Credit Mistakes to Avoid at Any Cost – Credit Tips

Credit Mistakes to Avoid- If you’re in need of credit repair, it’s something that you have to devote time and energy toward working on. Repairing credit takes commitment and a proper understanding of how credit is configured. And while improving your credit score isn’t something that’s easy or fast to do, harming it is something that is.
With that being said, here’s a look at the five most common blunders people make that harm their credit score. Knowing these could be the credit tips you need to keep your score favorable and not poor:

Not paying bills on time: Payment history accounts for 35 percent of your FICO score, specifically if you’ve made on-time payments. A late payment won’t just incur late fees and possibly higher interest rates, but it can immediately dock your credit score of anywhere from 80 to 110 points.
High debt-to-credit ratio: Ideally, it’s recommended that you keep debt-to-credit ratios at about 30 percent for the best possible score. So if you have one credit card and a credit limit of $10,000, keeping it no higher than $3,000 is ideal. Anything more will drop your credit score, so take debt management seriously.
Bad debt: Simply put, don’t let any bills go to collections. Not only will they stay on your credit report for up to 7.5 years, they’re not good for your overall finance picture.
Hard credit pulls: Hard credit pulls are done any time someone is officially approving you for some sort of credit line. They also impact your score by about 5-10 points for every pull and stay on your report for up to two years. Simply put, know the difference between a hard pull, which docks your score, and a soft one, which doesn’t. Many consumers don’t and are surprised to see their score so low.
Check your credit report: You should regularly check your credit report – ideally, once a month. Why? Because it’s estimated that up to 40 million Americans have some sort of mistake on their report. By staying on top of your report, you can monitor and dispute incorrect information, which could be bringing down your credit score.

Closing Out a Credit Card – Does it Damage Your Credit?

So your credit score in unfavorable and you want to get your finances in order. However, credit repair is a big part of getting your FICO score back in favorable order. So what’s there to do?

To put it simply, there is not one tried and true “fix” to turn your credit score from poor to stellar over night. No, instead you need to take a look at the areas where your credit score is lacking luster and then make appropriate changes, whether in regards to debt management, making on-time payments, etc.
But one way people think they can magically improve their credit score quickly is by closing out credit card accounts. This is what we like to call a “repair credit no-no” when it comes to upping your FICO score. Here’s why:

Your FICO score takes into consideration what’s called a “credit utilization ratio.” Simply put, this takes into account your total credit amount versus the amount of credit that is currently being used. Generally speaking, you want to keep this credit utilization ration around 30 percent, meaning that you’re only carrying a balance at or below 30 percent of what your total limit is, for the best possible score.
- If you close out a credit card, you’re also eliminating parts of your total credit amount. Say, for example, you have two credit cards. Between the two of them, you’re at a 30 percent credit utilization ratio. You close one of them, thinking it will help, except now your credit utilization amount will rise about 30 percent, hurting your FICO score.

So if someone offers “closing out a credit card” as one of their credit tips, don’t be fooled. The best way to repair credit is to simply make on-time payments, enact debt management strategies to pay down loans and credit card debt and be mindful of the types of accounts you open.

Payment History – Why It’s So Important?

Of the five categories that make up a FICO score, “payment history” is the one that carries the most weight. Specifically, payment history accounts for 35 percent of your total credit score, while amounts owed (30 percent), length of credit history (15 percent), new credit (10 percent) and types of credit used (10 percent) round out the rest of what goes into your score.

But just why is payment history so important? Here’s a look:

The whole point of a credit score is to inform a lender of whether you’re a reliable borrower. And a big part of being a reliable borrower is making on-time payments. That’s the biggest thing that the “payment history” category tells a lender — whether or not on-time payments have been consistently made on things like credit cards, retail accounts and loans.
A common query many consumers have is whether a late payment here or there will harm their credit score. And the answer, in most cases, is no if your score is otherwise favorable. However, if you have regular late payments, credit repair is necessary. Luckily, in this case, it’s simple to repair credit — just make on-time payments.
What’s in the score? Specifically, when it comes to late payments, a FICO score considers not just how many late payments there are, but how late they were, how much was owed and how recently each one occurred.

