When your credit report has problems, you have problems. Decisions you’ve made in the past can have frustrating financial repercussions. Repairing your credit will be hard, but it is totally possible. These tips should be able to help you.
When attempting to make your credit right once more, it is imperative that you present a solution to all those that you owe money to, and don’t deviate from anything you commit to once it is in place. 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. When considering a purchase, ask yourself if the purchase is necessary and affordable, if you answer yes to both, you should buy it.
Credit Card
If you are unable to get an unsecured credit card due to your low credit rating, consider a secured card to help reestablish your rating. When you open a secured credit card account, you place money on deposit to cover any charges you may make. This ensures in advance that you will have enough money to pay for your debt. Limited spending and regular payments can turn a new credit account into a valuable credit repair tool.
Maintaining a respectable credit score will enable you to obtain lower interest rates. This can help lower your monthly payments, and help you pay them off quicker. Getting better interest rates leads to an easily maintainable good credit score.
If you do not want to pay too much, contact your creditors and tell them you will not pay on a interest rate that is astronomical. There are legal limits set in place to control the amount of interest a creditor is allowed to charge you, plus your original debt is all the credit card company paid when you made the purchase. You did however sign a contract that agrees you will pay off all interests as well as the debt. Your interest rates should be regarded as too high if you plan on suing your creditors.
Make sure you thoroughly research into any credit repair agency or counselor before you do business with them. The industry is rife with fraud and people with ulterior motives, so finding a legitimate credit counselor can be challenging. Some credit services are nothing more than fly-by-night scams. A savvy consumer will always do his or her research on any credit counseling service to ensure that the agency is legitimate.
Do not do things which could cause you to go to jail. Scams abound on the internet that show you how to change your credit file. These scams are not legal and there will be repercussions. Not only can legal fees add up, but you could end up in jail.
Contact your creditors to request a reduction in your credit line. This will prevent overextending yourself and lets the company know about your responsible borrowing habits. You could get credit easier in the future.
If you find any errors in your credit reports, you should dispute them. Contact the credit agency in writing, with documentation to support the errors that you are disputing. Include a request for a return receipt with the dispute package so that you can prove it was received by the appropriate agency.
Filing Bankruptcy
If at all possible, avoid filing bankruptcy. Doing so will reflect upon your credit score and report for 10 years. It may sound like a good idea at the time to rid yourself of all your debt, but it will affect you later on. Filing bankruptcy makes it difficult if not impossible to get anything involving credit, like credit cards and loans, in the future.
When you start fixing your credit, pay down balances on the credit cards as soon as you can. First, work on the accounts with the highest interest rates and the highest balances. By doing this, you will show your creditors that you are trustworthy with your credit.
Go through all the statements you receive. Make sure that all of your fees and charges are correct and that there are not any items that were not authorized by you. 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.
To accomplish getting a better rating on your credit, pay down the balances of your current accounts. Paying off your balances will have a perceptible positive impact on your credit score. The Fair Isaac Corporation, FICO system tracks how much of your available credit you are using in 20 percent increments.
If you use the tips contained in the above article, you can turn that dreadful 350 into a nice, shiny 850. Just keep in mind that credit score improvement is an ongoing process that you need to stay involved in. Repairing your credit is certainly something that you can do; so instead of worrying, you should take action now.