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Posts Tagged ‘Equifax’

Who doesn’t want a high credit score? For one thing, a high credit score means you can get loans with a low interest rate. In addition, a good credit score would influence the amount you would put down as down payment for the loan. Generally, with a higher credit score, you get a low interest rate and a low down payment. That is why everyone is concerned about how to raise credit score fast. Outlined in this article are 5 simple steps that would ensure you get a raise in your score.

1. Go Get a Copy of Your Credit Report

Repairing credit begins with getting your credit report and checking it for errors. If you have ever used credit, it is almost certain that there would be errors in your credit report. If left uncorrected, these errors will continue to hurt you.

So get your credit report from the three reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Contact the credit reporting agencies immediately if you find errors in your report. You lose nothing but gain everything. Just remember that checking your score will in no way harm you. On the contrary, you could raise credit score fast if you are able to spot errors and dispute them.

2. Reduce Your Credit to Debt Ratio

It is your credit to debt ratio that determines your ability to pay back a loan. If your total debt exceed about 36-40% of your income, it means that you may not be able to fulfill your repayment obligations. No wonder lenders are really interested in your debt ratio.

A high credit to debt ratio also hurts your credit score. You can raise credit score fast by lowering your credit to debt ratio. Do this and you can raise your credit score by as much as 60 points in as little as 30 days or less.

3. Pay Bills Promptly

Sometimes, people just forget to pay their bills on time. So don’t allow forgetfulness to sink your score. Note important dates when your monthly payments are due, but set a goal to pay a day or two earlier. Your creditors would report the missed payment to the credit reporting bureau when you fail to pay on time.

4. Dispute Every Wrong Information

If you are to raise credit score fast, you must learn to spot errors on your credit report. Sometimes, your credit report would show an outstanding balance on a loan you have completely paid off. Contact the credit reporting agencies immediately when this happens. You credit score could gain as much as 20 – 80 points when you get the errors corrected.

In addition, make sure to look out for late payments and charge-offs that don’t belong to you. And do not delay disputing the entries.

5. Do Not Go Berserk With Loan Shopping

While it is good to shop for loans and make comparison before settling for one, do not let it get out of control. This is because with each loan application you make, your credit score is negatively affected. Search wisely but do not go berserk with loan shopping.

Everyone should be interested in knowing how to raise credit score fast considering the many benefits that come from having a good score. But like every precious thing, raising credit score fast requires discipline and diligence.

But what if I told you that you can fix your credit yourself in as little as 37 days? To learn how to do this, read my 37 Days To Clean Credit ebook review.

Cleaning up a credit report can be time consuming. Of course you never find out about things on there until you are ready to get approved on financing for something. Of course it could not come at a worse time for you as you are probably ready to buy. Worst of all is that it could be a little bit embarrassing too. Most companies will pull a merged credit report from the three major companies and each account in question will say where its being reported. Now you need to get to work to see what one of these companies can help you fix your credit.

The first place you should head to is the credit reporting companies themselves. Equifax is the biggest and most popular. You can bet that your creditor contacted them. You will need to purchase a credit report from them. From there you will start going over the accounts in question. Your discrepancy might only be showing up with Equifax and it might be the only place you go.

The company that started the whole credit scoring system was My Fico. They created the fico score and work with all three reporting companies. There will be a fee involved to work with them as they are going to handle all of your accounts for you. After obtaining the account numbers they will inform you of who you need to pay to close or cancel out an account. After the bills are paid, My Fico contacts the credit bureaus on your behalf with your closed account documents.

If you want to not only get your credit report cleaned up but have your accounts in question reduced to a lower balance or zeroed out completely then you should call Lexington Law. This is a law firm who specializes in helping people clean up their credit reports and also negotiate lower balances for their clients. You will probably pay a little more to work for them but in turn you could pay less to your debtors and let them do all the work. After the balances are cleared they will inform the credit bureaus of the closed accounts and your credit report will reflect the changes.

If you plan on cleaning up your credit report then take the time to start with the three companies above. Each can tell you a lot about what you need to do. The further down the list you go the more expensive it might be. With the end goal to clean up your credit it might sound costly now but paying higher rates on other things you want to buy might be costlier with bad credit.

You have a very busy life. There are so many things you need to keep track of. Picking up your kids from school, going grocery shopping, paying your bills on time, getting enough exercise, are just a few examples of the complexities of life. How then are you supposed to do all that AND stay up-to-date with every aspect of your finances?

MyFico Score Watch helps you do just that by giving you one central and automated place to keep track of you FICO scores and your credit reports.
Score Watch Benefits:

• Score Watch automatically keeps track of your credit report on a daily basis and your FICO score weekly.
• Has the ability to alert you via email or even SMS when there is an unexpected change to your credit that would negatively affect your FICO score.
• You can set a target score you want to reach and MyFICO Score Watch will alert you when you’ve reached it. It will also alert you when you qualify for better interest rates
• Your membership with MyFico Score Watch® entitles you to two credit reports from Equifax yearly that you can review and save for future reference or to dispute incorrect data.

Why is it so important to keep track of your FICO Score?

Your FICO Score is how money lending agency like mortgage bankers and credit card companies rate you. Your FICO score is made up of a lot of different statistics and the score plays a major part on the interest rates you can qualify for. If your score raises you should be entitles to a better rate and if your score drops you many get penalized.

How is your FICO Score Calculated?

There are many different things your FICO score is made up of and that My Fico Score Watch® monitors but a few of the most influential ones are:

• Payment history for any previous debt
• Amounts owed on current loans and credit cards
• Length of credit history
• New credit received
• Types of Credit Used

With all these factors it’s clear that you need help keeping up with all this information. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just put all this reporting and tracking on autopilot? Well now you can with MyFico Score Watch®!

by Trent Goldenblum