Like we already noted, the good news regarding the payment history portion of the credit score is that it’s easy to correct. There’s no debt management involved, just the matter of making on-time payments. So take these credit tips from us as it pertains to your finances. Make sure your credit history is in check. It’s the biggest piece of the FICO pie.

Bad Credit Score – It Hurts!

Everyone knows that a good credit score is essential to getting approval for everything from car insurance to car loans—and for getting the best possible interest rate that’s currently being offered—but what many people don’t seem to realize is just how much of a toll a poor FICO score can have on you.

So if you have a poor score, it’s important to take it seriously and enact credit repair, whether it means deploying debt management techniques or implementing good bill-paying habits. Here’s a look at how a poor credit score can hurt you and your finances.

High credit card interest rates: Credit cards are notorious for the high interest rates they charge. After all, it is how the card companies make their money. However, if you have poor credit, you can anticipate paying 22 percent and upward, should you even be approved. That’s a far cry from the 10 to 19 percent that’s likely with a good score.
Loan interest: How much more can you expect to pay on a car loan with a poor credit score? Possibly up to 2 whole percentage points of interest! Mortgage loans, too, can mean you that you will have to pay potentially tens of thousands more over the course of a loan with a poor score. Repair credit, and take it seriously to avoid these preventable expenses.
Miscellaneous: Can you imaging trying to sign up for a cell phone plan only to find out at the store that you’re ineligible because your credit score isn’t good enough? It happens. The same goes with car insurance. Presently, 47 states are permitted to check your credit score to determine the rate.

As you can see, a poor credit score can really hurt! So if yours isn’t satisfactory, make sure you’re taking the proper steps to correct it.

More Insurance Tips

Understanding General Insurance coverage: Suggestion For The Smart Consumer

When it comes to dealing with insurance coverage, it may seem like it is you versus the globe in some cases. With the huge quantity of information available online, it can be almost overwhelming at. This article will certainly offer much practical info for you to obtain begun on the appropriate course.

When you make any sort of improvements to your house that price over a specific amount, you should make sure to call your insurance company and allow them find out about it. If requirement be, many insurance carriers make you state renovations to them that cost a lot so that your plan can be readjusted.

Keep your broker or insurance firm updated on anything that may affect your policy or protection. If they do, then they could propose the next program of activity in concerns to your insurance coverage plan.

When you decide on insurance coverage for your auto, certify your insurer. Evaluating protection, it is additionally in your best passion to look for evaluations on their client solution, case responsiveness and also also rate increases. Understanding which you are dealing with ahead of time can aid you set assumptions with your insurance firm.

Commonly, you will want to get in touch with other client testimonials of specific insurance policy business just before spending your cash in their policies. By speaking with sites like Angie’s listing as well as other such customer remarks, you can acquire a sense of the current popular opinion towards an insurance policy business. If the majority of the firm’s patrons are pleased, that may aid you develop a choice, and also vice-versa.

Have your insurance coverage company reconsiders your scores if your credit history rating has gone up. Insurance business do base component of your preliminary premium on your credit report. Without your consent though, they could just inspect it when they initially supply you protection unless you have had a lapse of insurance coverage. If you know your credit has risen, having your credit rating reconsidered could possibly bag you a reduction in your costs.

When comparing insurance business, the wise customer will certainly take their own loyalty right into account. An insurer that has supplied years of reliable, hassle-free and also reputable service need to not be deserted the instant a slightly more affordable different becomes available. It is fairly most likely that an insurance firm that provides rock-bottom prices is cutting corners somewhere in the solution they provide their clients.

An annual review of their insurance plan is a routine every person ought to exercise. Make certain that all details on your plan is correct and also update it with any type of adjustments. See to it you are receiving credit report for such points as automated seat belts on your automobile policy and safety surveillance on your property owner policy.

