10 Tips to Help Improve Your Credit Score

Whether you’re shopping for a mortgage loan, or seeking financing to start a new business, your credit worthiness is determined by a simple three-digit number known as your credit score. Having a high score as well as monitoring it for accuracy can make the difference of whether a lender extends you credit or not. Here are 10 tips to improving your credit score.

1. Order Your Credit Reports

You can order your credit reports by visiting the three major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. To help consumers untangle the hassles of credit reports and credit scoring, the United States government passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions and Reporting Act of 2003. A product of that act was the only website through which to obtain a truly free credit report from all three credit bureaus: www.annualcreditreport.com.

Individuals are allowed one free credit report, from each bureau, annually, through this website. You can thereby obtain a credit report every four months by visiting each site in turn. Note that credit scores will not usually be given along with the free report; you may have to pay extra for that.

2. Call Each Individual Credit Bureau

Once you obtain your credit report, call each bureau using the contact number provided in the report. While on the phone with a live operator, ask for assistance in removing inaccurate items. The operator can provide you with a direct fax number to use in providing proof for your claims. Fax any pertinent information like receipts, notices, and confirmations that support your claim.

In contacting them by phone, you help to ensure that they will get the latest up-to-date information. Avoid sending a fax before having made phone contact; if your information comes through the fax unexpected, it may be discarded.

3. Dispute All Negative Items

It is important to dispute all negative items on your credit report. Negative items which include delinquent accounts, open credit lines that are unattended, judgments, and collections have a negative effect on your credit report.

Before hanging up the phone with the credit bureau, you should let the operator know that you will be in contact with them again soon. And this must be done for all three major credit bureaus, to ensure that the change is made on each report.

4. Let Creditors Know That You Have Disputed Negative Items

Once you have disputed the negative items, contact each creditor to dispute the accounts directly. Call the credit bureaus back to let them know that you disputed the items directly. Follow up with everyone within a week to find out how the dispute process is going. You can also perform the follow-ups with letters; the advantage is a tangible proof of your efforts.

5. Keep an Eye on Your Score

There is a way to check out your credit score without buying a service. The website www.creditkarma.com is a free service that gives an estimate of your TransUnion score. Although this is not an average of the three, the score from Credit Karma will give you an idea of your standing on the FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) scoring scale. You can check your score daily without affecting your credit report.

6. Keep the Credit Bureaus Up-to-Date

If you discover that the status of any account has changed, notify the credit bureaus immediately so that they can change it in their system. Keep in mind that having a negative item removed from your credit may raise your score as much as 20 points.

7. Pay Off Any Outstanding Collections

This is one of the fastest ways to clean up your credit. Even if the amounts are small, they can make a negative impact on your credit. Each collection that you pay off will raise your credit score.

Ask your creditors if they “delete.” Once a debt is paid, approximately half of creditors will remove it from your credit immediately if you simply ask them to do so. If that is the case, allow 30 days from the time the debt is paid before checking your score for the subsequent changes.

8. Pay Your Utility and Cell Phone Bills On Time

Find out which of your creditors report to the credit bureaus. Usually, your cell phone bill, your house payment, and your utility bills are reported when paid late. Make sure that those bills are paid on time each month to avoid being reported. This can help to maintain your good credit and improve your credit score.

Also, avoid overcharging your credit cards, as the debt to credit ratio (the credit limit on the card versus the balance) weighs heavily on your credit score.

9. Know That the Past 18 Months Are What Counts

Lenders tend to concentrate on the past 18 to 24 months of credit history when considering an applicant for a loan. Attack the negative items within this time frame before correcting older accounts.

10. Dispute Repeatedly, Even if You Fail the First Time

Dispute is a powerful word in the credit world. If a creditor does not respond within 30 days, you automatically win and the disputed item is removed. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have many rights when amending your credit report.

Disputing items online or over the phone can produce the fastest results. Make sure you get “deletion letters” from the collection agencies. This may be the only proof that the item was removed from their system.

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