of all your existing loans and credit cards, with the company names, account numbers and monthly payment amounts. This will help you to analyze the information shown on your credit report. Include all closed loans and credit cards if these records are available.

1) Get a Financial Check-Up

Make an appointment with a good mortgage lender, and request a full credit approval. As a part of the approval process, your credit report will be ordered. It will include data from the three main credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. The report will show three credit scores - one from each agency. The interest rate and type of loan available to you is related to your credit score.

The assistance of a mortgage professional to help you to understand your credit report and offer suggestions on how to improve your score is invaluable. For the average person, interpreting a credit report and dealing with errors is a daunting task. Credit reports are filled with frustrating jargon and codes. They are not written for the general public to read. Even more intimidating is the task of communicating with credit agencies to dispute or correct information.

2) Correct Mistakes

Credit reporting agencies often have mistakes in their data. The information in your credit file is input by computers. A computer weighs your data using complicated mathematical formulas to arrive at a credit score.

Nearly everyone has paid bills late for one reason or another. Perhaps a bill was sent to a wrong address, or you have had a dispute with a vendor. It is likely that you have some issues on your report that should be disputed or corrected. Each of the websites of the three main agencies has a dispute resolution page. Feel free to use it.

3) Deal With Real Credit Issues

You may have had serious credit problems at some point in the past. Reviewing this may be emotionally draining, and will bring up the underlying situation that caused the credit problems. Get advice on how long the issues will remain on your report, and how to re- build your credit worthiness.

Or, you may have a persistent habit of overspending. In this case, you should talk with a financial advisor or personal counselor to help you work out of debt, and establish better habits. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling offers low cost assistance for serious credit problems. If you place yourself under their supervision to handle your debts, you will not be able to obtain new credit during the work-out period - which may be years. Before doing that, ask a mortgage lender or financial advisor if there is a way to redeem your credit without their supervision.

4) Check Your Credit File

A law, passed in 2005, requires the three main credit agencies to provide a free credit file disclosure each year. It has been suggested that you could order a file from the first agency in January, one from the second in May and one from the third in September. The central site where your file can be ordered is annual credit report dot com. The purpose of this law seems to be to help people find out if they are a victim of identity theft. This enables you to monitor your file for any new credit that did not come from you.

If you take advantage of the free credit file reports, you should check them for mistakes. Use the credit report that you reviewed with your mortgage lender to compare with the data in your credit file. Keep in mind that the free credit file disclosure is not a credit report. It does not include a credit score.

5) Understand Credit Scores

Less than 620 - Poor

620-680 - Average - You may need to put more cash down on your loan.

680-720 - Good

720 - 800 - Excellent

800-850 - Seldom seen

6) Play by the Rules

The information in your credit file is scored by these factors:

35% - Payment history - Paying bills on time is very important. Today many people use auto draft or pre-written checks through online banking to pay bills. These help to prevent late payments. If you want a good credit score, do not pay late!

30% - The relationship between your available credit versus how much you have used is an important factor in your score. If you are over 50% drawn against your available credit, this will count against you. For this reason, it helps to keep old credit card accounts open, even though you do not use them. They build up the total amount of credit available to you, relative to what you have charged.

15% - The length of credit history on each loan has an effect on your score. A more seasoned loan is scored higher. For this reason it is not a good idea to open credit cards offering low initial rates, then close them after a few months and open new credit cards.

10% - The number of inquiries made on your credit report affects your score. Each time you open a credit card or new loan, your credit information is pulled. Keep these to a minimum. A recent law has made it possible for people shopping for homes or autos to have multiple inquiries, from the same industry (mortgage or auto), done over a 30 day period without penalty. However, to be on the safe side, do not allow your credit report to be pulled unless absolutely necessary.

10% - The types of credit used may hurt your score. Loans from finance companies, signature loans, furniture loans and some retail store loans are considered a poor judgment because of their high rates, and may count against you.

7) Improve Your Credit Score

It is easy and necessary to borrow money. We customarily make everyday purchases using credit cards, and set up loans for homes, cars and other purchases. Your credit score is especially important in the purchase of your home. It will affect the type of loan available, down payment required, and interest rate charged. A low score can cost you thousands of dollars in additional interest over the years. Even insurance companies factor your credit score into their decisions. More than ever, you need a good credit score, or you will pay the price.

Finance providers, rental agencies, car dealers, insurance companies and credit card companies are not going to help you improve your credit score. In fact, they have an economic interest in charging you a higher rate. It is up to you to be proactive about understanding and improving your own credit score. A good time to start is when you begin the mortgage approval process for a home purchase. It is a good habit to have.