In summary, you would like to do all that you can to learn concerning insurance policy. There is a lot of information available, yet we have given a few of the most essential pointers. Ideally we have supplied you with sufficient details to not only provide you a strong background, however additionally further spark your passion to come to be a professional in it.

If they do, then they could recommend the following course of action in regards to your insurance policy. Typically, you will certainly want to speak with other consumer assessments of certain insurance coverage companies just before investing your cash in their plans. If your credit history rating has gone up, have your insurance provider company rechecks your ratings. Insurance policy firms do base part of your initial premium on your credit rating rating. An annual testimonial of their insurance policies is a routine every person need to engage in.

Derogatory Accounts – 15 Removed in 45 Days

Check into the outcomes right here. This client has been combating on her very own for more than 6 months trying to get rid of the adverse selections on her credit report score report with no success. Within 45 days we managed to aid her in the elimination of greater than 15 adverse credit records. The documents contained incorrect public papers, late payments as well as collections.

Credit repair is a battle that is not always won in such a short period of time. In certain cases though, we can quickly expedite the removal of in-acurracies. This client contacted us thinking that her credit could never be repaired. We met with her, did a consultation and reviewed each and every item on the credit report. After that we had her enrolled without paying any up front fees. We also set her up with online access to track her progress.

Check out the results below. You will find the name of the account on the left side, then the outcome of the credit bureau investigation on the right side. The responses from each dispute come directly to the consumer so you are able to see for yourself what changes will happen.

If you are concerned about signing up for a service without having the correct information up front, contact our team. We will review things first with you to ensure you are a good candidate. If you are not, you will still leave the Sign Up for $0 Today with quite a bit of credit education.

Also, keep in mind that results may vary in the credit repair process. Many websites will only show you the greatest results. With our company we prefer to show you estimates and take you through the details of the process. Our clients love this about our company. Also, feel free to check out our client login tab above to access your client portal. This service does not cost you a cent in addition to our service fee and gives you full access to the work we will be doing on your behalf. It’s a great tool to view your progress, track your dispute letters and to see your documents all in one place.

For even more information regarding the credit repair work procedure get in touch with our office for a free of cost appointment. If you don’t have a credit report, our credit desk can order one for you as well. You can email them at creditdesk@keycreditrepair.com to start that process as well.

Insight On Credit history Repair service For Everyone

The process of credit rating maintenance and repair could be the key to recuperating from unanticipated monetary grief. Only by obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the basics of credit report repair work, will you be prepared to navigate exactly what can be a confusing landscape. By using the recommendations had in this short article, you will be off to an excellent beginning.

Only make use of trustworthy recommendations on credit rating repair service, a lot of times just taking that from experts. There are a number of sources online that supply credit report repair insight, however that doesn’t mean you could rely on everything. There are numerous sources online that could supply information that is out of day or inaccurate, which might be damaging to your credit history if you used it.

When attempting to repair your credit, do not be intimidated regarding creating the credit agency. You can require that they check out or re-investigate any discrepancies you find, and also they should follow up with your demand. Paying careful focus on what is going on and also being reported regarding your credit report document could assist you in the future.

Utilizing a credit card sensibly could help fix your credit rating. When you utilize a credit card in a diligent fashion you boost your credit report history as well as pave the way for healthy credit report in the future. Consistently pay your bank card expense on time and do your best to pay off your complete balance monthly.

Produce a credit rating reconstructing strategy prior to you also think about doing anything else concerning your inadequate credit. You should know exactly what moves to make detailed and also ways to ideal strategy credit report maintenance and repair to profit you at the highest degree. If you produce a prepare for credit report reconstructing before you set out while doing so, you will certainly locate it much easier to get the outcomes you require.

Repairing your credit rating is not an over night solution. Ensure that you are totally dedicated to repairing your credit. Acquire arranged and also created different plans to assist repair your credit as well as make a list of what you really need to do. This will assist your success on your quest.

