Ways to Improve Credit Score
Written by Matt Douglas on November 10th, 2008If you are currently repairing your credit report you understand how important your score is. How this number directly impacts your quality of life.
This number is how employers and creditors will judge you. With a low score it can prevent you from being hired at a job or being approved for credit.
When you apply for new credit many lenders will look at nothing more than your credit score. They will not take into account any reason, no matter how legit, as to why you have a negative mark on your credit report.
There are two parts to credit repair that you should concentrate on.
1. Removing negative items from your credit report.
Negative marks will cause the most damage to your credit score. However these marks can be removed before waiting 7 years.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act that was passed by congress allows you to dispute negative marks. When you file a dispute you are challenging the accuracy or validity of a negative mark on your credit report.
To file a dispute a dispute letter must be sent to each credit bureau. In this letter you must include why the listing is inaccurate. Common reasons are; not my account, item is out of date, account paid in full. Upon receipt of your letter the bureaus will investigate the disputed listing.
If the mark can not be verified then the bureaus must remove it from your credit report. It has been learned that once an investigation occurs marks are often removed, regardless of their accuracy.
2. Build positive credit
This is a more challenging task. If you have a low score it is difficult to be approved for new credit.
However it is necessary to open a new line of credit. The best is an unsecured credit card even with the insanely high interest rate.
With your credit card you want to keep the balance at approximately 10% of your credit limit. This is because it will show the credit bureau that you are using your credit and it will improve you ratio of credit to debt.
In addition making on time monthly payments will create a positive payment history. Without building positive credit it will be hard to improve your score even if you remove all the negative marks.
In sum your credit can be repaired. It may be in your interest to remove some negative marks before you open a new credit line, to ensure approval. However you should remove negative marks and build positive credit to get you to a 700 credit score.
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