You should not shut or cancel aged credit card accounts when you are in the procedure of attempting to repair your credit rating. This is not such a great idea due to the fact that it will simply offer to make your credit past appear to be much shorter than it is in reality.

Inspect the terms and also interest prices if you have actually made a decision to attempt for a protected credit history card. The rates that banks bill to safeguarded card clients can differ extremely.

The principle of credit report repair service is something that is not constantly thoroughly realised. Nevertheless, effective credit maintenance and repair could be a blessing to anybody which has actually experienced monetary setbacks along the way. Making use of the recommendations and also tips included in this write-up, is a wonderful way to set on your own on the path to a much more steady economic future.

There are a number of sources online that supply credit report maintenance and repair advice, but that doesn’t indicate you can count on it all. When trying to repair your credit history, do not be daunted about writing the credit history bureau. Making use of a credit card responsibly can aid repair your credit rating. When you utilize a credit report card in a diligent manner you enhance your credit past and lead the way for healthy credit in the future. Produce a credit rebuilding plan before you even take into consideration doing anything else concerning your bad credit.

Nikitas Tsoukalis, President

Key Credit Repair

Checking Your Credit – Does it Hurt Your Score?

One of the biggest misconceptions among consumers is that if you check your own credit score, you’ll be docked points. Let us be very clear: Checking your own credit score, whether it be once a week or once a month, has no impact whatsoever on your score.

That’s because what you’re doing when you check your credit score is considered a “soft pull.” Other examples of soft pulls may be if you get per-approved for a mortgage or if you receive a credit card offer in the mail saying that you’ve been per-approved.

We’ll repeat — soft pulls have absolutely no impact on your credit score. However, while we note that, it’s also important to distinguish the difference between “soft” and “hard” pulls. Unlike soft pulls, hard pulls do have an effect on your credit score. Hard pulls are done any time you actually get approval for things like a mortgage, car loan or new credit card.

So just how much do hard pulls impact your FICO score? Hard pulls lower your score by five points for six months, so unless you’re having hard pulls done left and right, it’s unlikely that you’ll need credit repair solely because of this. But even so, if you’re in a situation in which you’re trying to repair your credit, it’s wise to stay away from hard pulls, as they won’t help – but can hurt – your score.

To recap: Soft pulls, like when you check your own credit score, have no impact on your overall score. But hard pulls, like when you get official mortgage or loan approval, do.

786? 623? 596? Just What Constitutes a "Good" Credit Score?

What is a Good Credit Score?

Good Credit Score – It behooves you to have a good credit score. Why? Because a good credit score is key to borrowing money – whether it be for a car loan, home mortgage or some other type of loan – with low interest rates. A poor credit score, on the other hand, may disqualify you from qualifying from a loan or stick you with a high interest rate. Bottom line – the better your credit score, the more favorable borrower you are.
So with that in mind, just what is a good credit score? And when should you repair credit?

To answer that question, let’s take a look at the FICO score, the score that the majority of lenders use to determine borrower risk. Specifically, the FICO score ranges from 301 to 850. Here’s a breakdown of the ranges that most lenders use to assess risk in a nutshell:

750+: Anything at 750 or better is considered excellent credit. A borrower should be able to get approved with the lowest possible interest rates on loans with this score.
700-749: Scores in this range are considered “good” and should lead to approval with low – if not the lowest available – interest rates.
650-699: This range is considered “fair.” And while borrowers can still get approved in this range, they may end up paying a higher interest rate.
600-649: The range between 600 and 649 is considered poor credit. Credit scores in this range may jeopardize loan approval. If approval is granted, borrowers may have to pay significantly higher interest rates from someone with good or excellent credit.
599 and below: This is considered bad credit.

As you can see, the higher the credit score, the better you’re viewed as a borrower. Should your score fall below 700, credit repair measures are often recommended.

Errors on My Credit Report – How to Fix?

You’re applying for a big loan soon, and before you do, you’re doing due diligence with your credit. You check out your report… and don’t recognize many of the items listed in it. “What’s going on?” you’re thinking. You don’t recall some of this stuff.

Errors on My Credit Report Are you going crazy ?

Likely, no. In fact, errors are more frequent than you may realize when it comes to credit reports and your credit score. According to estimates, about a quarter of all credit reports that have been surveyed by the U.S. PIRG have contained serious errors.

Furthermore, about 80 percent of all credit reports surveyed contained at least one minor error.
If your credit report is revealing some incorrect information, what do you do? This is especially important if the report is impacting your FICO score to the point where credit repair is necessary. Here’s a look:

Know whether the information in question is actually incorrect. This may seem like an elementary point, but if you have no way to justify this, you’ll have no case.
Dispute it. Once you know something is wrong, contact the party (i.e., lender, collection agency) that is reporting the information. You may also elect to contact the credit agency reporting the information. Start by asking them to fix it. If that doesn’t work, then disputing it is the next step. Typically, you can accomplish this online or via mail. Disputing online is quick, but you’re able to be much more thorough when disputing through the mail, as you can include the relevant documentation to get the issue resolved.

After submitting your dispute, then you play the waiting game. If you don’t hear anything after one month, follow up with the appropriate parties. If your dispute is successful, all three credit reporting bureaus must be informed of the error.

So if something doesn’t look right on your credit report, don’t automatically assume that you need to repair credit. First, look to see if there are any errors. About 80 percent of credit reports are found to have one.

How to Fix Your Credit – Credit Repair 101

650.

That’s your credit score. It’s not horrible, especially considering that the FICO score ranges from 300 to 850. But since it falls into the general “fair” category, it certainly isn’t prestigious as a score of 750, which is considered “excellent.” With this score, it wouldn’t be unusual to have to pay a higher interest rate than you would with a better score. Naturally, you want to repair credit, but how?

Here’s a look at some pointers on how to improve a poor credit score:

On-time payment: Pay your bills on time! Even bills that are a day or two late can have a big impact on your credit score. If you need to, set up reminders or automatic payments.
Check your report: Be sure to keep an eye on your credit report. Look out for errors – you’d be surprised at how often they occur. In fact, it’s estimated that up to 80 percent of all credit reports contain some type of error. If you find any errors, dispute them to help improve your score.
Reduce debts: Come up with a payment plan to pay down the debt on major accounts. Focus on paying off the high-interest accounts first. With credit cards, try to keep the balance within 30 percent of your overall credit limit. This is key to credit repair.
Credit cards: Don’t close unused cards and don’t open any new cards as a means of increasing your score or raising your credit limit, respectively.
Do not apply for too many credit loans: When you apply for credit loans or get a new credit card, it automatically generates a hard inquiry on the credit report. Typically, these hard inquiries show up on your credit report for 2 years and can create a negative impact, pulling down your credit score. This is because too many hard inquiries can give creditors an impression that you are a risky borrower.
Questions may arise over your creditworthiness – Why do you need a new credit? Does that a sign of your financial instability? These are some red flags zones for lenders, which you should keep in mind when considering how to fix your credit score.
Dispute Inaccuracies on Your Credit Report: Inaccurate information, errors and negative items on your credit report can significantly pull down your credit score. When you worry about “how can I fix my credit score,” it is important to check credit reports from all three major bureaus – TransUnion, Experian and Equifax – and verify that all information listed on your reports is accurate and correct. For any error or discrepancy, dispute the same and get it removed to fix your credit score.

And most importantly of all, use common sense. Don’t move debt around – pay it off. Manage credit cards responsibly and know the basics about your credit score and what can make it go down and up. If you feel like you’re really in over your head, consider consulting with a credit counselor who can help address your challenges for how to fix your credit score.

For more information on how to improve your credit score Sign Up for $0 Today!

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) – Repairing Your Credit

What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

Established in 1970, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) restricts businesses from freely accessing an individual’s personal credit information by contacting one or more of the big three credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a company must have “permissible purpose” before requesting information from a credit bureau. In other words, a business cannot access someone’s credit record unless the query achieves a lending decision. Intended to protect individual privacy, the FCRA makes it illegal for anyone who is not involved in a lending situation with a potential client to contact a credit agency and request information about that person’s credit history. For example, insurance agencies and employers must get permission from the individual they are interacting with before contacting Experian, Equifax or TransUnion to request copies of that person’s credit score.

How the FCRA Helps Ensure Credit Repair

When the FCRA was passed in 1970, it not only supported privacy rights of consumers but also enacted rules by which all credit bureaus must abide. These include:

Removing all data that is obsolete within a pre-set time period (debt type dictates the time period; for example bankruptcies remain on a person’s credit report for seven to 10 years).
Removing the majority of closed accounts within seven years regardless of debt type.
Giving consumers the legal ability to dispute errors on their credit score as reported by one or more credit agencies. When confronted with possible errors by a consumer, the credit agency must investigate the issue fully until it has been resolved with supporting documentation.
Entitling consumers to legal recourse if they discover someone has deliberately provided erroneous information to a credit bureau regarding their credit score. In fact, consumers can sue the company or individual who gave false information to a credit agency for up to $1,000 per infraction.
Granting consumers the right to sue anyone who accesses copies of their credit score (FICO) by falsely representing themselves and their intent.

By giving consumers the right to protect their credit score from inaccuracies that could significantly impair their ability to receive loans, purchase homes or obtain credit cards, the FCRA can help repair credit and increase FICO scores when misinformation and errors are damaging a person’s credit.

Why is My FICO Score So Important?

Credit repair involves raising your FICO score, or the number representing your credit “grade” that appears on your credit report. FICO numbers are always between 300 and 850, with 300 being the lowest score you can have. FICO is an acronym for Fair Isaac and Company, a business that created software during the 1980s to assist lending companies in determining whether an individual was a credit risk. FICO based its software algorithms on the ability of a person to make payments on time while avoiding defaults or bankruptcies. Other factors contributing to a FICO score include how much money the person owed to lending institutions and the length of his or her credit history.

Credit Repair with the Help of the FCRA and FACTA

In addition to the provisions provided by the FCRA, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACTA) Act of 2003 offers even more protection for consumers by setting additional standards to which individuals and businesses must adhere or face litigation. According to guidelines established by the FACTA Act, consumers are allowed to ask for free copies of their credit scores from any one of the three credit reporting agencies if an adverse action has been taken due to information contained in that report. Additionally, creditors must inform you of any negative comments placed in your file by them so that you know such comments exist. FACTA also allows you to insert a statement of no more than 100 words in your file to describe any extenuating circumstances that may have contributed to a negative entry or in support of an ongoing dispute.

Rebuilding Your Credit Score Using FCRA and FACTA Laws

If you have been denied a loan, credit card, apartment lease or other similar action because you were informed your credit score was too low and you have blemishes, possibly in error, on your FICO score, you can either perform the necessary investigations into why your credit report is damaged, or you can consult a professional credit repair agency experienced in dealing with unresponsive credit reporting agencies that often do not want to admit they are wrong. Unfortunately, credit bureaus and lenders are in a position to profit financially from keeping consumer credit scores low, an unethical motive prompting the establishment of the FCRA and FACTA laws. For example, to fulfill underwriting requirements, lenders need credit scores that are just average or below average to label customers as “high-risk” borrowers so they can extract extra fees and inflate interest rates. Alternately, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian earn a lot of money selling credit data to lenders interested in people with credit scores between 500 and 600, or those who may be tempted to borrow much-needed money at high rates of interest.

Confronting Credit Agencies

Don’t be intimidated by big-name credit agencies that tend to ignore or minimize complaints of error or wrongdoing concerning consumer credit reports. If you think your payment history does not warrant a denial of credit and understand you may need credit repair, use the benefits provided by the Fair Credit Report Act as well as the FACT Act and start taking back control of your credit score.